In a cutthroat world of e-commerce and fierce competition, two self-taught bakers Sobia Ameen and Lamia Chowdhury and IRL friends show that passion and joy can organically pave way for growth. This week we celebrate Galentine’s Day by focusing on these engaging young women and how they make the world a sweeter place, one cake at a time.
Pishto.
Sobia Ameen was born and brought up in Dhaka, and as a kid, she had two phases that she kept alternating between; a witty outspoken child or an introverted art geek who would mind her own business.
“My childhood was very disciplined, I would have my week days scheduled after school till 6pm to either have swim team (swimmer in the swim team for years, low-key mermaid), piano classes, karate, art or even flower arrangement. As a child I don’t remember ever being bored, I always had something to do,” said Sobia, talking to us about her childhood.
The architect-turned-baker, began her culinary journey in Australia, and it required a lot of trial and error on Sobia’s part, to become the pastry artisan that she is today.
Sobia went to ISD in Dhaka, and when she graduated, she left to study fine arts in Sydney but ended up switching to landscape architecture, where she only did a year, before transferring to architecture. She has no background in culinary arts, but has always been interested in different forms of art and expressing herself through different creative media.
“We are a family of architects, except my mother, who studied fine arts but worked for the airlines (I definitely got my sense of humour from her.) When I look back to my childhood now, I see how my parents tried making us pursue anything in the creative field. Holidays for us meant art, buildings or live shows (theatre and others), I only figured as an adult that most people do other things on holidays but I appreciate this because the exposure has definitely helped shape my creative process,” the self taught baker informed.
Shaikat Mahamud
Apart from this, Sobia has always been someone who is open about voicing her opinions on the social media. When asked what defines her uniqueness and individuality, she replied, “When I started, I didn’t know what I was doing and was posting about my daily life on social media. I did not know too much about Instagram and would only post once in a while. I started becoming more regular which resulted in getting a lot of opportunities. I realized I had a platform to express myself and I try to convey the values that I support with as much honesty as possible. I think my uniqueness and individuality has to do with being true to myself and unapologetic to society for who I truly am, I think I share my dark sense of humour in a quirky way which also addresses a lot of the underlying issues in our society which people can probably relate to, or maybe I say the things people want to but cannot because of their circumstances.”
Sobia started baking as a form of stress relief. She would bake when she was younger, but probably not this well. When she first moved back, Sobia tried socializing a fair bit and would take cakes to dinners, where most people would ask her if she bought it from somewhere or if they could buy her cakes -- and that is how she started her dessert shop Pishto. “I think the journey has been quite smooth for me even though I didn’t know much about what I was going into. I am heavily inspired by art, architecture and fashion and I try to use that to design my cakes,” she added.
Being someone who’s so original on social media, Sobia believes the pros have to be the amazing audience you get to connect with, people you probably would not have met otherwise. “There is a lot of acceptance, which I think, is something to take positively because a lot of the topics I want to discuss are frowned upon, and it is nice to know that I am supported.”
However, the pastry artisan thinks the cons include being constantly expected to be around and not realizing that she is not a superhuman, available at every hour of the day. “A lot of mean things are written about my appearance sometimes, but I don’t let that get to me because I know that I consciously put myself out there, and the bad cannot outweigh the good that comes out of it.”
Limpy’s – By Lamia Chowdhury
Lamia Chowdhury, baker at Limpy’s – by Lamia Chowdhury, on the other hand, always fantasized about being a baker's helper in some foreign land. A small town cake shop nestled between lush greenery with natural golden sunlight flooding in through the big windows. She would zone out to the sound of some vintage tunes playing in the background, a cacophony of unintelligible whispers of the locals rushing in and out of the store, paper bags full of warmth and sweetness rustling between their frosty fingers. “I would just be an insignificant character. Happy and alone, my sole function to stand there and fill pastry shells with creme legere. Be nothing but a knob on the wheel of this Hallmark postcard dream scene. I don't know why this kind of an unimportant role in life always seemed so tempting to me. I knew I was supposed to want to be something grander. But all I ever dreamed of was a big yellow kitchen where I created magic,” said Lamia.
At 20, Lamia lefther motherʼs home and went to university in Canada to study Finance, and later switched to Business Adminstrative studies. After this, she decided that she wanted to be a film maker as both her parents were actors and she grew up hanging out at her parents’ shooting sets. “With cinema running through my veins it seemed like the natural course of things. With all try grander goals in line I never really took my desire to cook and bake seriously, and it remained an escapist fantasy and backup plan.”
However, during the pandemic, Lamia suddenly found herself stuck at home, all her other business ventures and film production work stalled indefinitely. “Ramadan came around, and every year I have a ritual of sending iftar to my building staff from my own kitchen. Usually it would be prepared by my cook, but because this year I was home under lockdown I began to cook iftar for them everyday. It was so much fun. I suddenly had so much time to nurture my long forgotten secret passion. On Eid day I had a dessert spread looking like a shop display. I didnʼt even have anyone to feed. I just went all out because I was having so much fun. After Eid, I still wanted to continue and began to make goodies and send to my friends and neighbours. Within days the orders started pouring in and it got overwhelming. I asked my teenager cousin to make me a quick logo and opened a page on Facebook. And the rest is history. I still use the same logo,” informed Lamia.
