Home Is Where The Heart Is

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 Shraddha Kamdar the story behind it

- Shraddha Kamdar

''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 them 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.