Baker Brigade - Kuki Ravindran & Rashmee Gopalan

These two home bakers were part of HBG's very 1st Baker Showcase event and it is only fitting that they participate in the Anniversary edition as well. 

Kuki Ravindran

Kuki Ravindran calls Chennai her home after settling here for over 15 years now. Born and raised in Delhi, Kuki loves her life here and keeps herself almost completely consumed with her culinary pursuits. She also enjoys writing food-based articles for websites and magazines.

She has spent 13 years (seems to be a magical number for quite a few bakers!) in the corporate world of airline sales. Kuki was able to travel widely and experience different cultures and cuisines during her tenure at British Airways.

It is about 2 years now since she started her cooking and baking venture titled The Kuki-Jar and began catering for friends. She supplies desserts to restaurants such as Ashvita Bistro, Chamier’s Eco-Café and Amethyst in the city. She has also catered for events like the Metro Plus Theatre Fest, which sees the city’s theatre-loving populace enjoy productions from all over the country. 

Kuki’s regular clientele are mostly repeat customers. She came up with the idea of a High-Tea box that contained an assortment of her goodies and was a hit among the dessert lovers in the city. This was also featured in Outlook Magazine, a national publication.

Kuki says her catering philosophy is simple - to use the best recipes and the finest ingredients available to create dishes that she would be proud to serve in her own home.

Her other loves are singing, playing with her dog Nooky, her family, and her friends whom she considers her family! Kuki’s mother is a well-known face on television. Neethi Ravindran used to work as a Newsreader at Doordarshan in the English News segment, back in the days of monopoly television in this country. Many who grew up in those times idolized her and her peers, and remember her fondly.

Kuki’s Showcase menu consists of Glazed Cinnamon Rolls, Creamed Corn Quiches, Eggless Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cupcakes, Lemon Friands, Creamed Corn Quiche, Nutty Caramel Slices, Foccacia Rolls, Rum Balls, Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Shortbreads and Mississippi Mud Cake with Bailey’s fudge frosting.

Wholesome goodies and rich delectable desserts are Kuki's specials and going by the look of the pics, these will vanish in the blink of an eye at the Showcase!

The Kuki-Jar FB page

Rashmee Gopalan

Rashmee holds the honour of being one of the first bakers to sell out at two Baker Showcase events! Hope she pulls off a hat-trick this time as well.

Since my last coverage of Rashmee, she has taken to playing badminton on a daily basis and hopes to take part in the upcoming July marathon.

This mother of two still enjoys making simple cakes, despite the fondant craze - more the norm these days, and has a wide range of options on her menu this time as well.

White Chocolate & Cranberry Cupcakes and Spiced Carrot Cupcakes besides her best-sellers like Nutella Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes, will sit side-by-side in her cupcake section along with other popular flavours such as Mint, Mocha and Dark Chocolate. 

Rashmee’s delicious gooey fudge brownies are fairly legendary and besides the mint and plain brownie flavours, she has Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips Fudge Brownie on offer this time. Assorted Tarts are also on the menu apart from Focaccia Bread and Apple Walnut & Raisin Crumble. 

An all-natural, no essence, no colouring, extremely juicy, extra-moist Orange Cake shines brightly on her menu for this event. Her favourite is the Intense Dark Chocolate Cake, which she is certain would be a hit with all the chocolate lovers.

Despite battling last minute glitches like electricity woes, this home baker is an entrepreneur who plans ahead well, understands her customers better, and delivers to the satisfaction of both her own as well as her client's expectations. 

SnowFrosting FB page

Baker Showcase FB event page