When asked what makes Limpyʼs different from every other bakery shop in Bangladesh, the self taught baker replied, “I would say transparency and simplicity. I have always been an oversharer. I enjoy sharing both mundane and sometimes not so mundane moments of my life with my friends and followers on social media. It is a way for me to document my life in an almost shockingly public way and helps me feel connected with my audience. So when I began baking I shared my experiences about that as well. All aspects. The creative process, the DIY hacks and quick solutions, the praise, the popularity as well as the goof ups. I shared every step of the journey. I post stories on my socials, I write long rants on my statuses, post not so glamorous, and oftentimes hilarious behind the scene photos. It is quite common for me to regularly post videos of me making the cakes from scratch, from frosting, to layering to final garnish. Sometimes my staff joke about how I am sharing all my secrets, and should not share to such an extent. But where is the joy in doing anything if one cannot share it? Maybe I am mad, but I truly enjoy being transparent and real and I believe that is what endears my clients to me and builds goodwill for my brand. When my clients order something from me, they can watch how their cake is being made by just a click on my stories. It feels intimate. My clients feel involved. And I believe this connection is what makes them trust me• I mentioned simplicity because from what I see on the internet, most other bakeries seem to focus a lot on decoration and design. They have the skill for it too. My priority is always the taste and quality of ingredients. And to be really honest I donʼt even know how to do ornate fondant decor and icing. I stick to what I can do, that is, make great tasting cakes and I rely on my creativity to make them look somewhat unique and expressive of my personal aesthetics.”
Talking about her signature dessert or cake, Lamia went on to say, “Hands down, the Ultimate Chocolate Cake, as I remember having put a lot of thought into it. I would eat chocolate cakes from my favourite places and ask myself what I seek for in the perfect slice of chocolate cake. I knew exactly what I wanted and after some experimentation, a winning combination after my heartʼs desires was born and fortunately, all that effort did not go in vain as it has consistently remained my unanimous champion since day one. We call it UCC for short.”
With Limpyʼs, Lamia tries to take any opportunity she gets to introduce something new to the menu that the market is not already saturated with. She makes candied apples because growing up she read about them in story books and always wanted to eat them, but they werenʼt available here, so she just made them herself. She makes Half Baked Hokkaido Cheese tarts because a client requested it after she could not find them anywhere, and now the cheese tarts sell out like hot cake on bake sale days and she gets rave reviews on them. She knows her loaded brownies are very popular with the clients, but she was more excited about putting Chewy Date and Nut Blondies on the menu because she never sees blondies anywhere else. “I make what I find is missing in the market and things that appeal to me. I will never bake something I myself would not pay money for, and I think that is important because you have to love what you do. I often get requests for cupcakes, cookies etc. but I donʼt force myself to make things that donʼt attract me. Plus the market has no shortage of those items anyway.”
Lamia Chowdhury never went to school for this. “Everything I know in life I learnt from experimentation and the internet. YouTube has been my best teacher. I dream of having a bigger production capacity and more sophisticated set up one day so I can make more complex pastry and desserts that require multiple steps and elements.”
Who is Lamia Chowdhury other than a baker?
“Humans are complex beings with multiple potentials. I donʼt wish to limit myself in life. Other than being a baker, I am also a film maker, writer and entrepreneur. I am mother to a cat, a dog and a couple hundred plants, as the pandemic has also turned me into a crazy plant lady who is turning her home into an urban apartment jungle. I like to sing and dance when I get time, and am writing a dual memoir about my dear late motherʼs illustrious, adventurous. and tragically short life.
The ecstatic reviews, sweet words of encouragement and enthusiastic testimonials that I continuously get from my clients constantly motivate her. “A quick scroll down my reviews page and I am instantaneously reminded of how rewarding this has been for me. I have nothing but gratitude to offer towards the universe and my wonderfully kind supporters and well-wishers. I remember when I had just started I had randomly received the most thoughtful surprise gifts from acquaintances and friends. One friend had sent me washi tapes because she saw me make handmade flags and banners for my cakes with paper tape in my stories when my clients had first begun to ask for birthday/ anniversary notes on the cakes. Another friend sent me handmade paper she made herself after she saw my Butterscotch Banana Bread Packaging with brown paper and twine. We only use planet friendly packaging and materials at Limpyʼs and saying no to easily accessible one time use plastic supplies means we have to spend time doing our own DIY craft work for these things. The fact that our well-wishers noticed that and extended their support in this way deeply touches and warms my heart.”
Limpyʼs would not even happen if it wasnʼt for the pandemic. Limpyʼs was born as a direct result of me being stuck at home during a time that was scary – and apocalyptic. “Baking was my therapy, release and escape. It was hope and creation at a time of despair and paranoia. I am grateful to my home staff who have grown with me during this time and now we all work together in serving our clients the best we can,” said Lamia.
