AFTER nine years in which hundreds of thousands of perfectly-cooked Jersey Wonders have rolled off her one-woman production line, Barbara “Babs” Bechelet is to hang up her apron.
Jersey Wonders by Babs have become must-have delicacies for many visitors to the Island since Mrs Bechelet first started making them commercially in 2015, while growing numbers of locals have also rediscovered the wonder of wonders.
During almost a decade’s frying at her Grouville home, Mrs Bechelet has survived a global pandemic, soaring prices of key ingredients and even got the better of the besuited wannabes battling to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.
But now her growing family is the top priority, and Mrs Bechelet will turn off her fryers for the last time – on a commercial basis at least – at the end of August.
A first grandchild arrived in May of this year, a second is due any day, and by November there’ll be a third: one each in Jersey, London and Australia.
“I was looking at retiring in 2025 after ten years of doing this,” she said.
“But things have moved on in a faster – and wonderful – way and I want to have time to spend with my children and their families, including travelling more.”
Mrs Bechelet was first taught to make Jersey Wonders by her grandmother, but the “Babs” business won’t be staying in the family, and isn’t up for sale.
“They’re made with my hands, so for someone else to be producing Jersey Wonders by Babs wouldn’t seem right,” she said.
“Some people have asked me, and I’d be more than happy to talk to them about what I’ve done, but it would be for them to develop their own business rather than taking on mine.”
Having reached a position where she is making up to 400 wonders a week to satisfy demand from commercial customers – to whom she personally delivers all orders – and those who come to the honesty box outside her home, Mrs Bechelet looks set for a busy last few weeks.
“I wanted to put Jersey Wonders back on the map, and it’s nice that they’re better-known now,” she said.
“It’s great to see people come out to the honesty box, and especially during lockdown it gave me a real lift to see people buying wonders and giving them a wave from the window.”
A traditional treat
– Mrs Bechelet was previously forced to stop selling Jersey Wonders after the price of sunflower oil spiked due to the war in Ukraine.
– Jersey Wonders by Babs are available until the end of next month at outlets including the Jersey War Tunnels and Samarès Manor, as well as from the Grouville honesty box in Rue Maraval from Thursday to Sunday inclusive.
