Showing posts with label Home Bakers Guild. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Bakers Guild. Show all posts

Friday, 23 January 2015

Meet the Bakers - Veena Sakthi

Just a day to go for the Grand Annual Bake sale and I am mighty sad that I won't be able to go. So, whoever is there, please eat a piece or two or three (or more), for me! Especially Veena's jamun cup cakes, pretty please?

So, let's get on with our chat with the soft spoken girl behind V's bakehouse

Q: What's the background to V's bakehouse?
A: After my masters I was working with a leading private sector bank for a while. I was not happy with the profile and ended up starting something on my own. :) Once I quit my job, I was trying my hands at cooking and later some baking and I got hooked with baking. And then this light bulb moment occurred and I knew what I wanted to do.I have been baking commercially for 2 yrs now.

Q: The photographs on your page are amazing
A: My husband is the one who shoots all my pics. I know nothing about photography.:)  He owns a DSLR and uses a soft box for shooting. I have been married for 3.5 yrs and my husband is my pillar of strength. He constantly motivates me to try out new stuff and encourages me to push myself outside my comfort zone.

Q: I've also noticed that your cakes have an amazing finish. The edges are smooth! Lot of patience eh?
A: Thank you :) But frankly speaking, I am the least patient person on the face of this earth. It takes some practice and hand control to get the perfect finish.

Q: What's going to be on your table this bake sale?
A: I am planning on having some creative stuffs on the table as well as things that have been added to my  menu recently. You can see some macarons, jamun cupcakes( eggless), Pasta stuffed buns, Jar desserts and some more :)

Q. If you want to try your hand at something different this year, what would it be?
A: I really really wanna bake an entremet by the end of this year.




























Get to meet Veena and also pick up some yummy cup cakes and macarons from Stall # 14, on 24th Jan, at the Grand Annual Bake Sale, Spaces, #1, Elliots Beach Road, Chennai

All the best! :) 

Sunday, 16 June 2013

The Baker Showcase - League of the Legends - Anniversary Special

A year since the Home Bakers Guild started; A year since my knowledge in cakes, cookies, frosting, fondants and all those terminologies expanded; A year since I made some good friends and a year since I started experimenting with small bakes.

Most of all, a year that saw oodles of talent, tremendous perseverance, some great knowledge sharing, instant brownies to elaborate wedding cakes, bouquets to theme cakes, appreciation, encouragement, record breaking likes and comments - the Guild saw it all. It's now that time of the year, the Anniversary Showcase special - The League of the Legends.

10 talented and experienced bakers come together for the largest bake sale ever. For those of you who have already been part of these events, I need say no more. For the rest, don't fret that you've missed the earlier editions. Be there on the 22nd, at Sandy's, Ganapathy Colony, Off Cenotaph Road, Chennai at 4 pm. The venue is one of my favorite places in the city - great food and a fantastic property.

I'm super proud to have been associated with this event as a blogger and volunteer ever since it all began. KP Balakumar - Thank you for the opportunity and here's wishing you the best! You've been doing a grand job and we know the amount of crazy background work it takes to set up the event and run the guild. You deserve all the success.

Here's a quick look at some of the bakers that are going to whip up a storm



Maaria Kulsum Tanveer - Adoniya

Does this lady need an introduction! An expert in theme cakes, Maaria is mighty thrilled to be part of this showcase. She has been part of many other bake sales but this is her first time with HBG and she claims she's in jitters (like we all believe that). 

Cup cakes, Ferrero Rocher cake and my favorite Espresso Cheesecake brownies and Red "Velvet" cakes are also part of this showcase. 









Karthika Shravanthi - Bakeman Begins 

The IT Pro turned future Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Chef is all set to wow us at this showcase before she heads off to learn the nuances of pastry making. 

Her last showcase was a sell out. And she plans to add healthy and gluten free bakes to her menu this time. Says Karthika "I've worked on all the feedback from the last showcase; so hopefully this one is going to be much better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed". 

Well, so are we. Good luck for the showcase and we hope to see you soon in a different avtar.







Rose Anne George - Oven 180 degrees 

The ever-smiling soft spoken Rose is famous for her French macarons. I've had the chance (the advantages of living close by) to taste her Dulce de leche cheese cake and May I say I was hooked. 

