Back in 2010, Chef Pooja Dhingra decided to foray into food business, against the odds and astray from her intended career path. Today, with an exquisite range of macaroons and a host of exciting French desserts, Mumbai welcomed her with open arms and the rest of the country celebrates her as the youngest celebrity chef in India. Pooja’s clientele today is a mix of college going youth, Bollywood celebrities, and corporations. Her venture, ‘Le15 Patisserie’ is unarguably one of the most sought after baking studios in the country, and she is driven to make it bigger and better.
Pooja Dhingra hailing from a Mangalorean-Punjabi family of food lovers grew up with a very close attachment to food. Her mother Seema ran a baking business from home. Her father Jaikishin and brother Varun are also restaurant owners. Pooja jokes that on any given day their home fridge is never short of butter chicken or pastries.
Pooja went to Bombay Scottish School and then studied at Jai Hind College for two years. However, she was yet to find what her true calling was. “I thought I wanted to be a lawyer and joined Law School. That lasted for exactly two weeks. I realized that law wasn’t for me and moved to Switzerland to study hospitality management at Cesar Ritz Colleges,” says the ace pastry chef who, while studying in Switzerland, figured that her true passion was in the pastry kitchen. This led to her moving to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to study and finally get a diploma in French pastry.
Studying in Paris, introduced Pooja to a side of pastry which she knew was not available in India. “I had never had a macaroon or seen one before Paris. I always wondered why no one has done it. I made it my mission to make macaroons once I moved back,” she says. On her return, a determined Pooja started baking a lot from home. She then perfected recipes along with friends from culinary school who flew down to help her set up a kitchen. Mumbai could now boast of world class macaroons, courtesy Pooja. Starting up was no cakewalk.
Equipped with the best of knowledge and a strong will, Pooja was all of 23 when she began her entrepreneurial journey. Being a young girl in a male dominated industry was not easy. “Even finding suppliers or real estate agents who wanted to work with me was tough. As the years have gone by, the challenges keep changing – from day to day operations to scaling a business,” she says
Equipped with the best of knowledge and a strong will, Pooja was all of 23 when she began her entrepreneurial journey. Being a young girl in a male dominated industry was not easy. “Even finding suppliers or real estate agents that wanted to work with me was tough. As the years have gone by the challenges keep changing – from day to day operations to scaling a business,” she says. Undeterred, she strode ahead and Le 15 now has 4 branches in Mumbai.
Not one to brood over problems in life, Pooja’s mantra is to learn on the go and deal with issues as they come. Pooja has always been up for a challenge and makes it a point to set up a next-to-impossible challenge for herself every year unrelated her work affairs. Next year she hopes to climb Mount Fuji.
Starting up in India has been a bittersweet experience for this young entrepreneur. “The young market and large market spell enough room for innovation and new ideas. Growing disposable income also works to an entrepreneur’s advantage,” feels Pooja. A high turnover of skilled labour and bureaucracy on the other hand are some cons she states. Being an entrepreneur is one thing, being a woman entrepreneur is another. Talking about her experience, Pooja says “the journey as an entrepreneur and business owner was not easy especially when since I am a young woman in a male dominated industry, people tend to not take me seriously.”
Recently having hit a milestone of 3 million followers on instagram, Pooja is recognised as a major influencer in the social media landscape of the country. On speaking to Business Goa, Pooja said that she does not like the word ‘influencer,’ her goals on social media is to make people smile and be as authentic as she can with her fans while also using it as a platform to showcase her work and her team.
Not only is Pooja a celebrated chef and ‘influencer’ but also a self published author with three books to her name. Her works include Big Book of Treats and The Wholesome Kitchen: Nourish. Energize. Indulge; and her most recent Can’t Believe It’s Eggless! released last year in December reimagining popular French recipes without egg and other unique substitutes to suit Indian households.
Having already accomplished so much at the age of 33, going forward Pooja only hopes to see her operations grow and branch out to different parts of the country. Inspired by the Picasso of Pastry, Pierre Herme, Pooja hopes to bring a taste of Paris and a taste of happiness in everything she makes
