This is a story of a baker who had a family legacy of baking for 100 years yet never thought she would be one too. She realised her dream when she was 22-years-old and proved to the world how capable she is.

No matter how late you might think it is, you should start where you are, use what you have and do what you can because dreams don’t work unless you work hard for them. 

Her grandfather was a master bread baker, her father followed the legacy by handling the management of the bakery. Even though she grew up with the baking background she wasn’t very keen on entering the field of baking. After completing her junior college, she rejected the course her parents offered her in baking and went ahead in the banking sector in the CITI bank, later she ventured into the Human Resources as well.

As she was working as an HR, her office was near her uncle’s bakery. She used to order cakes in the office for birthdays and as time passed she started going behind the counter and helping her uncle with the fresh bakes!

Her co-workers and friends loved her work and encouraged her to pursue this field. She enjoyed baking a lot and decided to try her luck in the field. She quit her job and started working full-time with her uncle’s bakery.

As time passed her hard work paid off and she started receiving a lot of orders at her uncle’s bakery. Her uncle’s bakery was small and could not deliver so many orders that is why she decided to start her own bakery. Her parents were not very supportive of this decision as she had rejected this field after her junior college.

One of her close friends got her a loan with which she started her own bakery.

This inspiring baker is none other than Priyanka Deokar – the founder of White Lotus School of Cake decoration arts, Pune. She started her own bakery in two huts called modern cakes and confectionery. It was in the backyard of her parents property in Koregaon Park in Pune.  

Priyanka Deokar taught a few students in her bakery. Many more people approached her to be taught the art of baking and cake decoration. Shreya Shah, who was one of her students in this venture, has been with her throughout the entire journey from the bakery to White Lotus Baking School.

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Back in the day there weren’t any institutes that taught the skill of baking, Shreya encouraged Priyanka to start teaching and make it a trend. Priyanka was a little skeptical because she had never taught before but she started White Lotus Baking School Pune with the encouragement of Shreya and on the basis of nothing but her experience and skill. Priyanka started with a whipped cream decoration class and what a success it was! 

Slowly they started understanding the demand of the market and different techniques.  Today Shreya is the Head Instructor at White Lotus Baking School Pune working hard with Priyanka Deokar. The best course they have to offer is the Diploma called the Le Diploma Complet which is an intensive course designed to set a strong foundation for individuals who want to pursue a promising career in the multi-layered industry of bakery and confectionery.

During this journey of hard work when Priyanka Deokar was asked about her best experience, she said “My best experience is a repetitive one, when I see my students start their own brands and become big names in the industry, it boosts my morale and really motivates me and makes me proud”. 

After all of this success with White Lotus Baking School Pune, surprisingly, teaching and baking are not her only hobbies. When asked what her hobbies are she said, “ Learning”. She has very diverse interests. Her goals for this year are learning film-making, graphic designing and finance management!

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Priyanka’s resolution for the year is to focus more on her family and friends. Even though her professional life is not her main goal she will keep on teaching, baking cakes and making the world a better and SWEETER place with her fresh bakes!

“Be very patient, the journey is not very easy but it is a very rewarding one”. – Priyanka Deokar.

Story By: Trishant Nimsarkar