Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts

Asking a pastry chef to bake exquisite desserts for 100 days but to also avoid eating sugar during the same period may be akin to asking a seasoned vintner to attend wine tasting parties daily but do not actually sample any wine; how can they resist. Yet not only am I taking part in a “ 100 days no sugar challenge ” but with each passing day, I’m getting closer to succeeding with flying colours in this endeavour. I want to share my journey so far and also let others know what led me to take a challenge of bake delicious desserts while not consuming any sugar. I’ve taken the time to pen down thoughts of my experience during the no sugar challenge below. About Me But first I want my readers to know a bit about me. I’m one of those people who were passionate about baking at a very young age, while girls my age swooned over popular actors; I swooned over master chefs and tasty delicacies, truly. This led me to start following master chefs on sites like Instagram and Facebook. Man...

I think we’re lucky, really lucky because we live in a civilized and urban world where nearly everything we wish to eat can be easily delivered to our doorstep using an app. The saying “No one knows a man better than his grocer” may well have been usurped by “no one knows a man better than his food delivery app”. Consider also that talented chef’s today are experimenting and creating Indian haute cuisine in an attempt to command respect globally. Such cuisine is truly Indian but when presented looks identical to the highest quality French cuisine . Chefs are pushing boundaries and opening boutique restaurants where Indian favourites like butter chicken aren’t even on the menu. At such restaurants, the traditional Indian naan is being served stuffed with blue cheese which at times leads first-time diners to inform the chef that the cheese in the naan is spoiled! Yet undeterred, Indian chefs continue to push the boundaries of Indian cuisine. But while the lifestyles of us big city dwell...

The saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is true when speaking of the leading city-state of the ancient world- and nearly as true for the perfect baked food. It takes years of training to become an expert chef who can make yummy pastries and cakes. And while an outstanding baked food doesn’t take as long to be ready as did Rome, the end result can be just as gratifying.  As a skilled baker, I take pride in my work. Like people in other professionals, I also use a number of tools to help me bake food that is loved by many. By using my baking tools I provide others with edibles such as bread, cakes, pastries, cookies and a number of other baked foods almost too numerous to list. When I bake, I use tools such as a weighing scale, a whisk, a spatula, a baking pan, measuring spoons and cups, a food processor, a pastry brush, a mixing bowl, a rolling pin and a dough hook. Each of these tools is essential for baking as, without them, I would not be able to make the v...

Food has always been the spice of life, especially when it’s Indian cuisine. Indian cuisines consist of a wide variety of traditional as well regional cuisines. Given the variety in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups and occupation, these cuisines differ significantly from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. The religious beliefs and culture in India have played a significant role in the evolution of its cuisine. India’s unique blend of cuisines evolved through large-scale cultural interaction with our neighbors namely, Persia, ancient Greece, Mongolia and West Asia. With the coming of Arabs and Portuguese traders, chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. came into existence. European cooking styles were introduced during the colonial period. This has since then always, added to the variety of Indian cuisine. The history of Indian cuisines can be taken back to the ancient days when the culture of preparing cuisines in a proper ...

There is nothing more endearing than sumptuous gifts like cakes and other small sweet goodies such as cupcakes, muffins, pastries, to linger the heart of your sweethearts. The delicious flavour, the lip-smacking creamy frost and the unsurpassed designer decoration will leave your loved ones spellbound. Chocolates have become a mainstream thing for gifting your loved ones because cakes are a favourite amongst both men and women. People are now taking professional classes to bake different types of cakes like travel cakes, cakes with various flavours, fondant cakes, etc. Gifting a basket full of cupcakes, muffins, pastries and self-baked cakes is the best gift you can give to your sweetheart. From Valentine’s Day to birthdays and to anniversaries, every day is a reason to celebrate with your loved ones with goodies and cakes. There always few important days in your life, which you might tend to forget due to workload, like your every month anniversary. You might just forget to ...