She's bringing some summer fruit flavors this time, eggless and otherwise, cheese cake platters, tarts and a lavender cake among others.

All the best Rose. I look forward to grabbing those blue macarons :-)






Divya Ninan-Eapen - Tangerine's Kitchen 

This gorgeous baker is bringing a whole load of twisted / braided / stuffed breads, not to mention the hot favorites - the choco chip cake and cream cheese cake. The vanilla bean pound cake, which I am eagerly looking forward to, is going to be on the menu. 

Mini quiches, mini cheesecakes and a little kiddie counter are going to be her specialties this time. 

Divya has her home-studio where she paints on sarees, stoles, tee shirts and the likes. You can check it out here - https://www.facebook.com/Rachel.HandpaintedFibreArt


Can't wait, Divya. All the best and see you soon



















Neha and Sapna - The sweetest thing

Sisters in arms, Neha and Sapna are participating in their first showcase. This maiden venture is going to see them bring an assortment of "sweetest" things, with the specialties being chai cup cakes and bread and butter pudding. 

They say that "the sweetest thing" is to make their customers happy! :-)

All the best girls. Bring it on.








Watch this space for the post event pictures and articles on the 22nd of this month. If you don't make it to the venue, all you can do is drool at the pictures :-)







Saturday, 2 February 2013

The Great Baker Showcase - Season 3 - Chennai - Grand Finale

The day was here, the day that we were all eagerly awaiting to lay our hands on the amazing goodies that we hitherto only drooled over at the pictures the bakers posted on the showcase page on Facebook.

The venue was a fine choice - the huge auditorium at the Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Anderson Road, Egmore. The event oganized by The Home Bakers Guild, co-sponsored by Crimson Chakra, Gormei Market and Passionate Baking not to mention the Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science, was a huge hit once again.

14 talented bakers played to their key strengths and displayed an array of cakes and savories and the customers were spoilt for choice. Keeping up with the tradition, the first baker sold out in an hour. Karthika Shravanti of Bakeman Begins was the first one to sell out and she had plenty time to go around the stalls and indulge. Slowly the rest of the bakers were also selling out. The biriyani and fish pickle brought by Tasneem Aunty sold out in under 15 minutes. And Sara and Girija Menon were not to be left behind. The citrus drizzle cake and the other items from the Soul Food Sisters vanished in no time. I was pure lucky to get my hands on the choicest pieces!

Ayeesha and Divya Ninan followed suit and sold out. Gazeenasulu also cleared her table along with Meghana Karthik and Veena Sakthi. Priya, Nanditha, Yalini and Suzie had hardly a few pieces remaining.

Bakers - Take a bow - You surpass yourselves every time and set a new standard!!

The venue would have seen over a 1000 people drop by to fill their bags :)

This event was a total sell out and part of proceeds go to charity. And I am extremely proud to have been associated with this event right from day 1.

I also had the opportunity to meet and interact with Zenobia Currimbhoy and Dr. Richa Agrawal - Asst Professor - Marketing, IIT Madras. As I went around, I met Rashmee, Anusha, Linu, Sangeetha, Ayesha (Ma Baker) and a load of other bakers who have now become good friends!

This event would not have been successful without the effort of all the volunteers - who put up posters all over town, who helped the bakers set up the table and running around asking if anyone needed help and help pack the bags. There's one special volunteer that I would like to mention here - 8 year old Nayonika. She's Rashmi Ramakrishnan's daughter, the ever-smiling and ever-helpful little darling. Nayonika blogs at http://kidscenter.wordpress.com/ - Do check out her blog and her amazing photographs!

KP Balakumar - Do take a bow - you have done it again! Look forward to the next one.:)










Please look up my Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall for the rest of the pics!



Monday, 28 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Girija Menon

A mother of 2 wonderful daughters, one a star baker herself (Nanditha Sashidharan), I am very pleased to introduce to you all - the lady that completes the trio of The Soul Food Sisters - Girija Menon.

