While walking into a bakery and appreciating the myriad range of cakes, pastries, and baked goods on offer is a common stance, not every day does one get the opportunity to visit a bakery, witness and take part in making delicious baked goodies. To give this experience to the people, Kolkata Food Trotters, and Vanilla Bean Bakery organised a one-of-a-kind pop-up in Eastern India where participants, irrespective of age and experience, could learn how to bake croissants, bread, cakes, and other desserts live from the working unit of the bakery.
Over 50 participants from all walks of life gathered together to try their hands in baking a variety of items and most importantly engage in a healthy exchange of tips, ideas, and alternatives to make their baking methods wholesome. From croissants to Blueberry pana cotta, from chocolate cake to red velvet brownies all were made within a span of three hours.
Somek Choudhury, founder, of Kolkata Food Trotters and Served with Love comments on the occasion, “Kolkata Food Trotters is a community that I’ve been running for the past five and half years where we expose people to different cultures and cuisines. We have had pop-ups in collaborations with home kitchens to offer the taste of offbeat cuisines including Latin American food. This is our 67th pop-up and the first time people are coming not to a bakery but to the factory of a bakery. I wanted them to experience the process of how baked items travel from the backend of the bakery to their plate.”
Shirina Mukherjee who runs the Vanilla Bean Bakery, a cloud bakery situated near Ruby Hospital was there to demonstrate the processes to the participants. She comments, “This is the first pop-up that I’m doing. The participants are making a lot of items like braided bread, cream cheese brownies, puffs, and quiches. They will also eat it at the end of the pop-up. There are also a few signature items of the bakery from my side that I want them to taste. The whole process is very fun with most of them are enjoying every bit.”
After a fun baking segment, Indulge sat down to taste some of the items made by the participants and some signature items from the bakery in general. The croissant was soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. It tasted best when served warm. The Red Velvet Brownie was fudgy. The inter-mixing of chocolate and cream cheese gave it a marbled effect. It was interesting to note that usually red velvet, the name denotes a red colour item; this brownie was heavier on the chocolate brown colour. In fact, during the baking process, Shirina mentioned that they like to keep their products natural and do not add on extra colour unless required.
The Kunafa was a Turkish dessert complete with nuts, pistachios, and rose petals. The item itself was more on the savoury side so those who do not prefer to have sweets can very well opt for it. The last was the focaccia bread. Soft, and chunky with fused bell peppers and oregano, it was perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. The loaf was fresh and the flavours intact.
The Vanilla Bean Bakery is an operational bakery from 8 am to 7 pm. One can walk –in and select from an array of pastries, mousse, cookies, breads, and other desserts to take back home.
Photo Courtesy: Somek Choudhury