He is only 21 but he owns a business that is set to turn three this June. Founder and pastry chef Lakhan Bhounsle is the brain behind The Big ‘O’ Bakes, which offers you customised cakes, cupcakes and desserts for all occasions.
“As a child, I was inclined towards cooking and baking. I enjoyed baking with my mother during Christmas and was inspired by her to make a career out of baking.”
After college, Lakhan decided to pursue Chartered Accountancy but he wasn’t interested in it.
“I failed the exams a couple of times, but I have no regrets because if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have been able to take up baking professionally. I think my failure gave a positive turn to my life. I continued with my B.com and also launched my venture when I was still in college.”
What started as a hobby slowly turned out to be his passion. “I had my first bake sale in college where I teamed up with a friend and soon enough I was taking orders. In the meanwhile, I developed business recipes, worked on new flavours and started a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thebigobakes) and an Instagram account to share my work,” he narrates.
In a city brimming with talented home bakers, carving one’s niche is important and according to Lakhan, “The Big ‘O’ Bakes specialises in catering the finest crafted cakes, be it simple celebration cakes to the trending drip cakes, gourmet goodies, and desserts. I also provide a variety of flavours ranging from the classics such as vanilla and chocolate chip to my signature kachcha mango macaroons, shooter cupcakes and fusion bakes like spiced banana mawa bread, gulkand cakes, etc. which are all our specialty.”
When one looks at his work, it’s easy to assume he has been professionally trained but he says, “I have not studied baking or pastry art professionally. I learnt baking from my mother and took up a cake decorating class to polish my skills. It took me a lot of practice to come this far.”
When he started off, he says balancing studies and work was “no trivial feat, especially in a job that involves creativity, skill, and time. Becoming a cake artist was definitely no cake walk,” Lakhan quips. “One of my biggest challenges was time management. Business was expanding, orders increased overnight and there were times when I had almost three to four orders a day, but it was hard for me to say no and disappoint my clients. Despite having so much on my plate, I have never believed in compromising on quality. With a little planning, changing the pre-order time, doing my weekly inventory check I had ample time to do justice to my studies as well as my business.”
As far as family support was concerned, the young baker says: “My parents weren’t sceptical but their only condition was that this shouldn’t hamper my education. I didn’t let them down as I always got good grades. So they are even more supportive now.”
While he’s happy with all the challenging orders coming his way, Lakhan adds, “I want to take up a professional course from a reputed culinary school so I can take The Big ‘O’ Bakes to greater heights.”
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track.
