In the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, when the world was grappling with uncertainty, Shriya Shakya, Co-founder of the Patisserie and her partner decided to embark on a new venture. Despite the challenging scenario, Shriya envisioned an opulent Parisian-style bakery in Kathmandu. She wanted to fill the market gap for a premium bakery and introduce Kathmanduites to exquisite delicacies even while setting a benchmark for what a premium bakery should offer.
The Patisserie is a cloud-based bakery that primarily operates through Instagram and Facebook, using visual appeal as a key element of its brand. The focus is on high-quality, professional, and aesthetically curated content to ensure the products stand out. Excerpts of a conversation with WOW.
With the global shift toward health-conscious consumption, how are you incorporating trends like gluten-free, low-sugar, or high-fiber options into your menu?
We do have sugar-free options but with everything else like gluten-free, high-fibre, vegan cakes, there are a lot of complications. To be able to do these properly, we would require a lot of specialised ingredients that are not only expensive but even harder to source. Importantly, cross-contamination can be a major issue, especially for customers with severe allergies. A dedicated gluten-free/vegan section requires separate equipment and storage which is costly and space-consuming. I firmly believe that we either do everything right or not bother doing gluten-free/vegan options at all.
There’s a growing demand for personalised desserts; what kind of special requests do you get from customers?
We get a lot of requests for custom cakes for birthdays, engagements, weddings and anniversaries. A cake that caters to the client’s personality, a statement piece that reflects luxury, craftsmanship and premium ingredients is what customers look for. When it comes to flavours, passionfruit, mango and citrus-infused mousse cakes are becoming customer favourites. Nutty flavours like Hazelnut always remains popular. Our Baileys Irish Cream Cake and Marshmallow Strawberry Mousse Cake are two flavours that surprised us with their popularity since their launch.
If you could bring one Parisian pastry trend to Nepal, what would it be and why?
Petit Gâteaux and Miniature Desserts. These are single-serving desserts that feature different type of fillings, textures and decorations. They are not only visually stunning but it allows the customer to try different flavours in a shareable option. This trend is slowly gaining traction in Nepal.
What’s the inspiration behind your festival specials?
As with all things, good things take time and patience and trial and error. We work months in advance to launch curated desserts and flavours. The process is daunting because let’s face the fact, ingredients aren’t easily available, the price of everything is at an all-time high, and sometimes we have to rework a recipe 5-7 times to be able to perfect it. Our inspiration comes from the event itself and being able to provide a balance of flavours without it being overwhelming. Our Christmas menu is one such example. From our Plum Cake aged with exotic dry fruits, nuts, spices, cognac, bourbon to our Chai Pecan Cake which embodies the flavour of a Masala Chai with the nuttiness of Pecans, these fusions make it nostalgic yet modern and luxurious.
We specialise in crafting limited-edition treats for special occasions like Dashain, Tihar and Valentine’s Day. Launching seasonal and innovative desserts remains at the core of our offerings.
Is price sensitivity a challenge? How do you justify premium pricing?
Price sensitivity is definitely a challenge but premium pricing can be justified through value, experience and differentiation. First of all, our ingredients and our recipes and techniques are the heart and soul of what we do. Being able to source and use premium and exotic ingredients in such a small market is not only expensive, it’s almost an impossible feat. People do not realize the sheer amount of time and effort it takes to create a single cake, the different components and the attention to detail it commands. Hence, highlighting the time, skill and care put into each dessert differentiates us from mass-market cakes. When our customer tries our cakes for the first time, the elevated taste and texture justify the price. Tailored designs, luxury flavours, one-on-one cake consultations for weddings or events make clients feel valued.
What’s a piece of advice you would give to aspiring bakers and entrepreneurs looking to enter the industry?
Quality and consistency are non-negotiable. Invest in high-quality ingredients as people can tell the difference. If you are about to open just-another-bakery-down-the-street, why bother? Being a great baker isn’t enough, you have to be a great entrepreneur too. Build a brand, create demand, and stay ahead of trends!
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