Before we read on, a quick note on The Soul Food Sisters - Tasneem Ayub, Sara Koshy and Girija Menon comprise this trio of Hot Mommas (Oh that was the initial name). They are also called KP's Angels ;-) But my favorite name for these three talented bakers / chefs is the name put forth by Sandesh Reddy - Bake Maamis. Why, Oh Why, isn't this name the official one! *grins devilishly*

In conversation with Girija Menon:

D: A star baker for a daughter :-)
G: Quite happy to rest on her laurels.  Yes, this time it is more of a challenge as I cannot piggyback onto Sugar Hut :D

D: So, what are you bringing to the showcase?
G: Quiches, both the classic and a mushroom one, date cream cheese pie, apple strudel muffins, a Mediterranean roasted vegetable lasagna, etc.

D: So, how did baking come into being?
G: After I got married I moved to Ras Al Khaimah, a sleepy emirate (UAE).  It was history repeating itself as there were no proper restaurants or bakeries.So, following family tradition I decided to make my own cakes as the ones that were available constituted a gateau of sorts with the famous 'Dream Whip' and some tinned fruit. So, began my tryst with baking.  My girls used to come up with these impossible demands -castle, train, Disney land, farm , etc. I remember Nanditha crying to me as her friend said that the Dennis the Menace cake didn't look like him. Haha! Planning birthday parties for over 50 people was quite a challenge and since I had to do it all by myself, I had to have a complete schedule. I have to say it was enjoyable as it gave me a chance to try out different things. After the girls stopped having birthday parties , it was more of tarts, pies, etc. But I loved trying crazy things like make my own sun dried (oven) tomatoes, harvested from my garden and making pesto. My idea of unwinding on a weekend was to try different kinds of cuisines, Italian being my most favourite. The taste of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, basil.... has my senses reeling.

D: So, other than baking what do you do?
G: Gardening, reading, amateur dramatics, tennis, and my latest one is dabbling in aromatherapy.


That's the pretty momma with her prettier daughters. Can you believe Girija Menon, in her first attempt at baking, forgot to add baking powder to the cake mix? :) And, she loves watching movies - top of her list being The King's Speech and Barfi!

















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Saturday, 26 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Sara Koshy

I should perhaps title this post - Meet the Expert (or MasterChef) :-). I've been part of a couple of her cooking classes (Desserts Delight and a trial class) and she made some of the complicated desserts seemingly very simple.

So I shot her some questions and here they are!

D: A little bit about your family?
S: Engineer husband but he now works in an university. My son is in the hospitality industry but no, not cooking. They are not just my guinea pigs but also my harshest critics.

D: Cooking / Baking - The how and why?
S: It was the cookery classes in school that got me interested, my mother is a fabulous cook and I learnt a lot from her. The interest in baking was because of a young man with magic in his fingers who taught me the basics and got me interested in chocolate work. I learnt cake decorating from Shyamala Sivaraman and also did a few courses in Singapore.

D: Do you remember the first class you conducted?
S: Yes I do and was so nervous, that I was relieved when it was over!

D: What's your favorite dessert?
S: I love mousse cakes and pralet. And I love to conduct dimsum and Chinese classes.

D: Hobbies (and no, not cooking / baking)?
S: In my past life, I was an English teacher and then a copy editor. Mindless, unlimited TV viewing if I could. I used to be a voracious reader but not anymore. I'm one of those people who can't put down a book until I've finished reading it. Not good for business so now it's only the newspapers.

D: What's your advice for budding bakers?
S: Follow recipes, use the best ingredients and always keep your workspace and kitchen clean.

D: Your shot glass classes are quite famous! 
S: Yes, it took me a year to come up with that class. I needed recipes that could be made round the year. So much trial and error went into this one course. And the tasting- ugh- all that sugar! But I guess the result was sweet.

D: A few words on HBG?
S: One day I found that my nephew had signed me on. My day now begins and ends with HBG. It's resource-centric and absolutely amazing to see the wealth of talent on it.



If you want your wish to come true, don't miss Sara's Christmas Bake classes. One of the recipes, the Christmas pudding, requires everyone in the house to stir the pudding and make a wish. Few months later, two of them called Sara to tell her that their wish had come true! Incredible, isn't it? :)

Sara's blog is at http://www.baketales.com/.



