Hobby is a great way to relieve stress. It brings joy and enriches our lives.  It is a stress-reliever and engages an individual for relaxation. Hobbies help an individual to become more patient and composed. It lets an individual to relax and indulge in activities, that aren’t associated with work or other responsibilities. Baking is a great therapeutic activity for a person who loves to cook new recipes.  Activities liking baking pastries and cakes stimulates an individual’s sense of taste and can also be a pleasant surprise for others too. Baking not only gives pleasure but it also helps to ease depression and anxiety. There are several schools for baking and pastry classes, where students learn to make cakes and pastries for weddings and special occasions. Acts as a meditation therapy Baking is a simple and repetitive activity which relaxes the mind and therefore acts as a meditation therapy. Whipping up cream and butter and whisking eggs creates a space ...

The human tongue can sense four flavours; sour, bitter, salty and sweet. Half of us have a tendency of not eating sweets at all and half of us have a tendency of being addicted to sweets. I feel having a sweet tooth is the best thing; one has a variety of options to soothe their tongue. Some of us crave for sweets when we’re not well or when we feel low; they act as an energizer for us. For some of us, sweets are the best gift for our loved ones, be it lovers, friends or family, sweets bring a smile to everybody’s face. Too much of anything is not good for the body though and the same goes for sugar as well thus creating an even bigger market for sugar free products for health conscious individuals. The world of Pastry has evolved in the last few years. Traditional Indian sweets or ‘mithais’ are slowly being replaced with French pastries . The pastry world offers an array of flavors, textures, colors and shapes and something to satiate everybody’s taste buds. Thanks to soci...

There's nothing more endearing than sharing generous slices of mouthwatering cakes with family or friends. While you bake a cake you are taking advantage of some magical scientific transformation to create something sugary, delicate and delicious, that everyone will love. Who in this world doesn’t like cakes? You? Everyone does, right? What better than knowing the art of baking something you love?Baking cake is an ageless tradition, I’m sure you might have tried baking a cake once in your life. The first skilled bakers that came into existence were probably the Egyptians, during their time's cakes were basically bread with egg and honey. The earliest English cakes were also essentially bread, the only distinguishing factor in them was the shape- flat and round. You know that you can make it up to any of your loved ones be it friends, lovers, siblings or sometimes parents to by baking a cake for them.We, Indians anyway have a good sense of taste when it comes to...

This existence is fleeting and if one had to hold it by the reigns, the task would be as humongous as Hercules, moving the mountain. Yet as a part of human nature, we are prone to test our waters and perseverance, to achieve the unthinkable. And such is our hunger for life that it surpasses every other aspect of existence- we are beasts guided by the fancies of our senses. With eyes we view our acquisitions, with ears we pick up the cues to safeguard ourselves, through nose, we guide ourselves out of unpleasantness and through skin we comfort ourselves of this existence. But wait……..aren’t we missing something? Oh yes- the tongue. The organ that houses all the nerve endings, connected to the finer things in life- including baked goodies. Starting from savoury lasagnes to sweet chocolate covered cookies to healthy baked sweet potatoes- oh! how those baked goodies taste in your mouth? Salivating, eh? And while we can daydream endlessly about baked decadency melting in our mouth,...

Cooking is something which most people think as an easy process. Cooking, however, is one thing that involves lot of mental as well as physical stamina. It involves lot of grinding, pounding, cutting and cooking. One has to decide about number of factors such as the spices, flow of heat, amount of salt etc. And these decisions have to be taken instantly.  Cooking is as old an art as civilisation. In the earlier times, cooking was done by heating the food on conventional ovens. However, as time passed by and men gained controlled over heat, cooking techniques improved, and food became more sophisticated in nature.  Fast forwarding to the modern times, there are many culinary art schools where cooking is taught following the latest trends and techniques. The best professional culinary course in Erode , is an example of the fact that how good culinary schools have opened up in every nook and corner of the country. These courses are meant for all and avai...

