Firing up a passion

Movies often show how simple it is to run to your boss, resign from your job and chase your passion. The hero or heroine automatically find opportunities that take them exactly where they want to be in life. While it may sound all too rosy and perfect, in reality there are many considerations that often stop one from doing so. Many hesitate, plan and then plan some more to pursue something that they are truly passionate about.

‘If you really want it, go get it’ is something that we often hear. That is probably the motivation which led some passionate foodies to leave their full-time jobs and do something that they value above all — enter the culinary world. Jeyadra S worked as a master data specialist for almost six years before she decided to take up baking full-time. Sharing her story, she says, “I started baking a year before I quit and fell in love with the process. I would come back home after office and bake. I worked for almost 100 hours a week! But when I was flooded with appreciation and encouragement from my customers, I decided to quit my job and become a full-time baker.”

She presently works under the name ‘Cupcakes, Cakes & Cookies’ where her baked goodies taste as good as they look in pictures. “I never went to a culinary school so with my new life decision, I have a lot more time to learn new techniques and work on my orders. I want to keep improving myself and my work so that I can start a baking studio and cafe soon,” she says. Many who choose a different path in their lives, to do something they are truly passionate about, aren’t professionally trained in that area. They take the help of books, the internet and learn from experience. Before Gautam Krishnankutty entered the culinary world, he was studying International Relations in the US and had planned to become a professor. As a part-time job, he worked at restaurants as the bus boy, cleaning the tables and watching the chefs in the kitchen. When he returned to India, he decided to start a catering business which eventually led him to open ‘Cafe Thulp’.

Looking back at his journey, he says, “The most difficult part was convincing myself that this is what I really wanted to do. But the real motivation was the zero amount of money in the bank account (laughs). I am glad that I chose this profession.” He also says that if he could go back in time and correct things, he would have liked to attend a culinary school. “Learning a few tricks and techniques would have been an advantage. However, given the fact that I have been in this business for a few years now, I am fine learning things from YouTube,” he says. As for the other unplanned startups, Anupam Behera knew what he was getting into before he opened ‘What’s In The Name’.

He worked as a business analyst before he became a full-time entrepreneur. He says, “My business partner and I knew that we had to keep our primary jobs to sustain finances. We had the chefs, the menu and the designing of the restaurant planned out before we came completely on board.” He says one of the biggest change was the lessons he learnt along the way. He explains, “We learnt that no matter what happens, food is the only way to keep the restaurant open. That’s why we make sure that the food is always great and take in suggestions for the same. The first year was a challenge but it is definitely the best decision I’ve made.”

Despite the challenges they had to face, these chefs and bakers are making their dreams come true. After all, as Harriet Tubman once said, ‘Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.’