Mine Keskin
At the beginning of my career, I studied architecture and worked in this profession happily for ten years. I was always passionate about thinking through a structure from start to finish, establishing the right proportions, and seeing how each detail served the whole. Today, I approach my work with cakes from the same perspective.
To keep learning.
I trained with the world's leading pastry chefs in various European cities. But learning has never been a completed process for me. Even today, I continue to take classes from different masters abroad, attend workshops, and keep myself updated. From time to time, I also host masters from different parts of the world in my own workshop in Turkey.
I've been in this business for many years, but what defines me is not seniority; it's the part of me that still researches, experiments, learns, enjoys sharing and mutual learning.
Meeting the world's knowledge here
I value sharing the knowledge and experience I have gained in different countries over the years with my students in Turkey. I follow evolving techniques and approaches from various parts of the world, combining them with my own experience and teaching system.
At the same time, I host international masters in my workshop in Turkey, creating spaces where students can directly meet different masters and approaches.
Being able to encounter the international world of pastry here in Turkey is one of the things I attach importance to at Mine Keskin Academy.
One of the projects I am most proud of on this journey is the special project I designed for the Spanish shoe brand Camper. The corporate gift, which I prepared with handmade cookies, reached all Camper employees in Europe as a New Year's gift that year.
Over the years, I have been involved in many people's weddings, birthdays, and the most special days of their lives with custom-designed, labor-intensive productions tailored to the individual and the event.
Calm but with character
For me, how a cake feels is as important as how it looks. I love an aesthetic language that is calm yet characterful, where form, proportion, and detail stand out. The balance, simplicity, and attention to detail in Scandinavian and Japanese design have also been inspiring me for years.
Form. Proportion. Balance. Detail.
In 2012, I established my own workshop in Izmir. From that day until now, my main focus hasn't just been on producing beautiful cakes; it's been about establishing the system behind the production and making this system understandable and teachable for others.
I can give a student a cake recipe. But what I truly want is to instill in them a way of thinking:
Not the day it ends. The day the student starts producing on their own, with their own ideas.
A sentence one of my students told me years later became one of the most valuable feedbacks I have ever received:
Technique is the beginning of the journey. The real goal is to create your own signature.
Mine Keskin Academy is the name of this journey for me and for the hundreds of students whose paths I have crossed to date. We value systematic thinking, patient teaching, and helping each student find their own voice over time.
