Sweet somethings!

Dark chocolate with cranberry cashew, dark chocolate with candied strawberries and almond, milk chocolate with nutmeg and almond, white chocolate with rose and pistachio – the delicious sounding combos are of fudges that will be boxed to be given away as Diwali gifts – a gourmet offering from Peach Artistry – the brain child of Heena Patel and Preeti Shetty.

“We conceived these flavours as a takeaway from Indian tradition of gifting dry fruits, shares Heena, who is behind the creative and marketing side of the venture that began early this year and caters desserts and bakes customized to clients’ requirements.

The seeds of the concept go back to 2011 when Heena after graduating in Business Management began working for a corporate when she realised it is not her cup of tea and decided to enroll in Sophia Polytechnic College in Mumbai for a Diploma in Baking. “I always liked cooking and baking. It was during my training that I met my now partner and friend Preeti Shetty.

After finishing the course Preeti settled as a home chef. I too wanted to be a home baker, but I began working in different restaurants. I also went to Dubai to work for the modern Indian restaurant, the famous Tresind. It was a great experience and I was gaining a lot of experience.

I used to work on live counters doing molecular panipuri and stuff, but it was surely monotonous life,” she shares. “I came to Hyderabad to work as a PR at Park Hyderabad hotel in 2017. Working in Hyderabad gave me time for myself to plan my future,” she explains.

Heena was honing skills at baking in restaurants and marketing while Preeti was cooking delicious meals for catering in Mumbai, but it was a done deal between the both that they would get together to do something on their own. “I wanted to explore my creativity at my own pace and she wanted to do the same.Preeti was the only woman to have her desserts on Hola Chef four years ago.

Later, she also began taking proper meal catering orders in bulk. Both of us have had an inclination towards cooking and baking and we believe in basics. We still make our cakes using flour, butter, sugar rather than pre-mix. She is strong in production and menu planning and I, in design ideas and marketing. We are opposites with strong essence and base values. We knew we could make a great team,” she states.

And finally, it happened. Preeti shifted to Hyderabad and together they began to make customised cakes, bakes and desserts and supplying to a few cafes and to homes and parties, and named their enterprise, ‘Peach Artistry’.
Their rosemary and sea salt cookies are quite a hit. Their customers vouch for their brownies. And it is their minimalistic take on special cakes that is fast gaining them patronage.

“Like many, we too customise cakes, but with minimal use of fondant. We became conscious about how we deliver our cakes. We like them to be pretty. We add flowers and laces. We use elements that are fancy and those that can be eaten. People pay for the cakes so they should be able to eat the whole of it. Our sponge is also vegetarian, and it is made absolutely fresh. In short, our USP is classy and minimalist.”

There is a reason behind naming their business “Peach Artistry’. “We did not want to limit ourselves by calling it patisserie. I have been making my own creams and soaps at home. Preeti is very good with her creative writing. Going forward we would be bringing in other verticals that are creative and skill-based under the Peach Artistry umbrella,” Heena states.