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Friday, 25 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Divya Ninan-Eapen

Tonight's episode features another favorite baker of mine - the pretty-eyed ever-smiling Divya Ninan-Eapen of Tangerine's Kitchen

In conversation with Divya

DI: Tangerine - a name that I really love! Why did you pick out this name?
DN: I have had a food blog since 2007 that goes by the name Tangerine's Kitchen. That was my space where I had all the freedom to express my views regarding recipes handed to me, recipes from books and the web that have been tried and tested in my kitchen. I have also done book reviews which publishers have sent me. Along came baking on a commercial scale and I stuck on with the name. Tangerine because I love the colour.

DI: Your daughter also helps you in the kitchen?
DN: Yes, she is my little helper when I bake. She helps me with lining my cupcake trays when I get these bulk orders,counting the numbers and the little jobs that come with baking commercially.

DI: I've seen some of the sarees you've painted. Is that a hobby?
DN: Oh no! That's full time. I have a studio called "Rachel", based at my home. We design Indian textiles. Handpainting on sarees and dupattas is just one of the many work that we do on textiles. Ever since I got done with my Masters in Fine Arts, I have been a Textile Designer freelancing for handloom companies.

DI: Wow! So when does baking happen?
DN:  I find time for baking amidst my work. Baking keeps my work stress at bay. I knead bread to vent out all the frustrations that come with work.

DI: I met you first at the "Bake for Sandys" event. You stole our hearts & palates. :)
DN: Ah yes! It was an event that I read on the guild. It was a should I or shouldn't I thing considering the number of talented home bakers we have in Chennai. A dear person in my life told me, opportunity seldom knocks twice! But even when I reached Sandys the cakes that the other bakers had brought - all frosted and dressed well gave me the assurance I had no hope. But I won. Two of my bakes, Lemon blueberry yoghurt cake and the Lamingtons of the three I took were chosen and the rest is history.

DI: How has HBG inspired you in creating new recipes?
DN: A lot. Rather than recipes, I would say a source of inspiration for ideas and help. I always twist a recipe to suit my palate. Because I know that recipes you find in books and on the web always have that secret ingredient that is not revealed.

DI: What do you specialize in?
DN:  Homemade bread, quiches, pies, cookies and cakes or to sum it up, simple homely comfort food! Dips, sauces and preserves too.




Divya  wants to someday have a store that resmebles the British cottages something like those at her hometown - Nilgiris. A store for her textiles with a dainty little cafe for her homebaked goodness.

Psst: she still gets calls asking if this is Tangerine restaurant! Wonder how she handles them with all the patience in the world! :)



























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Thursday, 24 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Tasneem Ayub

Wasn't I waiting for this opportunity! To write about one of my favorite people, an amazing cook, a very warm and humble person, eager to learn even at this age, a wonderful human being who has no airs despite what she has achieved; I've been one of the fortunate recipients of her love and affection (and chiding too at times), not to mention the yummy food each time I dropped by announced / unannounced.

Oh! did I mention her amazing sense of fashion? You have to see her closet to believe it!

In conversation with Tasneem Aunty (as she's fondly called)

D: A little bit about your family, Aunty?
T: My father was a businessman and my mother was the HOD (Eng Literature) and later the principal of Ethiraj College. I am the youngest of 7 :)

D: So when did your initiation into cooking happen?
T: I perhaps learnt to hold a ladle even before I learnt to read / write :). The 11 am meal used to be my favorite; I used to cook up a storm making lamb chops in a mud pot and all this was made on firewood.

D: Your inspiration?
T: My mother, most definitely; She would ensure that we always ate healthy with the choicest fresh ingredients; She'd sometimes source the products herself and prepare the best food for us. Then, my brother who was a big foodie and a great cook himself, was a big influence on my cooking. My brothers and sisters who always used to bully me around and make me do all the work ;-) . And of course, my husband and son who are the guinea pigs for all my recipe trials. Not to mention, Sandhesh Reddy, Chef and entrepreneur!

D: Wow! That's some inspiration. So what are your passions other than cooking?
T: I love gardening and love to potter around. (Psst: She's crazy about collecting some lovely cutlery and crockery. The collection is so huge that you could almost display them in a museum)

D: Your husband - Ayub uncle and your son Feroze are racers, national champions! What's the dinner table conversation like?
T: Ha ha! Do you even need to ask! Of course, it's CARS.

D: Oh! But I remember uncle said in an interview on Star Sports, that you always talk about food at the dinner table! 
T: Haha! It's always cars and it annoys me to no end! My yelling falls on deaf ears :-(

D: What's your forte as far as cooking is concerned?
T: My forte has been biriyanis and the typical muslim sweets / desserts. This Ramzan I'd made 12 different varieties!

