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 Rishika, from the batch of 2013. This is her Lavonne story.
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
I was working at J.W.Mariott until very recently. I started of as an intern and then they absorbed me into the staff.
I basically did everything as an intern, not just pastry. I learned about different aspects of the bakery, as well. On the pastry side, I got to work with all the chefs, not just a single one, so I learned a lot from different people, and gained various perspectives.
I loved being an intern because I wasn’t doing only one thing. I experimented with chocolate, sugar, etc., and got to try a lot of different things. I interned for three months before they asked me to join. I worked there as a Culinary Associate.
How did you end up hearing about Lavonne?
I was looking to do a course in bakery and pastry when i was in 3rd year degree, and i looked up a lot of colleges. Most of them were too expensive at the time for me and I wasn’t sure where to apply. Then my friend’s mother, who had done a course at Lavonne, highly recommended the course to my parents and asked me to consider this as an option. I had also heard about this place and came to have a look, when the first batch was happening. That’s when I got to see how things were done here and decided to apply.
So a year later, when I completed my degree, I enrolled for the diploma course. And just like my friend’s mother, after having completed the course myself, I would also recommend it very highly.
How was the experience?
It was very different. I had done random baking classes in the past, before I took up the course at Lavonne. In those classes, there was barely any hands-on experience. We used to just sit and watch the teacher doing the demo and take notes.
But it was very different at Lavonne. Chef Vinesh would tell us what to do and we would try it right away. The course had a lot of hands-on experience, which helped me a lot with both the learning, also later when I was working with Mariott.
Even now when I do things, I always refer to my Lavonne notes for tips.
Especially while interning, I realised that the practical exposure at Lavonne had put me much ahead of a lot of people who had pursued full fledged Hotel Management degrees for three years, in terms of awareness and solid basics.
What would you say was your most memorable moment from the course?
There were many. But my High Tea event at Lavonne is one of the moments that particularly stands out. As a part of the course, the students were required to put together a High Tea showcase, right from deciding the menu, sourcing ingredients to the final presentation. This counted as part of our course grading.
We were divided into teams and I was made captain of one of the teams.
It was such a great learning experience—getting things organised, coordinating with other team members, ensuring the menu was a perfect and a whole lot of other logistical things that needed to be taken into account for everything to go off smoothly. It was a lot of work and a lot of drama, but we pulled through at the end and put up a really successful event.
So, what plans for the future?
I am pursuing pastry and bakery. A friend of mine and I have just registered a company, and we’re going to be making all things bakery related as a part of it. So the plan is to work on that and see where it goes.