Taste of Small Scale Entrepreneurship in Chennai – In the Choux of Daya’s Patisserie

Daya Shivani, a young baker and entrepreneur is on a mission to show people in Tamil Nadu that pastries dont always mean cake. Daya’s Patisserie was a dream that took shape through an Instagram Page in mid December 2020. Her pastries range from the traditional French Mille Feuille (a layered puff pastry) to a more experimental rhapsody of raspberries, pistachios and praline layered Joconde Cake (a French sponge cake.) “I work well with sweets. When it comes to adding salt I’ve always messed up but with sugar it’s always spot on!” she says jokingly.

Daya inherited her passion for cooking from her mother, but it was only during second year of Culinary School in Chennai, while experimenting with ingredients with a friend, that she realised her real interest lay in making pastries. So, she went to Bangalore to complete a diploma in French Pastries from Academy of Pastry Arts. “Bangalore already has great food and a lot of people catering french pastries and other things out of the ordinary. Back in Chennai these things are still new and only done by a few home bakers.” The best seller at Daya’s Patisserie is the Choux Creme. “It’s one of the simpler French pastries because it’s…