Passion and Patience, these two virtues are a must when you believe in your talent and are confident about making it available for the world.Software Engineer, a fancy job at hand, but she waited for the weekends. Because that’s when she could be closer to her dream, her love for cakes. Hiral Desai, who believes in giving personal touch to the precious moments of people’s life. She was born and brought up in Baroda. And like every other average kid, she also took up engineering after schooling, and then got a job in Baroda itself. She worked in a reputed firm for around 4 years. She used to wait for the weekends so that she could try out some new recipes. Her love for cooking and baking made her weekends worth. Then gradually she realized she was more interested in the weekends than her job itself, which made her realize that her dream was different.
She took a leave from the job, went to Bangalore to get a Diploma in Baking & Cake Art, and returned to her job after a few months. But as she puts it, “My passion was pulling me towards it, and I had to do it.” She left her job and invested all her time in baking, what she loved. Earlier, she used to do creative chocolate art but now she wanted to focus on personalized cakes. After a good hard work and thought process of 3 months, she finally came up with her menus and themes, and launched The Cake Love on 20th June, 2013.
She obviously got accepted by the people because of her USP of personalizing the product. While there are top bakeries offering varieties of flavors, Hiral believes in customization of the product as per the client’s wish. She patiently sits with the client, discusses their expectations and then gives them plenty of options to choose from. She even discusses the budget of what the client is willing to pay, and gives the best option available as per their requirements. She believes in “precision”, and is very particular about it. The cakes are only made with pre-order, and she invests enough time for each of the items.
When asked upon whether she wants to expand or get into industrial baking, she replies that she believes that her interest is in making what an individual will love, not the masses. So, she wants to stick to the personalized approach and she finds it worth, because of the smiles of her clients and their satisfaction.
She left her well paying job and started this venture. In this journey, her husband was the biggest supporter and motivator who always stood by her side and helped her work towards her passion. Her family is also very supportive and she explains that it wouldn’t have been possible without them. There are two pick up addresses, one her parents’ house at Manjalpur and the other at Waghodia Road, where she lives with her in laws and husband.” They take care of the delivery, record keeping, etc and I don’t need to worry about it at all when I am not at home.” She says.
Great amount of creativity and determination towards what you are passionate about is the recipe to achieve your dreams. Today, Hiral is known for her perfect and precise work in the field. One of the upcoming cake artists of India, she has been a part of some of the most innovative cake collaborations. When Hiral used to make hefty 4-5 kg cakes for the same, they used to donate it to the needy and in slums around their area.
Being talkative as she claims she is, she shared some memories of her clients with us. When on the request of one of her client, she tried Farali (fast special) Cake and it turned out so well she added it into the menu. One of the client’s theme parties rocked only because of the Thomas engine cartoon cake she made. She believes that there are those moments or those messages or phone calls when a client thanks them for making their special day more special which beats earning all the money in the world.
She must have made almost 2000 different cakes by now and this includes her various signature cakes like Engagement cakes, baby shower cakes. Apart from that, she loves making cupcakes too. Theme based to festival based, she is never out of colors and innovative ways. Along with the outer look, she makes sure that she is serving the best quality to the client and doesn’t lose that touch of homemade food and all she bakes is eggless; no gelatin and artificial products are used.
"“Working towards your passions gives you joy and seeing those people smile because of us, makes it worth.”"
“He doesn’t sleep until I am working “, Hiral shares about her husband who is very supportive since the day she thought of the idea. They both manage the whole website and he stands by her side at every step. An ending note, a quote pasted at her workshop, “If success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.”
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