Pooja Dhingra- India's First Macaron Store Opener And The Owner Of The Bakery Chain Le15 Patisserie

Early Life

Pooja is an Indian pastry chef and one of the most successful woman entrepreneur in India.
She was only 6 when she became a sous-chef in the kitchen, with her aunt, who introduced her
to the world of baking!
She then tried her hands on baking brownies, pastries and chocolate with the help of her mother,
who used to run a small business of homemade chocolates at the time.
Pooja was also lucky enough to witness the realities of running a business in the hospitality
industry as she saw her father work at a Mexican restaurant that he co-owned.
As a child, she saw the risks involved but also the success of running a business and well now,
she is known as the macaron Queen of the industry!

Finding Her Way Into Becoming The Owner Of One Of Mumbai's Finest Patisserie Outlets

After studying two years of commerce at Jai Hind College Mumbai, Dhingra enrolled at a law
school and two weeks into it, she quit, as she realised that baking was her true passion. She
packed her bags and flew to the land of love and chocolates, Switzerland. Dhingra did a
hospitality and management course at the Cèsar Ritz School in Le Bouveret.
After completing a 3 year course, she began training at Le Cordon Blue in Paris which gave her
a way into the French Dessert and Everything delicious.
It was then, where she came across her first Macaron at one of Pierre Herme's Patisseries.
That's where her love affair for macarons began!

The Launch Of Le15

After successfully completing her course, Dhingra came back to Mumbai, borrowed 10 lakh rupees from
her father, set up a central kitchen and launched 3 outlets of Le15 with only two staff members
in 2009.
She introduced mumbai to the French Cookie- A heavenly treat for the mouth and the soul- The
Macaron.
Macarons are little biscuits filled with ganache and they come in several pretty colours. Pooja
Made her own variations and also introduced indian flavoured Macarons along with the classic
french delights. Later, Dhingra expanded her business and opened another Cafe Of Le15 in
colaba, south Mumbai.

Achievements

Pooja has been featured in National Daillies and is a common face in fashion and lifestyle

glossies not just for her abilities in the kitchen, but also as a successful businesswoman- who is an inspiration for all the women around the world!

She was selected by Forbes India for '30 under 30' achievers list for 2014 and the Forbes U-30
Asia List.

Pooja has also published three books. Her first book, The Big Book Of Treats is a compilation of recipes that use ingredients that she says ,are easily available at any Indian kiryana Store.This book also won second place at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in China.

Her second book, The Wholesome Kitchen
Is a compilation of desserts that are nutritious and most recipes don’t use traditional baking
essentials such as flour, eggs and butter.

Her third book, Can't Believe It's Eggless is all about baking anything and everything without the use of eggs.

Pooja has come a long way, and her growth and success seems to have no end in sight. She plans to have Le15 outlets all
across the country and she's also looking forward to Writing more and more of books. She
never Stops experimenting in the kitchen and she keeps coming up with fresh innovations to keep herself exclusive and that's what makes Le15 unique and special!