Pooja Dhingra is an Indian pastry chef and businesswoman. In 2010, she opened India’s first macaron shop “Le15 Patisserie” in Mumbai.
Pooja Dhingra Cafe
She is also known as the “Macaron Queen”.
Wiki/Biography
Pooja Dhingra was born on Tuesday, August 5, 1986, in Mumbai (35 years old; as of 2021). Her zodiac sign is Leo.
Pooja Dhingra as a child
She completed her schooling from Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai.
Pooja Dhingra’s school ID card
Pooja Dhingra with her friends during her school days
She studied commerce at Jai Hind College and in 2004 studied hotel management at the César Ritz School in Bouvre, Switzerland. Pooja’s family background has always been about cooking. Her father and brother own a restaurant. Pooja learned cooking from her aunt (Bua). After graduation, she began studying law. She lost interest in law and went on to study hotel management. In 2008, she studied French pastry making at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
Pooja Dhingra and Le Cordon Bleu chefs
Pooja Dhingra in college
She tasted macarons for the first time when she was in Paris. She wanted to bring the taste of macarons to India. When Pooja returned to India, she started experimenting with macaron recipes. She failed many times because she had to use local Indian products in her recipes and the weather in India was different from Paris.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Weight (approximately): 80kg
Hair color: brown
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Pooja’s father is a chef and his name is Jaikishan Dhingra.
Pooja Dhingra with her parents
Her mother’s name is Seema Dhingra and she is a healer and healer.
Pooja Dhingra and her mother
She has a brother who is a restaurateur, his name is Varun Dhingra.
Pooja Dhingra and her brother
Profession
cooking
In 2010, when Pooja worked out the final recipe for macarons, she started her own business by opening her first macaron restaurant in Mumbai. The name of her restaurant is Le 15 Patisserie. When she started her restaurant, she had just two chefs, but now her staff has grown to more than 100. Her cafe now has three other branches in Good Earth, Lower Parel; Palladium Mall in Mumbai. She has written two cookbooks – The Big Food Book and The Wholesome Kitchen.
Pooja Dhingra and her book The Big Book of Snacks
Pooja Dhingra and her book The Wholesome Kitchen
During the lockdown in 2020, she started her own podcast called NoSugarCoat with Pooja.
Pooja Dhingra while recording her podcast
During the lockdown, she started offering DIY cake mixes, biscuits, hot chocolate mixes and Le 15 items to people. In 2021, she wrote the book “Going Home”. She has also done advertising campaigns for Kwality Wall`s, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Surf Excel, Oreo and more.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 2019, she won the “Breaker of the Year Award” from Grazia magazine.
Pooja Dhingra at Grazia Magazine Awards Ceremony
- In 2014, she was included in Forbes India’s list of “30 under 30” achievers.
Pooja Dhingra named Forbes’ 30 Under 30
- Forbes India included her in its list of “30 Under 30 in Asia”.
Facts/Trivia
- One of the first things she baked as a child was brownies. According to her, that’s when she realized how simple ingredients could make a difference in a dish.
- She has loved chocolate since she was a child.
- Pooja’s brother also studied in the same college as her brother.
- In an interview, Pooja shared what she learned in Switzerland and Paris. she says,
During my first year, I interned at a small family-run hotel (Villa Tuscany). I was 18, had never left home alone, and was doing the amount of work that only six or seven people in India would normally do. Every morning I would serve breakfast to dozens of people, wash up, and start over. I don’t understand French and my boss doesn’t understand English. This is a nightmare. But when I interned in a five-star hotel (Trois Couronne) in my final year, I became more confident. I chose housekeeping and my job included changing about 60 beds and cleaning toilets. At some point they recognized what I was doing and at the end of the internship I went to a meeting with my general manager and mentored people who were senior to me. “
- Pooja once asked herself why there were no macarons in India, and she found that there was only one reason: no one knew about this dessert. She decided to make macarons as a career.
- In an interview, she said the cafe’s name remained on the building where she lived in Paris. She lives in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
- In the initial stages of her career, Pooja had to face gender bias while renting properties or buying machinery. She said in an interview that sellers often ask her to consult elders such as her father and brother. She further added,
It’s not easy being a young girl in a male-dominated industry. Even finding a vendor or real estate agent who wanted to work with me was difficult. Over time, the challenges evolve—from day-to-day operations to scaling the business. My education in Switzerland and working in hotels there gave me a good idea of what it was like to work in the hospitality industry, but dealing with the bureaucracy when starting a business in India was very difficult. “
- Pooja believes that traveling can improve one’s way of thinking. She said in an interview that she takes time out to travel so she can taste new recipes and upgrade her repertoire.
- Pooja believes social media has helped or increased her business.
- On her podcast, Pooja invites her celebrity friends and talks about their struggles and lives.
- Pooja is friends with actresses Rhea Kapoor (Sister of Sonam Kapoor), Masaba Gupta, Sonam Kapoor, Pablo Naranjo Agular (Chef), etc.
Pooja Dhingra and Masaba Gupta
Pooja Dhingra and Rhea Kapoor
- Pooja is often called the “Queen of Macaron”. She said of the title in an interview:
I have no idea! I think there was a reporter I was talking to five or six years ago who used the term, and then the BBC and CNN and other outlets started using it, and then it stuck. Of course, I didn’t resist. When someone calls you a queen, just accept it. “
- She often posts about her love for Korean dramas. She posted a photo of herself making a heart (a sign of love in Korea) with her fingers.
Heart symbol by Pooja Dhingra
- Pooja believes that all young entrepreneurs should know how to manage money and should always have their finances ready.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education