My story from IT engineer to a Cake artist
How I started with Cake Bites in Goa
Exactly two years back she had no clue about what a sharp turn(or change of lane!) she was going to take with respect to her career.
A software engineer by choice , by liking towards programming ,right from 8th std .. who would have thought that she would like something much more than this ! She had made her decision about becoming software enginner when she was introduced to C in MICE Institute in 8th standard. There was no second thought on that.
She did her graduation in IT in PCCE , Verna Goa. She had cleared interviews for Wipro , Cognizant and Persistent systems. Due to recession in 2009 , there was downsizing taking place in most of the companies , and hardly anyone was offered jobs. And she was firm about staying in her homeland Goa. She cleared another interview for Research assistant in NIO , Donapaula to work in their IT Dept. After working there for 1 year and gaining some expeerince , she got into Persistent Systems in Verna.
After working for 4.5 years , in 2014 she was working as a Module lead . Lack of creative work made her restless , and try some new things at home after she was back from work. She was anyways a foodie , but never tried her hands on desserts , cakes etc. Some shows on TLC , Fox Life channels fascinated her to try different types of cakes. Intitally were all flops , but slowly when her cakes started tasting better than bakeries around , she realised something was going to change. The more she tried out differnt types of cakes , the more she loved this new passion of cake baking like nothing before.
It was a tough decision to
This is Namrata Khandeparkar . I am an IT engineer from Goa . After passing out with engineering degree , I had got job offers from Cognizant , Wipro and Persistent via campus placement. I had opted for persistent Systems but due to recession we were not offered jobs. I then worked for 1 year in National Institute of Oceanography in their IT dept. Den worked in a small company named RZ2games in Panjim Goa . Soon I saw a vacancy in Persistent systems in Goa and got a job there.
I always wanted to be a IT engineer with no second thoughts as I loved programming and creative stuff. But after joining corporate life I realised the kind of work we did was copy paste most of the times. That creativity or passion for work was lacking. I worked there for 5 years. Initial years were good but then I couldnt do the typical 9 to 6 job.
Out of frustration I started baking at home . I always loved cooking starters and I am a foodie but I never used to bake. My initial attempts were failures but I learned it the hard way. and as i understood the science behind baking , my cakes started turning out good. The amazing part is the kind of happiness I get through cooking and baking is much more than programming. The work satisfaction which was lacking in my job , was getting fulfilled. I started making cakes for occasion and was soon convinced that I should be doing this.
It was a difficult decision to quit a Module Lead post job in a IT company with high salary and start something of your own which is not my forte. My father supported me in my decision and I quit the job. I started in a small rental flat , where i conducted baking workshops . Surprisingly they got quite popular. I even started workshops for starters like chicken kababs etc , bread and cookie making and desserts like chocolate mousse , pannacota etc. But my main aim was to bake customised cakes. I named my venture Cake Bites , created FB page and did all the advertising via FB on different food groups. I soon started getting orders and then came into picture fondant cakes. I realised i need some kind of knowledge and training in this field. I attended a workshop on fondant making and learnt all tips and tricks in Bangalore.
It was difficult to implement same fondant techniques in Goa as climates in Bangalore and Goa are completely different . Goa is quite humid and thus affects the fondant . Now I am preety much used to doing wedding cakes , engagement cakes , kids birthday cakes. I love making customized cakes , for example making a kids birthday cake with edible toys which the kids like (pictures are shared and edible toys are replicated ).
I love my job now !