D: How has HBG inspired you?
T: If not for KP who nudged me into this, this would have never happened! :)



Tasneem Aunty is also a big fan of organic food and AMC cookware. She'd applied for catering college, but the conservative family background made her mother hide the acceptance form! ;-) 

She also blogs at http://ammeeskitchen.blogspot.in and http://theeffervescentcook.blogspot.in

To taste the amazing badam sweet and khajur made by Tasneem Aunty, please come to the Baker Showcase on Feb 2nd.












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Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Cheshta Malik

The next episode of Meet the Bakers features Choco-lately yours - Cheshta Malik. Well, that's how she signs off her emails :) I had the opportunity to meet this warm and vivacious baker over a food walk last weekend!

In conversation with Cheshta Malik

D: Sweet Story?
C: The Sweet Story was born out of our passion n love for food by the bonfire on a holiday. We started in December 2012.. So we're fairly young. Travel follows closely behind food in our list of passions in life. On our journeys we love to experiment with food and get our hands on exotic ingredients. To be able to use these ingredients and present our versions of various foods to the world was also one of the pushes for the sweet story's birth! ;)

D: What do you specialize in?
C: We specialize in hand crafted customized gourmet chocolates,flavored and filled. Themed chocolates with toppers is our USP! Our menu also includes desserts, cupcakes n a few savory goodies. We love to dabble in untried waters, hence you'll find some quirky but nonetheless delicious combinations on our menu.

D: You did a soft launch at Pizza Republic sometime last month.
C: Oh yes! The launch itself was a great opportunity where we got amazing response from CFGians and PR walk-in customers. Orders started coming in n we had our hands full over Christmas.

D: You went on air with RJ Sano. How was the experience?
C: Though I was a little concerned since there was no briefing about the show, it actually turned about to be exciting and a lot of fun as it allowed me to speak naturally and just enjoy the whole experience.

D: How has HBG and the showcase helped you with the sweet story?
C: HBG has been absolutely great - an inspiration, a place to learn and connect with others in the trade. It totally rocks!

D: A hotelier for a husband. What does it feel like, especially with your baking? ;-) (Abhijit works with Hilton and I had the opportunity to meet him as well! )
C: He is my full-time taster, my sound board, my motivation and my strength. :-)

D: And how about the little one? How do you manage the baking?
C: My son is now two years old and the hardest part about the job is to keep his hands off the goodies! Though it sometimes is a challenge to work, but I manage to find my way around, working when he's sleeping or keeping him occupied otherwise when I'm busy.



Am ex-banker, a MBA in HR and Marketing, Cheshta also writes about food and travel for travel magazines. She enjoys cooking, eating, painting and loves anything creative. 

Come and be a part of the sweet story, at the baker showcase, on Feb 2, 2013. See below for a small sample on what you can expect at the showcase!















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Monday, 21 January 2013

Meet the Bakers - Karthika Shravanthi

As we move into the next season of the Baker Showcase, we bring you a scoop on each of the most talented and creative bakers who are taking part in this showcase. We continue the tradition and today's blog post will feature perhaps the youngest baker in this showcase - Bakeman aka Karthika Shravanthi.

In conversation with Karthika, who graduated last year from SSN College of Engineering

D: Bakeman - A big batman fan? :)
K: I started learning baking during the time when The Dark Knight Rises movie released! Plus I am a Nolan fan :D When I posted the pictures on FB , I named the album Bakeman Begins , which eventually became the name of my home baked goodies :)

D: You are open only on weekends and Mondays. What's the funda?
K:  I work as a Software Engineer in Bangalore. I travel to Chennai every weekend. More like a weekend entrepreneur. So Bakeman Begins is my weekend work :) Like most of them, I am also a midnight baker. I make use of that 48 hrs(weekend) to the fullest ! I start baking as early as 4 30 am just after reaching Chennai from Bangalore :P

D: How has Home Bakers Guild and this showcase helped you in your baking / promoting your business?
K: Home Bakers Guild is all the reason I am on Facebook. I always say, I log in to FB to check out HBG more than my profile :D. HBG is a wealth of knowledge and experience. Tons of thanks to KP for that. Because of HBG , my learning curve that taken a steep rise. It is such an inspiration.

