Anisha Nareshkumar - serving up art on a plate

Sep 18 2012.

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Intricate patterns and yummy detailing catch the eye, while glistening chocolate beckons you to taste a piece, and that’s just the decoration I’m talking about; the cakes are even better. All of this from the latest online catering businees ‘My Kind of Thing’ that gives you not only the most delectable personalized desserts, but professional eye-catching structures as well, all courtesy of 16 year old Anisha Nareshkumar.
 
Looking at her richly detailed structures, it’s hard to believe she only began baking a little over a year and a half ago. With a strong passion for cooking passed down to her from her grandmothers, cooking for her family has always been a joy to her.
 
 
The successful catering business all started after her brother set up a Facebook page My Kind of Thing for her to upload pictures of all the desserts she made for friends and family. Although the intention was never to sell, soon word got around and orders soon followed.
 
And while she has proven that she truly has a gift when it comes to desserts, it wasn’t always so easy at the beginning. Her foray into baking began with two months spent just experimenting with recipes, “I definitely had moments when I thought I should give up. When I was experimenting, there were so many failures, like cakes that came out hard or cupcakes that stuck to the wrappers and stuff that was almost not even edible; but then I found recipes I liked and changed them according to my own tastes, so I got more confident with my skills,” said the young cook. 
 
Along with the help of her mother whom she lovingly refers to as her taster, Anisha has perfected many recipes from cakes, tarts, cupcakes and cheesecakes since then. Speaking of My Kind of Thing since its inception, she said, “My siblings make sure I always upload new pictures and details, but I am glad they set it up for me. What I like about the page is that letting people see the desserts means they’ll tell me what they like, and what I might even add or leave out in the designs. So my decorating gets better over time.”
Though she has perfected scrumptious recipes that have left many asking for more, Anisha admits that she prefers designing and decorating structures over baking the actual cake, citing the challenge of finishing that picture perfect structure more satisfying than just piping icing over cupcakes.
 
Currently schooling at Asian International School, she juggles classes and extracurricular actives like swimming, netball, football and dance, by asking for 3 to 4 days’ notice in advance for an order, “At the moment I bake in the evenings, I’m studying part commerce and part science, so I’m busy with studying these days but always prepare early so I can deliver on time. It’s all about time management really,” she explained.  
 
For orders, customers usually come with pictures of what they have in mind for their special cakes and then Anisha will try to get the finish product as close to perfect as possible, but says “It’s hard to get it perfect here because abroad structures are air brushed; here, there’s no real store to buy those things from, so it’s very difficult to get the print correctly. I have to stencil it by hand very carefully.”
 
Some of her most elaborate cakes have been in the shapes of a credit card and Louis Vuitton suitcase made for friends; while the most ornate structure was for her sister’s birthday, an opened Tiffany’s box with pearls inside.
 
With all the inherent skills for baking and detailing, one would think running her own catering business would be her career of choice, but for Anisha, a career in medicine has always been her goal. 
 
“My friends have always asked why, but I want to focus on medicine once I graduate. It’s something I’ve always wanted since I was a kid. But I do love cooking; sometimes I tell my mom I have to get home soon after school so I can cook, and she looks at me like I’m crazy and says girls my age would never say that. So maybe in the future, I’ll have a little shop for cakes on the side,” she said.
 
“I would however like to take a professional cooking class someday to see what I could do better, because I’ve learnt to cook from watching and reading books; no one’s ever really sat me down and said this is how you should do it. So that would be interesting,” she further added. 
 
In the meantime, Anisha wants to focus on developing more recipes and techniques. Some of her more recent accomplishments were chocolate cupcakes with strawberry fillings and a chocolate cake that gives you a pink heart shape inside with every slice. 
 
And even though she describes her schedule as ‘just a little bit crazy’ for a 16 year old, Anisha says a lot of people compliment her cakes, structures and the decorating that goes into it and she loves doing it too much to stop, which is certainly good news for the rest of us.
 

  

 

 

By Lake Argent 
 
Pics by Samantha Perera 
 
Cake pics courtesy My Kind of Thing facebook page


0 Comments

  1. Siva Lokanathan says:

    Bravo. That's a great for a person of your age. Keep it up remembering that your priority should always towards academic qualifications.
    Regards and best wishes.

  2. Siva Lokanathan says:

    Bravo! Wonderful creativity for a person of your age. Keep at it, remembering that your priority should be achieving academic accolades.
    Regards and Best Wishes

  3. Faqi says:

    All the cakes looks delicious & mouth watering. Anisha is a beautiful young lady. All power to her & success in her home business. Good luck Anisha

  4. manpei says:

    Well done young lady. Need more young people of her nature in Srilanka to inspire our youth to do greater things than fight at night clubs and waste their parents money.

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