Mid-Day Anniversary Special | `Felt like Mumbai had embraced me`: Pooja Dhingra reveals how her patisserie found home in the city

Pooja Dhingra, the founder of Le15 India’s first macaron-led patisserie, is the woman who introduced Mumbai to the charm of delicate French desserts. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, she returned home to build a brand rooted in precision, joy, and quiet resilience. Today, she’s a bestselling author, podcast host and a La Liste Pastry Game Changer 2025. But more than her accolades, it’s her ability to lead with heart and champion women-led ambition that makes her story stand out.

Pooja Dhingra outside Good Earth in Lower Parel, where her first kiosk was set up back in 2010. PICS/SATEJ SHINDE

Dhingra said, “My first shop-in-shop was at Good Earth in 2010, a space that already held so much cultural and aesthetic significance in Mumbai. People would walk in to buy a cushion or a candle and leave with a box of macarons. I didn’t have to explain Le15; just being there meant people instantly got it. That association gave us visibility, credibility, and a kind of emotional belonging in the city. It felt like Mumbai had embraced me.” 

To the younger version of herself, the girl watching her early boxes sell at Good Earth, she would say, “It’s okay not to have all the answers. Keep showing up, stay curious, and trust your instinct. The city will test you, but it will also carry you.”  And she’d gently add, “You’re building something far bigger than you can see right now.”

Speaking about mid-day, Dhingra said it has always been a part of her life. “I grew up reading it; it was the one paper I never missed! It had an energy and a rhythm that felt distinctly Mumbai. I remember the thrill of seeing our first review for Le15 in mid-day; I was both nervous and excited. It felt like the city was finally seeing us. One of my first awards was from mid-day too, in September 2010, which made it all the more special! Over the years, mid-day hasn’t just reported on the city’s story; it has helped shape it. And I feel really grateful that my story has found a place in its pages.”