After a five-year study stint in the United Kingdom, where she completed her undergraduate degree from Warwick Business School and her Masters in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, Chandani Shah returned to India aspiring to give wings to her passion project – Bliss Patisserie. 

Bliss is a unique dessert catering and cake company that specializes in highly customized projects. The idea is to deliver an experience to the customer cantered around a chosen theme and customized using the highest quality ingredients from around the world. As espoused by Chandani “Our desserts are innovative and minuscule works of art.”

Chandani’s experience at LCB, London

Chandani passed out with her patisserie diploma from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2015. Elaborating on her LCB stint she says “It was a truly unique experience, where we worked under MichelinStar Chefs and trained in the strictest French culinary arts. The atmosphere in the kitchens was highly charged right from 7am to 7pm, which gave us a thorough training of running and setting up a restaurant kitchen.  We were on our feet from morning to evening, around a frenzy of activity, and it was those few months that shaped my energy and attitude towards this profession. Creativity is inborn but it was here that we learnt what it truly takes to be a chef - patience while waiting for the dough to rise and optimism through many a burnt batch of cakes. LCB used a hands-on, practical approach where we were encouraged to focus on skills needed in the operational areas of business and how to engage in the discipline of a professional kitchen environment. It was here that I learnt that food if hygienically prepared and aesthetically served can be turned into a satiating and sustainable business”

Chandani’s pick

Upon being asked what she loves to prepare, this food entrepreneur shares “I love making our edible sugar-paste flowers. I enjoy the process as there’s no mechanical work involved. When you sculpt each petal and thoughtfully place each piece, you end up with something that sparks emotion and creates an immediate connect. It is not assembly line work. Each tiny piece has been hand-sculpted based on visual or real life reference…quite similar to the way a person would draw what they see”

Product spread

Bliss Patisserie has a wide product range of confections and chocolates. Their specialty is customized theme cakes for children’s birthdays. Chandani enthusiastically shares “Although I have been trained in classical French baking, yet we have adapted quintessential western staples like macaroons to Indian flavours such as Paan, Mango and Chilli; and teacakes with chai-infused sponges.” Upon being asked whather muse is pat comes the reply “Living and studying in London, travelling during those years has been one of the strongest sources of inspiration for me. Another thing that really resonates with me is Julia Child’s memoir ‘My Life in France’, where she talks about the experiences she had and trials she faced while attending Le Cordon Bleu herself in Paris.” Now that’s an intellectual food entrepreneur we have, don’t we!

Future plans

Chandani intends to open up her own concept bakery in a trendy and accessible location. As experience aswell as hardwork is vital to this industry; she feels her experience in Hyatt Hotel’s patisserie kitchen and supplying the entire dessert menu of a café will be a value add-on. Thanks to the same she now has an overview of the modus operandi of a commercial kitchen in India and its operational challenges. This has made her “better equipped to deal with the challenges of inventory management, employees’ behaviour and satisfaction, decisions regarding suppliers and other procurement issues.”

Chandani signs off with “My advice to all the young readers who would like to convert their creative ambitions into reality is to organize, organize, and organize. I am a self-confessed list-making junkie who believes that the business side of creativity is equally important for any kind of start-up to be sustainable. Technically speaking, listing your entity, filing regular balance sheets, constantly reviewing expenses, revenue, working capital, stock will not only help you maintain a sufficient cash flow but also secure a loan/investment or take advantage of the government schemes, exemptions and benefits in place specifically for small businesses.”

Best Seller Recipe: Rose and Pistachio Tea Cake

Ingredients

Condensed Milk   - Half Cup

Oil – Half Cup

Milk – Three-fourth Cup

Rose Syrup – Two Tablespoons 

All Purpose Flour – One-and-a-half Cup

PowderedSugar – Three-fourth Cup

Baking Powder – One Teaspoon

Baking Soda – One-fourth Teaspoon

Method

1. Sieve the dry ingredients and keep aside
2. Mix oil into the condensed milk until smooth
3. Make rose flavoured milk using any rose syrup and milk
4. Gently fold in the wet mixture to the dry ingredients
5. Batter should be at dropping consistency
6. Bake at 160 degrees for 30 minutes and serve