I am also extremely thankful to 2 people at this point. Marina Charles (My first Baking Instructor ) and Joonie Tan for making me who I am today.

D: A  bit about your dancing?
K: I started learning Bharatnatyam at the age of 9. I did my Arangetram when I was 13. Regular performer in Natyanjali Dance festival ,Chidambaram till I graduated. I was expecting to have a career in dance, but later my focus shifted to work in Bangalore.

D: And your first commercial order would be?
K: This Diwali was the first time when I decided I would put up a menu and take bulk orders from friends, family & colleagues. Trust me I had no idea how much effort it required single-handedly finishing up all the promised orders. I applied for a couple of days off from work and traveled to Chennai (carrying all the necessary ingredients) that I usually buy from Bangalore. When I consolidated all the orders, I realized that except for 2-3 orders all of them were for my colleagues in Bangalore. I burnt my midnight oil and managed to whip up about 80 muffins, 50 cake pops , a hundred cookies, tartlets and kilos of sponges. I still cant believe I brought them all to Bangalore all by myself. Many thanks to the SRM bus driver who helped me with it ! :)



A huge Dexter and Nolan fan, from my alma mater, I am super happy to know that Karthika and I have quite a bit in common :)

Look foward to your yummilicious goodies very soon - at The Baker Showcase!









And if you want to grab some of those mouth watering delicacies, please drop in to Asan Memorial School on Feb 2nd between 2 and 6 pm!




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Saturday, 13 October 2012

The Baker Showcase - Chennai - Grand Finale - 2

All those weeks leading up to this day - this very day, and finally those few hours were all that decided what we call a successful event!! I'd decided I wouldn't eat anything here today (Shhh.. I'm on a diet) and told my friends as much.

But.. but... who can resist those yummy macaroons or the cheesecakes or the pannacotta or the cup cakes - Boy.. we bought, ate, bought, ate and did nothing else!

Preethika and I landed at Crimson Chakra (venue partner) at 3 pm sharp. Some tables were ready to go, and a few diners were mulling over their lunch, wondering why these mad folks (Oh that would be KP, Nikhil, Preethika, Nanditha and myself) were running around like crazy!

The bakers started coming in, and we started helping them set up the tables. Uma and Preethika helped set the tables, Aarti was the bouncer (not letting anyone in before 4 pm), and Nanditha and I were running around to check if anyone needed anything. The 2 bald gentlemen (no offence) Nikhil and KP were at hand getting things organized.

I quickly stepped out to get some air, and I witnessed this. The crowd, patiently waiting, had actually formed a line (almost gave me a feel of Vaikunda Ekadhasi Sorga Vaasal and all we had to do was a "jerugandi" :P :P)



3 hours flew and we were running pillar to post to find out if the bakers and customers needed anything - from getting change for Rs 100 (Rashmee, I hope that helped) to reuniting a crying baby with her mom who almost forgot her daughter in a desperate attempt to buy the goodies before they were sold out ;-)

The bakers had whipped up a storm - lots of exotica and sinful delights - I think I am going to have run that marathon to burn off all that calories (Good luck Rashmee and Sangeetha for the Dec 2 marathon)

It was a fantastic team effort and a wonderful show yet again by KP Balakumar and Nanditha Sashidharan - keeping their sanity intact amidst a lot of insanity and craziness. Equally amazing was the enthusiastic show put up by the bakers and some absolutely organized & disciplined crowd.

A big thanks to Crimson Chakra and Nikhil - The Owner, The Man, for being the venue partner.

A sizeable amount was contributed to the NGOs - Deepam and Sahaayika. All the bakers contributed 10% of their sale, and thank you Ekta for contributing your entire sale amount today. That was super generous!

Obviously, there's lots more that went behind the scenes - today and all other days leading up to this event, and to that, a big toast to KP and Nanditha - Here's to lots more of these super successes! Cheers!

That just about sums up the entire event and the evening! (It goes without saying that some of us had dinner at Crimson Chakra :D)

PS: All photographs will be uploaded to the Guild. 


