Pooja Dhingra walked into her studio with the brightest smile, radiating a sense of positivity and confidence. As she piped those gorgeous pink macarons with a heavenly chocolate filling she told us how her first memory of baking is when she was six years old with her aunt who taught her how to make brownies.
From law to hospitality to becoming India's most coveted pastry chef, Pooja now dons multiple hats - a business woman, author & CEO. She was all of 23 when she began her entrepreneurial journey, “I thought my youth was the reason people didn’t take me seriously, but it was really my gender,” she said talking about the challenges that came her way while setting shop.
A graduate of hospitality from Cesar Ritz Colleges, Switzerland and trained at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, for a Patisserie Diploma, Le15 Patisserie was started in 2010 by Chef Dhingra with an aim to bring a little bit of Paris and ofcourse the famous macarons to India.
Her mission has always been to bring moments of joy through every bite. During the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed, Dhingra baked extensively at her parent's home every single day to feel connected, asking herself difficult questions about her work, her passion and her future. While she was documenting all the recipes that have shaped her career and brought her joy as a chef – the idea of ‘Coming Home’ was born. Unlike her previous books, ‘Coming Home’ is more personal, allowing readers to get a sense of the real Pooja Dhingra.
In the past decade she has been featured on the Forbes '30 under 30' list both in India and Asia, Pooja has won acclaim from critics, the press and her customers not just for her extraordinary skills as a pâtissier but also for her incredible entrepreneurial spirit.