Mumbai women set to host bake-a-thon in Goa

BACON 2015 which was also held in Goa was the first convention of its kind to be organised in IndiaIts A warm Sunday afternoon and five women whorsquove gathered at the cosy little pink studio at Versova are expected to go live on Facebook They are already late for the live chat they inform while munching on the cupcakes and pastries theyrsquove brought for the occasion When they do go online sometime later the giggling company gets down to business ldquoHello bakersrdquo they collectively say into the camera of the mobile phone ldquoWe canrsquot wait to see yourdquoBarely a week from now the fivewomen team will host 120 others of their ilk at BACON 2016 mdash a first of its kind convention for bakers which is just one season oldGinaMaya Iyer extreme left and Priyanka Arora Nayak extreme right the brains behind BACON roped in home bakers Liz Pius second from left Vishaka Rautela centre and Mitali Lalwani after they volunteered to help make the project a reality PicSneha KharabeWith 16 baking experts and demonstrators leading the threeday event scheduled to begin on September 22 the convention has already doubled in scale and size ldquoWe just had eight experts last yearrdquo says 30yearold Priyanka Arora Nayak who runs the Polka Dots Cakes Academy in Andheri The icing on the cake is that the convention will be held in Goa Helming the show are the five women who are now entertaining lastminute queries from participants in a video chat on FacebookldquoIt all started over a random discussion at lunch with Priyanka in March last yearrdquo says GinaMaya Iyer 44 a home baker who launched her own label Ginarsquos Kitchen seven years ago ldquoPriyanka told me about this group of bakers who were meeting up on a cruise for a fun getaway I told her lsquoletrsquos do it toorsquordquo recalls GinaMaya The sprightly mother of two remembers going back home and posting the news on a few baking groups on social media ldquoWithin minutes we had hundreds of people giving our plan a thumbs uprdquo says GinaMayaThe widespread interest the getaway for home bakers generated however meant the need to create something more constructive says Priyanka a professional baker who tutors in several cities in India And thatrsquos how the plan for the first BACON took shapeThe other three members Vishaka Rautela Liz Pius and Mitali Lalwani all accomplished home bakers came on board after Priyanka and GinaMaya called for volunteers to help make the convention a reality While Vishaka and GinaMaya helped create the social media buzz Priyanka took on the task of roping in experts Liz handled the logistics and Mitali an IT professional took care of the finances Since it was a nonsponsored event the task of making it work got a lot tougher ldquoBut our support team was amazing Itrsquos as if this convention always had the blessings of the cake godsrdquo says PriyankaAfter their successful launch last year the team once again came together this year and this time there are participants coming in from all over India and as far as the UAE and the Sultanate of OmanWhile more demonstrators have agreed to join the programme whatrsquos new on the block are six masterclasses which will be held at the Zuri White Sands Resort and Casino ldquoSelected masters will hold classes for a smaller bunch of participants who will have to register for the sessions separately At each class they will be taught different techniques related to bakingrdquo says 41yearold Vishaka a home caterer and food blogger who goes by the name Vishual FoodieLiz 38 whose homegrown label Lovingly Liz took flight after the experience that she gained at the convention says ldquoI was very new to the homebaking industry when I attended the first convention But being exposed to likeminded people and sharing ideas on how to go about our businesses gave me a boostrdquo Mitali 38 who will be holding a demonstration on guiltfree baking at the convention adds ldquoHome baking in India is still nascent and although we are a very competitive industry we donrsquot bake to make profits as much as we do it for the sheer love of it What I realised after participating in the first convention is that we are still reliant on each other when it comes to learning so this platform works perfectly for usrdquoStarting the convention is one thing keeping it afloat is another admits GinaMaya ldquoItrsquos like a growing child who has to achieve better with every given year I doubt I have put so much pressure on my own kidsrdquo