Friday, 12 October 2012

Meet the Bakers - Sai J Rajeev

Bharani - no the syllabus is not complete, not yet ! :)

Psst: This post goes in the old format, as Sai's goodies get eaten before even she could take some pictures :D ;-)

Sai is a professional tennis player turned full time baker, who once did forget to add flour to her cup cakes. Of course they did rise because of the baking soda, but popped into oblivion when you touched them. :-)  Having always been interested in cooking and baking, she would devour all the cooking shows on TV although she had never entered the kitchen until recently.

Read on!

D: Baking?
SJR: I have been dabbling in baking for a few years now but the idea to actually try and sell to people only germinated in 2010 and that, of course is a whole different ball game For the last year, I have been taking orders and am really enjoying it.

D: Specialties?
SJR: Well, I’d like to think that my signature dishes are my Chewy Fudgy Double Chocolate Brownie and my quiches.

D: How has HBG and the showcase helped you?
SJR: I think HBG itself is such a brilliant idea. Getting to meet or chat with so many other people that are doing pretty much the same thing you are doing is great. Also the fact that at the tap of a button you can get advice on baking is nice. The Showcase too is a fab idea and such a great way to advertise your stuff.


D: Where do you source your ingredients from?
SJR: Well, usually from Walltax Road, Nilgiris or Amma Naana. Of course, there are times when I buy stuff when I travel abroad too.

D: Future plans? 
SJR: My dream has always been to have a small, rustic sort of cafe of my own here in Chennai




Signs off Sai, Food has, in recent times, become one of my passions in life and baking something and watching your friends and loved ones wolfing them down is an absolute delight and makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Good luck for the showcase! See ya tomorrow! :-)

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Meet the Bakers - Ekta Anand Surana

The count down begins. 4 more days to go for the much awaited Baker Showcase. And here I am, juggling quite a few things, including a run to the passport office!

As we all think we do a lot of work and there's no time, here's one girl who has done so much and continues to do more. You amaze me every second.

Her kids think she's a super mum and her kids' friends think that if she opens a bakery, it would be 8 star (one more than a 7 star). And I think, Ekta, you are a super-girl. I bow to thee. I almost have this dialog running in my head "jahampana tussi great ho!" :D

Read on to see what all Ekta does, besides looking pretty! :)


Monday, 8 October 2012

Meet the Bakers - Yalini and Sujani

Less than a week to go, and I am already on a sugar high. And what's more, I get to write about one  two of my favorite bakers. Having already gorged on what this pretty duo bake, I can only say that I want more. 

Totally down to earth and warm people, they'd go to any extent to ensure you are a happy customer. I say this because, Yalini's husband personally delivered a cake for me, all the way from Vadapalani, despite the heavy rain! And to that, I am supremely thankful! 

I just can't wait to see you girls at the showcase. *hugggs*


Sunday, 7 October 2012

Meet the Bakers - Priya NM

I just finished a slice of vanilla cake (oh yeah I made at home, in the pressure cooker, using the Pillsbury ready mix) and sat down to finish this piece.

And now, I'm glad I don't bake because not only did I end up licking the batter bowl and spoon clean, but I also managed to eat 2 slices and I am sure if I started baking, I'd end up eating everything. Hats off to you bakers! :-)

So tonight, we meet Priya, who has been baking for quite a while now. Her daughter, Hansika, is a sweet little thing and follows mommy everywhere! :-)



Friday, 5 October 2012

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Meet the Bakers - Meghana Karthik

I am back, with a brand new series on the bakers. We are running close to the showcase now, and I wanted to start off this series with one of my favorite bakers - Meghana Karthik of Fresh Baked Goodness. A warm, funny and sensitive person as also an amazing baker, today we meet this filmmaker turned baker!

PS: Click on the right arrow to move through the slides :)

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

The Baker Showcase - Chennai Chapter - Part 2

Chennai - Bangalore - Chennai - No that's not a flight route. It's the Baker Showcase event that has been happening over the past few months. (While at this, I do hope I can have many more cities to add to that list ;-) KP - are you listening?)

Crimson Chakra + Bakers + to-die-for-cakes + Saturday evening + care-two-hoots-about-my-diet + Friends + Home Bakers Guild = Sin + Heaven (What a combination *drool*) .

Mark your calenders - be there - Gates open only at 4 pm (not early, not late :P)

Keep watching this space for a brand new series on the bakers !