"The movie 'Julie and Julia' inspired me to tread the culinary path. I found so many similarities between my life and Julia Child's life shown in the movie," says Shilpa Gaurav Kerkar, the US-based home baker.
Transformation Of Technical Analyst To Home Baker
Shilpa was a Technical Analyst working with SAP before turning her passion into her profession. She started her journey of baking in the Netherlands.
"In 2016, when we were in the Netherlands, one day I watched the popular movie Julie and Julia and loved it. I could relate with it, I found so many similarities between my life and Julia Child's life shown in the movie," she tells.
Shilpa adds, "I got inspired by it and made some poached eggs and hollandaise sauce that day. Although my sauce was not up to the mark, I was super happy with my poached eggs. I had prepared them for the first time and they turned out perfectly."
"I took a pic of them and posted on Facebook just for fun. And to my surprise, I got many likes and comments," she giggles.
"After this incident, I spoke with a few of my friends who advised me to start a blog. I first started my Facebook page and started posting pics and recipes of different cuisines," she tells.
Shilpa's friends loved her cooking and motivated her to start her food business. She started with catering and got a good number of clients. "Gradually I started selling cakes as well and realized that this is where my passion is," she says excitedly.
Naming A Foodie's Food Blog
Being a foodie and her love for cooking, she wanted to give a very catchy and unique name to her venture, and after racking her brain she came up with the name - 'Shilpa's Khata Rahe Mera Dil'.
Cooking is in Shilpa's DNA; she feels fortunate that she got it as a gift from her parents.
Her Baking Journey
The self-taught baker says that she is passionate about baking as it gives her a way to showcase her creativity. She loves her work and completely enjoys it.
"I baked my first cake in 2013 and completely loved it. It was a simple chocolate cake made in the microwave. Back then I was working with an IT company. After three years, I opted baking as my profession taking a break from IT," she tells.
"I have learnt a lot since then, still learning and enjoying the art. From having zilch knowledge about concepts of cake decoration to mastering the art of theme cakes, it has been a wonderful and evolving experience," she says.
Shilpa passionately bakes aesthetic theme cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, baby shower, farewell, festivals, engagement, wedding and special events.
Misses Mother & Motherland
As a cake artist, Shilpa's work reveals how much she misses her mother and motherland living in the US. "Last year, I did a cake for Mother's Day, depicting baby me in my Mom's lap. This cake is very special to me and dear to my heart," says Shilpa emotionally.
Shilpa misses India and many of her bespoke cakes themed on Indian festivals testify the same.
Professional Challenges
"I faced many challenges when I decided to take up baking as my new profession. I didn't know anything regarding cake decoration, couldn't afford to take any classes being in the Netherlands. Also, I didn't have any idea about how to start a business, how to do marketing, how to do the pricing, how and from where to stock materials. Although I have a very supportive family and strong support and help from my dear hubby, I had to learn each and everything regarding my business on my own while taking care of my little one and all the household chores. Gradually overcame all the challenges and got a good learning experience about everything," she says.
Advice For Aspiring Home Bakers
"Believe in yourself. Give your best. Keep practising whatever fears you. Stay focused on your goals come what may. Love and enjoy your work," is her advice to aspiring home bakers and cake artists.
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| Shilpa Gaurav Kerkar, Home Baker/Cake Artist |
