This Kolkata café has a unique offering besides cupcakes and cookies
Started by a group of parents, led by Amrita Rao Chowdhury, Sip N Bite café is run by 16 specially-abled youth who do everything from the baking to billing.
Located on the busy Lake Road in Kolkata is a small café. Famous for its cupcakes and cookies, Sip N Bite is fast becoming a regular for a lot of the locals. What sets this café apart, though, is that its entire workforce comprises specially-abled adults.
From baking the goodies to bringing them to your table, tabulating your bill, and overall maintenance – the staff of 16 – aged 20 to 40 years – does it all. Some of them have autism, while others have Down Syndrome or other cognitive challenges.
Amrita Rao Chowdhury in the centre with the few members of the Sip N Bite team (Image:The Telegraph)
Sip N Bite is the brainchild of Amrita Roy Chowdhury, who heads the Transcendent Knowledge Society. The café team was first given skill development training at her centre. Speaking to Efforts For Good on how the idea came about, Amrita said,
“We offer a wide range of skill-based training at our centre. But, soon, parents realised that the present scenario curtails their (specially-abled children’s) career prospects. There is very less opportunity available for these youngsters to put their training to use in a professional setup and earn through it. We thought, why don’t we start something for them?”
In collaboration with South Kolkata's Parashmani, a parent-run organisation for special children, Amrita, along with five mothers started Sip N Bite in 2018. The café also puts up kiosks and stalls at corporate parks on request.
Being operational for almost a year, it has only seen the confidence level of its staff increasing. For instance, 24-year-old Arghya Dutta, a slow learner, has mastered the art of making butter cookies.
Some cupcakes made by the chef of Sip N Bite (Image: The Telegraph)
On the other hand, Shrutarshi, a 25-year-old who is responsible for billing and looking after the inventory, has cleared a secondary-level data entry operator’s course at the National Institute of Opening Schooling, reports The Telegraph.
On seeing the team learning, Amrita said,
“We never imagined that our youngsters would work so devotedly and with such perfection. These people were initially trained according to their passion, their communication skills, and their grasping abilities. Before starting the cafe, we selected 16 of our best performers and invited professional chefs to train them. 20 chefs rejected us upfront for one reason or the other. Finally, two chefs graciously welcomed our students and mentored them for months. After a successful pilot project, we inaugurated the cafe in 2018.”
Employees at the café work on a shift basis, which means an employee does not work for more than four to five hours a day. Sometimes, their mothers drop in to help.
Amrita added,
“Our primary and exclusive focus is the food and only the food. We never ever portray the disabilities of our workers, rather we promote the exemplary breakfast platters cooked by them. And, I would admit that the response has been amazing from our customers. People keep coming back over and over again to enjoy the food in the ambience.”
Do you have an interesting story to share? Please write to us at [email protected].To stay updated with more positive news, please connect with us on Facebook and Twitter
