26/02/2026
"My name is Nirudhi, I'm from Sri Lanka and I own Dark Essence on Links Street in Kirkcaldy.
I've always been artistic, I've always loved to create, I studied fashion design and product development. I moved from Sri Lanka for four and a half years. I had a boutique shop that stocked my clothing along with a cafe.
When we came to Scotland, I got a job at Crieff Hydro where I was front end assistant. I spoke to the chef there and he saw how confident I was with my baking and I told him I wanted to learn how to make Scottish food, so I would bring in chocolate cake for him and the kitchen staff. Soon I was working as the pastry chef which I loved. Not long after, I began working at House of Bruar and I was able to learn to make scones, it was something I'd always wanted to do since moving here, I ended up moving back into the fashion side of things where I was for three years.
I have 2 small children and as much as I loved my job, I made the difficult decision to move on because the kids are growing, that's time you'll never get back with them after all. I was making cakes for friends, which lead to us deciding to open this place. My husband found this place and I'm so happy he did, the people who've come in have been so nice to me, so many kind words of encouragement.
When we first moved here it was hard, I missed my family and friends, adjusting to the climate was difficult. Scotland is beautiful but it's so cold in the winter! My kids can handle it because they've spent most of their lives here and they feel like their home is here which is nice. The Scottish people are wonderful, they're so friendly too.
Since opening, I've had so many nice comments about my food and my cakes, a customer came in and told me my chocolate cake was really nice. I feel happy when people pay me compliments because I love doing this, feedback is so important to me and sometimes it makes me very emotional to know I've made someone happy with something I've made for them"
Please get along to see Nirudhi at Dark Essence, she's so unbelievably kind and warm. She's settled in nicely to Kirkcaldy so if you're able to share this to support her, please do ❤️
