She can be found in the streets of Delhi or home, cooking up a storm. The oldest memory I have of myself is of running into the kitchen and playing sous chef to my parents. I had always admired my parents throwing lavish parties and cooking for a group of 40-50 people all by themselves. I knew that was something I always wanted to do. Somewhere down the line, my hobby remained a hobby and things t
hat I then thought were important took centre stage. Years passed, I saw myself through graduation, post graduation and employment. It was evident that a 9-5 job was making me very uncomfortable. Work came with a lot of lows and I somehow found my way back to baking. It helped me channelise my thoughts and kept me motivated. In no time, I was baking for family, friends and colleagues. This is what I wanted to do. I had to get back to my happy place. The need to be at par with other home bakers in the market required me to join a pastry school and hone my skills. Researching on pastry schools and saving up for over a year finally led me to The Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts, Bangalore. I remember having conversations with young professionals in the F&B industry and trying to assess the pros and cons that came with the profession. This is when a friend put me in touch with Chef Vinesh (Co-Founder and Executive Pastry Chef) in October 2015. I remember calling him up from office one day, sitting in a corner and whispering, making sure that my boss did not overhear our chat. His patience in answering all my queries and assurance about the course were reasons enough for me to put a fix on the institute. Things started falling in place and the next eight months were just a restless wait. My 6-month long journey at Lavonne has been a complete life changing experience. Life has taken a 360 degree turn for me after coming here. I have surprised myself in ways that even I could not have imagined. From being a messy short tempered student to being responsible for other students in class, I surely came a long way. My mind and hands have never been this calm and steady. Everything that I am today is because of the 5 months I spent at Lavonne in 2016. After a short stint as an Industrial Trainee at The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi I decided to revamp my bakery and start over. I am grateful for friends and family who took me in when I had minimal resources, helped me with branding my bakery and stood by me when they saw me almost drowning. MI CASA Kitchen was given birth over a cup of coffee and doughnuts made by yours truly. A tiny home bakery as of now, we sure hope to expand and establish ourselves nationwide in the coming years.