For the love of desserts

Dessert is something that ends a meal on a happy note, and with gourmet desserts making inroads, they are sought after for a heightened food experience too. And if it is a bite of something really exotic, then it immediately enhances your mood. ‘Feu’, the French inspired patisserie at Jubliee Hills, Hyderabad has taken desserts to another level.

Shilpa has been a long-serving board member in the NCL Group Companies with experience in the Chemical & Building Materials industry. She is the third-generation business woman from her family and chose to do something different. Having a creative mindset and having travelled the world that opened her palate to finer tastes, Shilpa Datla was drawn towards creating a French inspired bakery, a one of its kind dessert studio in Hyderabad.

Tell us about your culinary journey!
I am very passionate about this whole thing. The journey started with the plan of starting a culinary studio where I wanted to hold cooking classes; which is not opening right now. Now, our focus is the Patisserie. I am very fond of desserts and during my travel I would always think that they are not many dessert places in Hyderabad. I felt that there is a huge market for desserts in Hyderabad and then I brought in the concept of French desserts.

I chose French desserts because they look lovely and are very delicious to taste. There is a lot of detailing that goes into the French desserts and it is always very nice to watch them. So, we tried to get some of the best chefs like Sanjana Patel who is from Bombay, who is also the Pastry queen of India. She is our mentor chef. I took her on board and she was our consultant and she helped us with the entire menu development etc.

Both of us together brought a whole list of products that would appeal to the Indian palate and at the same time tried to get little innovative with the likes of the dessert bar, which is live counter and a new concept too. This makes us different from the others.

Being the third-generation business woman from your family why did you choose to do something different from your family business?
My family is into building materials and this is the first generation to start off with a dessert bar. My father and grandfather are into building materials and my husband is also into that business and has his own company. This is completely new for all of us. But I love food and the experience of cooking. When I travelled I felt that there is definitely a good market in Hyderabad. A lot of effort has gone in the last nine months to get the right quality.

Are you coming up with something special this festive season?
Absolutely Yes! We want to make it very vibrant. The whole place here is very positive and the main thing here that I gave it a very homely touch. I do not want this to be a commercial space. Especially during Christmas time this place becomes perfect to have a cup of coffee and a piece of dessert.

Are there any of your favourites or specialties you would like to specially mention?
The pan-flavoured macaroons is one thing. One can try the authentic black forest, exotic fruit flavoured desserts and the all the flavours in macaroons will be a hit with the crowd. They give you a nostalgic feeling.

How many chefs are here on your team?
We have a good team of 11 chefs only for the pastry and another three for the continental menu like sandwiches and croissant. But our main focus in on the pastry. A lot of effort goes into it and whoever is working with all the detailing is very good at their work.

Why did you concentrate on French pastries?
I would not say that it is entirely French pastries. We do have our chocolate cake coming up and the tea cakes are also from London. It is a blend. We even have the Devils chocolate on our list. French pastries are given importance because those are something that I loved when I travelled. I thought people have always tried the chocolate desserts and these are some new introductions.

Are you planning to put up the dessert bar elsewhere too?
I am definitely looking for an expansion. But, I would first like to concentrate on Hyderabad because this is my baby right now.