Cake House

“ In 2002,I visited an international food festival at Pragati Maidan and met a German chef who was making breads and other delicacies. I got very interested in his baking and stood watching him for an hour,” she says.

Seeing her interest,the chef invited her to attend a workshop at a hotel near Connaught Place for three days. “I learnt a lot during those three days. There were so many chefs from various hotels. It was a good learning experience and he told me that if I like doing this,then I should give it a serious thought,” she says.

So,Roy decided to give it a shot. One of her friends encouraged her to advertise in a magazine and within a few days,she got an order. “I was so nervous at that time. The order was for a chocolate cake. I was anxious about the response. But within half-an-hour,the man who had taken the cake,called me up and told me how much he liked it. I felt so relieved. He was also kind enough to refer me to a few of his friends,” she says. Soon,by word of mouth,people came to know of Fresh Bake and her business grew. “When I started in 2002,there were not many bakery shops in Gurgaon. There were some,but they were very high end and some very mediocre. I sensed the kind of need which was there in the market and priced my cakes accordingly,” says Roy.

The price of her cakes starts from Rs 450 per kg and the price of chocolates starts from Rs 500 per kg. One of her cakes which is very popular with her clients is chocolate truffle. Her ‘diabetic’ cake is another different kind of cake. “For this,I use Natura and there is a special kind of chocolate that is used in these cakes,known as diabetic chocolate,” she says. Roy gets a lot of orders from MNCs and corporates and now with Christmas approaching,she has her hands full. “I’ve already got orders for about 300-400 boxes of chocolates and 50 plum cakes,” she says.

This time of the year is busiest for Roy and others like her in the city. In Delhi,22-year-old Pavani Kaur who runs ‘Firefly’ from her home in Defence Colony,is hard at work. Kaur,who learnt baking from her mother,specialises in making gumpaste cakes,which are basically dough like icings used in cake decorations. Her cake that’s most popular is chocolate and butter cream. At Firefly,one can place an order for a customised cake,a theme cake,cup cakes and chocolates that come in about 30-40 flavours.

Sumana Roy can be contacted at 9811853737 and Pavani Kaur at firefly.india@hotmail.com