“ There’s no love sincerer than the love for food” ...and that specifically holds true in the life of all living creatures. I mean, just peek into the life of any middle class households, in India, for instance, and you will find that food is one topic that rules our life. The normal day in the life of a common man begins with “ What to cook for breakfast ?” Then, this is followed by deciding the menus for lunch and dinner. Food is a requisite of not only the body but also the mind. After all who will disagree with the fact that a good meal, does lighten up bad moods. Chocolates, as we all know are great mood boosters and help fight depression. Cooking food is itself an art and a divine experience. Cooking, most people think  is an easy process, but it is not and involves lot of hard work, patience, and intelligence. One has to have presence of mind and decide upon factors such as amount of heat flow, mixing of spices, deciding upon the favours etc. Earlier most people...

The Academy of Pastry arts has all the qualities that a good baking institute should have. This school can be defined as a baking institute with a difference. This school boasts of chefs and pastry makers of national and international repute. This is one school where the enrollees can learn everything by practical means. In other words, here baking is taught by complete hands on training. There are various cake making and decorating courses available in these institute from where the students can have their pick. The courses are both in the form of short term as well as long term course. . The advance courses are apt for those who want pursue baking as a profession and the short term courses are best for those who want to learn baking just as a vocation. Baking has gone through much changes since it became a part of our daily lives. The story of baking is thousands years old. In the earlier times, initially, baking of bread was a step by step procedure and little bit complex i...

Recently, I visited a big fat wedding. It was one wedding that left all the guests speechless. The ambience was simply ‘wow’ and the food out of the world. As for me it was the food that bowled me over. The platter was both, vegetarian and non vegetarian. The chilli chicken, the achari baingan, the pullav, the biryani and I could go on...were simply lip smacking. The chefs had done a marvellous job. Everything seemed to have been done with an eye towards detail.  Best spices were used, the vegetables were finely grated, and the food seemed to have been cooked keeping in mind the taste factor. We all crave for such yummilicious food in our day to day life. Earlier such cooking were taught mostly in homes and were household affairs. However, in the modern times, there are many culinary institutes, which provide training in culinary arts. Here, cooking is taught according to the latest trends being followed in the international market. Culinary courses in Delhi are perfect...

It’s the battle of the sexes revisited. And the battlefield is the kitchen. So, the question that interests us all. Men or women, who are better cooks? Feminists will declare that it’s women who dominate the kitchen, and men would definitely beg to differ. So, what’s the verdict, who wins ? Let’s do a case study. Historians believe that most of the cuisines in most of the cultures in the world have been developed by women. Infact, there’s no arguing the fact that women have always dominated the kitchen area of the house, in most middle class and lower income households since ages. So much so, that in some cultures, men entering the kitchen to cook, is looked down upon. Even in countries like India, may it be a South Indian, Bengali, Rajasthani , Marathi and various other cuisines...women have played a major role in their creation. In the modern era, too this trend continues and women, in maximum households  spend a major part of their daily routines toiling in the kitchen p...

Who’s a gourmet ? In layman terms, a ‘foodie’. Someone exclaimed that there is no love sincerer than  the love for food and a gourmet would agree. Period. In fact, foodie or not, eating and cooking form a major part of our daily routine. Go to any household and this is one subject that rules the roost. The mornings begin with ‘What to cook for breakfast’ , the noons are followed by deciding the menu for lunch and the nights, are of course, time for some awesome dinner after a hard day’s work.   In the earlier times, in most middle class households, it was the women of the house who decided upon the menu and they were the one ruled the kitchen. Studies reveal, that in most cultures, women have played a major role in crafting the cuisines. And we need not explain why. However, in the modern era, men and by that I mean the general population of men too are showing interest in the occupation of cooking. Earlier, men cooked, yes, no disputing that ….but they were basica...