Profile

A Versatile Baker & Entrepreneur! Aditi Handa, Chief Baker and Founder-Owner , The Baker’s Dozen Mumbai

A master of many trades, Chief Baker, Four grain Fanatic and FounderOwner of The Baker’s Dozen - Aditi Handa has been trained as a Psychologist, HR expert and a Baker! In short, an impressive concoction of skill sets drives The Baker’s Dozen, an establishment of artisanal bread without preservatives in Mumbai, India. After honing her skills at The French Culinary Institute (now International Culinary Center) in New York City, she decided to bring authentic artisan bread to India in the way it should be: genuine, healthy and affordable. A stickler for systems, Aditi has everything planned out in Excel, from baking times to email reminders. With the help of ICC’s chef-instructors, she developed hundreds of bread recipes for The Baker’s Dozen; and has opened its outlet in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Ahemdabad. In an exclusive interview with Sharmila Chand, Aditi Handa talks about her work, brand, mantra for success and more …

What are the current hot trends in Indian Bakery industry?

The hottest trend right now is ‘EAT LOCAL’ i.e. using local ingredients and flavours. This can range from Indian grains such as ragi, jowar, pulses or using fresh fruits and vegetables such as banana, apple, carrots etc. for cakes.

How did you become a Pastry Chef?

I first fell in love with baking when I was training to bake bread, at this point pastry did not interest me as much. In June 2015, 3 years after baking bread, I felt I wanted to train to be a Patissier. In Dec 2015, Chef Pascal from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris truly taught me the meaning of being a patissier and set me on my course. The magic of taking something as plain as flour and converting to beautiful cakes inspired me.

Who are your idols who inspired you?

Growing up I idealized many famous people, most of them extremely successful. Now at this point in life, I find it very inspiring to see an ordinary individual come up with an idea and slowly and gradually work on it and bring it to a level which gives her life a purpose and meaning. Real inspiration comes from the simplest things around you.

How did you establish your brand/ outlet?

The Baker’s Dozen brand has been established by many organic BTL marketing efforts. Customer sampling, society activation events, local newspaper pamphlets, participation in food festivals etc. have to be done on a continuous basis to ensure top-of-mind recall of the brand in the mind of the consumer. We have also utilized social media to create a dialogue directly with prospective customers.

What is the USP of your brand/ products?

‘No Preservatives’ is the brand ethos of ‘The Baker’s Dozen’. All our products are made from scratch recipes, no premixes and are true to the technical origin of the product. As the name of the brand suggests, we believe in giving more to the customer whether it is in the quality or the ingredients, the significant effort required in baking or the passion coming through by the handmade nature of the product.

What are your hot selling bakery items?

Our top selling items are coconut oats cookies, dark chocolate cookies, banana walnut cake, banana bread, four grain (sourdough) and our multigrain loaf.

Which is your personal favourite product from your collection?

All my products are my children but no doubt one stole my heart. My first love is the four grain. You have one slice and there is a no other slice of bread you will ever ask for. My 2nd love is the coconut oats cookie, they are irresistible.

What is the demand these days in Bakery?

Tasty, healthy and something very conveniently available in small trial-size packs.

What about the health quotient? How do you take care of that aspect? We don’t use any preservatives, premixes or artificial flavours. Most of our cakes and breads are also 100% whole wheat. Use of fresh ingredients ensures optimum nutritional value of the product.

Your favourite tool and why? This may sound simple but my absolute favourite tool in the kitchen is a bench knife. It’s like an alternate hand. I can cut, shape, clean, pour… do everything with it!

What are the challenges a bakery chef has to face in his job?

A baker’s life means very heavy physical work which especially requires strong upper body strength.

It also means a lot of night shifts, which is extremely taxing on one’s life style.

A baker, on reaching Commis 1 or higher position, needs to learn how to plan production and especially learn to think 2-3

steps ahead whilst producing.

What do you like about your job? My favourite part of the job is when I shape the dough or laminate the croissant; it’s a very peaceful time. Also, I really love planning at a plant level and to see how a small effort in planning can increase efficiency tremendously.

What you don’t like about your job? Being an entrepreneur means I don’t get to bake as often as I would like since I also need to concentrate on other business aspects. That’s probably the biggest drawback.

What is your strength as a bakery chef?

I understand the value of precision and respect the exact steps to be followed whilst baking bread or a cake.

What is your working philosophy? My work philosophy is all about efficiency and sustainability – do it perfectly and set processes so that it can be done perfectly every time, even under pressure.

What are you passionate about besides baking?

My twin sons - spending time with them is my most fun part of the day.

How do you like to de-stress? Going on a holiday with Sneh (my husband) is my favourite way to de-stress.

Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur’s journey is filled with seldom highs and many lows. Hence, it needs to be a deep calling within oneself to be an entrepreneur to last it out. My journey has had its own twists and turns but my belief in the product and the brand love received from customers have ensured I soldier on!

Challenges you faced during your journey as an entrepreneur?

When one starts a business, there is no financial stability. Further, right from baking to managing our outlets, I had to do all of this at the beginning myself. No work is too small not to be looked at. Also, matching my passion as a baker with the market realities has been a learning curve. As a baker, I might feel my product is the best but if the customer does not agree, I need to accept his feedback and adapt accordingly.

What are your future plans? I want The Baker’s Dozen to be a national bakery brand epitomizing highest standard in quality and ensuring artisan & natural bakery products are easily available to anyone across India.

What are your dreams? To make The Baker’s Dozen a gold standard for the Indian Baking Industry.

Lastly, what is your mantra for success?

I still have a long way to learn, but I feel an entrepreneur is constantly in problem-solving mode. Breaking any problem into small issues and gradually solving it step by step ensuring the answers are sustainable, is my mantra.

Anything else you wish to say? My advice to fellow entrepreneurs in the baking industry – ‘Be true to the product and the authenticity will automatically get communicated to the customer.’

3 6 MARCH 2020 TO SINGAPORE EXPO

FHA-HoReCa WHIP UP YOUR NEXT WINNING RECIPE AT BAKERY, PASTRY & GELATO SEGMENT

Source from Global Suppliers

> Discover the latest products and innovative equipment for bakery, pastry & gelato from renowned and international brands that will be part of a strong line-up of over 2,000 exhibitors from 70 countries/regions.

Get Inspired by Top Talents

> Catch talented pastry and gelato chefs in action at world-class competitions including Asian Gelato Cup, FCC Individual Challenge (Patisserie), Chocolate Chef Competition, as well as the newly launched Asian Junior Pastry Cup and Artistic Bakery Challenge.

Expand Your Business Network

> Join over 48,000 industry professionals from Asia and beyond including key decision makers and influencers from bakery & confectionery retailers, cafés, F&B establishments and more.

Pre-register your visit now at www.fhaHoReCa.com & save SGD80 on admission fee

Organiser

Endorsed by Supported by Held in

Official Airline

Join us on

Food&HotelAsia #FHA