The proud owner of Le15 Patisserie and a renowned pastry chef Pooja Dhingra launched her 3rd book – Can’t believe Its Eggless – here at Goa Marriot on July 20th 2019. The Macaron Queen is known for her scrumptious baked products especially the macarons. Her earlier books authored by her are named – ‘The Big Book of Treats’ and ‘The Wholesome Kitchen’.
Pooja’s book ‘Can’t Believe its Eggless’ is a heartfelt dedication to Oprah Winfrey. What inspired her to author this book was the no-eggs days that every Indian home has which are Tuesdays and Thursdays. So while growing up, she tried adapting recipes accordingly because she wanted to bake on those days. When she realized that there were plenty of people who are either don’t consume eggs for various reasons, she saw an opportunity here to author a book. The book is about those things, and has over 100 recipes which is super easy to make.
The Books is now available at all book stores near you. So if you are a non-eggy person, go ahead and get this book. You will be delighted.
About Chef Pooja Dhingra
Pooja was fond of baking since childhood. She was inspired by her mother’s cooking and use to experiment in the kitchen with her. So, when she enrolled at a law school in Mumbai she got her calling to take up a hospitality and management course at the César Ritz School in Le Bouveret, Switzerland. Post her graduation from César Ritz school, she begun training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. That’s where she learnt the art and experience making macaron for the very first time.
She has mastered the art of making the perfect macaron from the renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. She mastered here culinary skills under the fine mentorship of Chef Deguignet.
After completing her course, Dhingra returned to Mumbai and opened her first patisserie in March 2010 with primary focus on creating Parisian styled culinary experiences in India. In 2016, Pooja expanded her enterprise, opening a new store – Le15 Café – in South Mumbai. And then there was no stopping her. Her signature desserts named after French women were featured across the media and became the talk of the town. The cafe’s menu includes simple, savoury food and main course dishes.
Le 15 now has 4 stores in Mumbai in Colaba, Bandra, Goregaon and Lower Parel. The flagship store is located in Colaba and is now developing a pan-India online delivery system. You can place orders from Le15 website from anywhere in India and the famous lip-smacking Le15 Patisserie’s macaroons will be delivered at your doorstep in 24 hours.
For the 32-year-old pastry-chef-turned entrepreneur, the mural serves as a reminder of her goal for 2020: climb Japan’s highest mountain. She fondly recalls when she was reading Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight, which talked about how, in Japanese culture, climbing Fuji is a spiritual experience and you do it to celebrate an achievement. This inspired her to communicate this sentiment with four members in her team, saying if they grow their business to ‘X’ number by 2020, they will climb Mt Fuji.
At such a young age, Pooja has accomplished a place for her in the field which is dominated by men. Amongst here accolades stands her selection by Forbes India for their ‘30 under 30’ achievers list for 2014 and the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list. Today she is one of the most admired food influencers in India and recently reached 3 million followers on Instagram.
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