A Passionate Baker & an Entrepreneur at just 10!!!

At a time when most of the children are digitally inclined with schools and classes all going online, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has impacted the whole world drastically, we have a child baker turned entrepreneur whose videos have gone viral  and has become very popular with her baking brands and techniques. 

Vinusha MK who resides in Chennai, India is just all of 10 years old and studies in the fifth grade of Amrita Vidyalayam, Chennai. A birthday surprise for her mother by baking a cake is what sparked that fire for Vinusha towards her passion for baking. Although the first attempt at baking was never a success, Vinusha did not give in. Her mother helped her in the next trial which turned out to be an almost perfect cake. This lifted the young baker’s spirits, and then there was never looking back. Vinusha would start baking in her free time after school. Seeing their daughter’s interest in baking, Vinusha’s parents took her to many entrepreneurs meets in Chennai. A few months later, she started a venture called Four Seasons Pastry.

“The venture name is based on four seasons of the year — I make cakes, cupcakes, and other treats. The cupcakes are inspired by the four seasons. The base for the cupcakes would remain the same, but the cream and frosting differs. For winter, it comes with a snowflake made out of fondant, orange reflects summer, flowers herald spring, and scattered orange leaves depict autumn. Apart from cupcakes, I also make brownies and sandwiches,” says Vinusha. Apart from cupcakes, she also makes chocolates and sandwiches. Vinusha has also put together a baking kit for young children like her, who are keen on baking.

She contributes her credits towards  baking to her mentors Chef Lakshmi and Chef Geetha Krishnan. She has mastered the skill from basics to advanced, with her teachers helping her to improve her baking techniques. “YouTube videos did help me when I was at an amateur level,” says Vinusha who keeps her weekends dedicatedly for baking and attending related workshops.

Vinusha started her baking classes online during the lockdown period for children and housewives. The youngster also gives motivational talks in many colleges in the city. Her parents are her strong support and source of encouragement in her baking venture. She has learned to balance her studies and baking amazingly. She dreams of becoming a chef as her career when she grows up.

In January this year, she launched a baking kit complete with ingredients, a note about the science behind it, recipes, ingredients and more. Launched at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) exhibition in Mumbai and priced at Rs.450, she sold 10 kits before COVID-19 and the lockdown happened. Vinusha also tried her hand at two cake varieties – vanilla and black forest – in February and has sold 15 cakes so far. During this period spent at home, she also launched blondies, chicken/vegetarian sandwiches, and homemade chocolates.

 Most of the traction for the brand that translated into sales came from social media and participation in various exhibitions (before the lockdown). “TiE also helped me by introducing me to a lot of entrepreneurs who I took advice from,” she says.

“While my parents are behind me in this venture 100 percent, I have three mentors guiding me every step of the way. These include Suresh Chinnaswamy, founder of Dosa Kall; Lakshmi Reddy, a renowned pastry chef; and Geethakrishnan Sir, who has more than 40 years of experience in the pastry field,” she adds. She is keen on learning the different traditional recipes like Butter Chicken, Paneer Butter Masala etc. from her mother. She attributes her passion towards the culinary skills to her mother whom she looks up to as her role model. 

A unique and perfect example for all those children and youngsters out there, who wish to explore their ingenious and creative skills and talents in this tech-savvy world, and re-kindling those traditional life skills in an innovative way. We wish this budding young entrepreneur good luck to achieve many more feathers to her cap.

Article credits: Edexlive, femina, dtnext, yourstory