Most of us are often clueless about choosing the perfect Deepavali gifts. We either end up spending a lot on readymade gifts or play safe by gifting packed sweets or chocolates.
There are some who make their own sweets or cookies but they fail to package them creatively.
Chef Veena Picardo, who owns a cake shop in Mumbai called Picardos, is in the city to conduct Edible Gifting Workshop.
Trained at Le Cordon Bleu, London, she has been in the food industry for 15 years. Veena is here to share some innovative and interesting gifting options.
“There is nothing more special than customised and personalised gifts. At my workshop, I teach how to present regular sweets and baked items differently. For instance, leftover cake could be made into cute little cake pops. Cupcakes, that are a craze now, can be presented artistically as a cupcake flower vase. Even Mysore pak can be creatively presented after it’s wrapped in a roll made of kaju katli paste and decorated with edible flowers. Another simple trick is to write messages on regular cookies after it is iced,” says Veena, who believes in healthy baking sans chemicals and preservatives.
The workshop includes chocolate making, cupcake making, desserts, cake making and cake decoration. “I will be teaching how to make filled chocolates. The fillings inside could be anything from coconut, caramel to nuts… Cupcakes have become such a rage these days. While I teach them the techniques, I allow them to experiment with flavours. In the dessert making workshop, I will teach them how to make apple jalebies and I will use spice powders to add flavours to the regular sweets,” says Veena, >who also has a cooking blog .
She will also demonstrate how to make creative gift boxes out of used tin jars. The charge for the workshop is Rs. 1000, inclusive of practical session, lunch, tea, tool kit and a certificate.
The workshop is on October 28 and 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Empee Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, D-13 Aruna Complex, Anna Nagar East. For details, call 96001 43008.
