My cytogenetic lecturer once told me about an interesting bakery somewhere in the middle of oil palm plantation, which bakes Danish cookies and cakes the authenthic Danish way. The way he had described was like it’s very difficult to find. Instead, the said Bernam Bakery is located along the trunk road from Kuala Selangor to Teluk Intan, right next to the Unitata Factory, United Plantation.
1. The manager, Mr Saksi Daran, happily posing for us.
It was very nice of him to show us around and explain the history and uniqueness of this bakery.

2. At the baking hall.
There were rows of newly baked fruitcake, waiting to be cooled down.

3.

4. The workers at their shift.
Too bad, they were not baking Danish cookies on that day. Else, I would have smelt the aromatic butter.

5. Authentic wooden baking mould.
This is what makes the Bernam’s bakery’s fruitcake special. They are baked in wooden mould instead of steel mould.
The wooden mould may impart a nice wooden aroma, and helps to have a better and uniform baking.

6. These fruitcakes are sold in major hotels in Klang Valley. Some are packaged under different brands/names, and this includes Famous Amos.

7. Royal visit by Dannish princess.
8. The late Tan Sri Bek-Neilsen, former director of United Plantation.
We did enquire further about the bakery’s origin and we were told of an interesting story.
The late Tan Sri Bek-Neilsen had invited the late Mr. Robert Pedersen of Holstebro, Denmark to come over to Malaysia to train the fellow plantation workers to bake better breads. Mr Pedersen was at that time teaching in a prestigous baking college in Denmark. The bakery was officially established in 1982.
Their cookies were named after Pedersen: Pedersens Danish Butter Cookies.
Besides making better and healthier bread, this bakery provides a means for the workers to have an extra source of income.

9. The logo of this Bernam Bakery.

We bought for ourselves some butter cookies and they tasted exactly as the Kjeldsens butter cookies. Yummy!
The address of this bakery:
Bernam Bakery Sdn Bhd
Jabatan Kejuruteraan
Jln Feri
Ladang Jendarata Divisyen
Hutan Melintang
36400, Perak
Phone: 605-6411336 Fax: 605-6411876
Business hours: Sun - Fri: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Saturday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.