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The pandemic forced Pastry Chef Pooja Dhingra to revisit her old love – baking. Out of that passion and innovating with limited ingredients at home was born her latest and most ambitious book yet, Coming Home. She tells us the story behind it
“I think 2020 helped me to see myself again. I think it helped me to understand what is truly important,” writes celebrated pastry chef Pooja Dhingra in the introduction to her latest book, Coming Home. Just before the pandemic, Dhingra, founder and CEO of Le15 Patisserie, was on the cusp of something great; her company was finally profitable, and she was going to make her next big move. And then, just like that, after things came to a grinding halt, everything seemed to slip away. The year that was tough on everyone – Dhingra had to shut down her beloved Le15 Café in Colaba, Mumbai – made her question everything she knew. And it made go back to her first passion – baking.
During the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed, Dhingra baked at home every single day to feel connected, asking herself difficult questions about her work, her passion and her future. Since her home kitchen was always busy, she snuck in a few hours at night to do it, once everyone else had gone to bed. Although no definite answers became apparent to the questions that were chasing each other around in her mind, she did find solace in doing what she did best. A few weeks into this baking, in a bid to document all the recipes that have shaped her career as a chef and brought joy in a very uncertain time – both for her and her business – the idea of Coming Home was born.
“Coming Home came from a very dark and difficult time in my life. For the first time, I didn’t have answers to questions about the future. I think it’s beautiful to have created this work from all the heartache and pain I went through,” she tells us. Her simplest message to those who pick the book up is: “Baking is truly joy and happiness, and the book is written with the intention of finding that joy through the recipes.”
Divided into four sections, the cookbook chronicles 90 recipes brought down from the 150 she started with. It was a sort of a homecoming for Dhingra – marking her return to her first love – as she worked again with flour, eggs and sugar. “The recipes are a collection of things that have shaped me and also a lot of new things I tried working with in the lockdown. There are things in there that were inspired by my childhood, things I loved eating growing up, and things from the Le15 kitchen,” she says. Thus were born the ideas of baking in a pressure cooker or turning her childhood favourite chikoo milkshake into a dessert. Every memory that held a special place in her heart found its way into her midnight baking.
Dhingra believes everything she felt in the last year can be classified into one of the four chapters – Lazy Baking, Nostalgia, Celebrations, and For The Soul. For instance, there were days of midnight baking in her pyjamas and all those recipes went into Lazy Baking. This is also the section that she suggests anyone new to baking should start with. “Most of the recipes are extremely easy and any novice baker will be able to ace them! The macarons are slightly technical but, eventually, not too difficult to make,” she assures us. Indeed, there is something for everyone in this book. From Eggless Rose and Raspberry Tiramisu, Gourmet Chikki and Passion Fruit Truffles, to delicious macaron variants and savoury treats such as Cacio Pepe Cookies and Chutney Cheese Pull Apart Bread, there is a whole lot of variety to experiment with. And which is her favourite of the lot? “That’s too difficult! I don’t think I can pick one favourite recipe. I love all my children equally!” she laughs.
While the world took solace in different things, Dhingra admits that, during the dark phase of the pandemic, she shut herself away from the world of social media and watched Friends. For her, it was about comfort and familiarity. “To me, the show feels like a warm hug and a full escape from reality.” When she is not playing with macaron fillings and new flavours and textures, writing a book or watching Friends, the pâtissiere draws inspiration from life – from travel, colours, shapes, clothes, art, architecture... And, after a hard day, a plate of hot dal khichdi or a bowl of instant noodles or ramen is the comfort food she likes to come home to. Well, on most hard days; dark chocolate is saved for the rest as it is her “ultimate comfort food”.
For now, Dhingra has put herself out there as honestly as possible in Coming Home, with the same sense of hope that she experienced day after day during the pandemic. “I want the book to be a representation of me as a person, and for the readers to get to know me better through this book,” she says. And which learning from the pandemic would she want to leave us with? “I have many learnings from the pandemic, but my biggest one would be to truly live in the moment and keep reminding yourself that the present moment is all that is real and matters. Worrying about the past or future won’t get you anywhere.”
All images courtesy: Chef Pooja Dhingra
Also see: Three sweet recipes with Chef Pooja Dhingra
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