4 minute read
The Cookie Crumb Trail.
Tiffany D'Lima Menezes is a banker-turned-baker, who went from recommending investments to baking delicious, exquisitely designed cookies. An alumnus of the prestigious Goa Institute of Management, Tiffany started her journey as a baker by baking cupcakes and small cakes. In 2018, she decided to expand her skill set. She travelled to Doha, Qatar to attend baking courses and refine her cake decorating skills. She attended workshops on cake decorating and got certified from Squires Kitchen International School in cookie decorating techniques. She enjoyed decorating cookies so much that she knew she wanted to make a career out of it in the future.
Tiffany’s passion for making cookies resulted in her starting a home based baking venture, ‘The Cookie Crumb Trail’, in September 2021. Operating out of her home kitchen in Altinho, Panjim, Tiffany works on orders she receives for themed cookies for various occasions - weddings, birthdays, baby showers, baptisms, bachelorette parties, etc. She wanted a name for her venture that was catchy, unique, and which easily conveyed to clients exactly what she had to offer. She found that the name “The Cookie Crumb Trail” met all these criteria, and seemed to click well with her audience.
Customers ordering cookies from ‘The Cookie Crumb Trail’ can choose between chocolate and vanilla cookies which are personally baked and hand-decorated to suit the theme and colour palette of the event. Tiffany recently started making cookie cakes. These cakes have been a huge success, primarily because of their appealing form, and are a good alternative to a traditional cake. Designing and decorating cookies also transports Tiffany’s mind to a place where her ideas can flow. and gives her a break from her routine of daily life. Finding cookie crumbs around after offering cookies to someone means that the cookies have been eaten and enjoyed wholeheartedly!
2020 was a year that really changed things for Tiffany. She had a baby in the midst of the global pandemic. As her son completed a year, she decided that it was time to get back to baking.
Exploring different cookie artists’ pages on Instagram made her realise that decorating cookies had endless possibilities. The manner in which one could play with designs and themes caught her attention. She realised that if presented well, cookies can bring out the theme of an event. However, she knew that it would require plenty of practice before she was ready to commit herself to it. Since being a mom took up most of her day, she dedicated her nights to practicing and refining her skills. Constant encouragement from the most supportive set of family and friends has aided her in running this business.
Maintaining a consistent supply of materials and ingredients is a key challenge for Tiffany. She tries to plan things in advance so that she can source things online if they are not available locally. The hot and humid weather of Goa makes it a little hard to work with icing consistencies, but a whole lot of practice has helped her overcome this. Given that she has a toddler who takes up most of her day, she only bakes during the night. She currently does not have a retail outlet, and her cookies are only made on order.
As of now, Tiffany’s main goal is to practice, practice, and put all her efforts into learning and improving her decorating skills so that she can offer her clients the best. She only accepts a limited number of orders, so that she can pay attention to minor details.
The best way to get in touch with Tiffany to place an order for cookies is via WhatsApp (+917499780037). Once a client sends the theme, event, colours, quantity and date for the order, Tiffany takes it forward from there with the designs.
