Punch of flavour

Chef Vanshika Puri, Founder, The French Affair, talks about finding a middle ground between French desserts and Indian flavours

- Amber Dias

Meet Vanshika Puri, a Le Cordon Blue, Paris, trained pastry chef who specialises in giving classic French pastry some desi appeal. We caught up with her to chat about what goes on behind the scenes at The French Affair.

From throwing a punch in the ring to delivering knockout flavours in the kitchen, Vanshika's sojourn in the professional space has taken some interesting turns. She maintains though that her love of cooking emerged early on. "My boxing career started when I was in college. I had never imagined that I would be a professional boxer, it has always been my dream to be a chef. Since the age of nine, I was very clear and knew what I wanted to pursue. My grandmother was very fond of cooking and baking. Her lovely apple strudel and our desi ghee halwa inspired me to take up the chef's life."