The core of Lavonne is the Academy and we’re extremely proud of all our students. Every year, we send out batch after batch of enthusiastic new bakers, all set to revolutionise the world of baking.
Meet Shaina, from the batch of 2013. This is her Lavonne story.
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
I’m currently pursuing my internship at ITC Sheraton, Saket. I got placed here right after completing my Diploma at Lavonne. And it’s pretty great working here. The people are very nice and very helpful. So I am really liking it.
I also have a designer cake business I handle on the side called Shaina-Cake Me Away. I do about two-three cake orders for that every week as well.
So it’s 8am-7pm at work, from Monday to Saturday, and then working on the designer cake orders once I’m back.
How did you end up applying for the Diplomê in Pâtisserie course at Lavonne ?
I’ve been interested in baking from the time I was in college. So I did a small course in Delhi to see if this was truly a field I wanted to pursue.
Once I realised that this was what I wanted to do, I thought I would go study abroad. But for certain reasons that didn’t end up happening. So I continued doing research and found out about Lavonne. I saw their website and was very impressed. I don’t think anyone was doing something like that in India at the time, or even now, and that’s why I decided to apply immediately.
Plus, there was this intuition factor that told me to apply. I’m from Delhi, and my parents are quite protective about me. But somehow they agreed to let me move to Bangalore and stay alone to pursue this six month course.
How was the experience?
It was really amazing. It was exactly what I was looking for. You see, before, even though I had done small baking courses and taken cake orders, I didn’t know a lot of things, and was quite confused.
This course taught me everything, right from the basics to complex things. I used to do my own research as well, but studying here made every thing crystal clear for me. That’s why the other students in my batch were also interested to learn more, because of the way we were taught.
And if the students had any doubt, Chef Avin and Chef Vinesh would clear each and every one of them. The great thing about the faulty at Lavonne is that share every little bit of knowledge they have to help the students. They’re such nice people!
I also took up some flower and figure modelling classes with Chef Joonie as well, and that was awesome too!
Did it change your approach towards baking itself?
For me personally, it was a life-changing experience. I used to be a super lazy person before I joined this course.
But for the first time in my life, I would wake up on time, never miss a class, never bunk, nothing! It was just too interesting.
The six months here made me so punctual that even now when I’m back home, I wake up at 6 am and start my day.
Even at work now, my basics are so solid that people come to me when they have doubts. They respect me a lot here! And it’s all thanks to the awesome learning experience I got from Lavonne. The course not only gave me a lot of confidence and clarity about the subject, but also helped me become extremely focused about my career.
Is there any alumni advice you’d like to share with future students of Lavonne?
All the faculty at Lavonne are ready to shower you with all the wisdom in the world and teach you all the skills you need to know. So just make sure you give your 100% because you will definitely get a 100% in return!