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Natalija Jagunić

Knowledge enables you to do anything, it gives you independence to keep growing in an informed way. If you start without a foundation, that education will be very dispersed, as if you are building a house from the roof down – it is impossible. When a quality education is your foundation, you can grow much more effectively. Starting my business before getting an education was out of question.

After 19 years of working in a bank, Natalija Jagunić decided to turn her hobby into a business. The first step on her journey was education, which, as she says, must be part of the business plan of every pastry chef who wants to become an entrepreneur. “I was looking for pastry programs near Zagreb, but I was not interested in only getting a diploma – I wanted practical knowledge, useful in my future work. I found out about Kul IN, came to visit and decided to enroll.”

With that intention, Natalija enrolled in the Professional Pastry and Confections program, became a Kul IN alumna and successfully started her own business, and now she is returning to us as a lecturer!

She is the owner of the confectionery production Kiša slatkiša and works with some of the best restaurants and coffee shops in Zagreb. This is her core business and true love – she prepares everything from cakes to monoportions. What makes her special as a pastry chef? She thinks outside the box. Natalija states that from the beginning she was focused on working with restaurants and coffee shops, rather than private parties. She noticed that this market is still an untapped source of opportunities for ambitious pastry chefs/entrepreneurs.

What is Natalija like as a lecturer?

Natalija emphasizes that during the practicum she likes to encourage her students to continue to be in-the-know about what is happening in the world of confectionery, trend cycles, new techniques, and how to stay relevant yet true to yourself.

She has an open-minded approach and is full of understanding for the students and their questions, “I think it is important that people know that you have the willingness to show them everything in detail. When they see that the lecturer is enthusiastic about what they do, the students will try to be equally thorough and excited about their work”. She claims that it is important for educators to remember that they were also beginners once, they had doubts and questions about things that are now their second nature, “I like to be there for the students’ questions, I always give my best to be a source of knowledge and advice for them, so that they can continue to grow as professionals”.

Maja Mladinov Branimir Krtalić