A candid chat with confectioner Pooja Dhingra and chef Conrad D'Souza

Pooja and Conrad enjoy lunch and laughs at Colabarsquos Le15 Cafe PicsBipin KokateIts so quaint I love it smiles the 43yearold genial Conrad DSouza soaking in the sunlight that streams in through large bay windows at Pooja Dhingras Parisianstyle Le15 Cafe in Colaba The 30yearold pastry chef chides him Connie I cant believe youve never come here Shame on you as DSouza a Bandra boy confesses that being in charge of the kitchen at the recently refurbished Carter Road allday diner Out Of The Blue means he rarely has time to travel southThe two havent met in a while but the bonhomie is intact They met six years ago when Conrad was executive chef at Pali Village Cafe and Pooja had just returned from Le Cordon Bleu Paris I would walk into to eat his food When someone asks me to pick a favourite dessert in the city it has to be Connies Vanilla Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Sauce I still crave it she smiles He highfives her with a return compliment Pooja has changed the baking scene since she arrived And now that she is launching her line of baking equipment were sortedIn the company of the cafes current piece de resistance mdash a lovely Christmas tree with presents strewn around mdash Pooja places an order from the menu thats created by chef Pablo Naranjo Agular Conrad opts for Savoury Parmesan Waffles topped with poached egg and Burrata basil and dill chutney tomato and pepper jam olivesWhen we request for a vegetarian pick Pooja recommends the Spicy Raclette a potatoandcheese stuffed grilled sandwich For herself she orders a bowl of Quinoa How boring Conrad says turning up his nose She laughs Listen I eat here all day every dayPooja This time Christmas in Bandra seems mellow right You dont see as many lights Demonetisation has hit our industry too Conrad The old Christmas charm is missing There are fewer carol singing groups and midnight masses You know I come from a large family of seven siblingshellipPooja Wow I didnt know thatConrad As kids every night from December 10 to 20 we would help my mother make kalkals and gujiyas in hometown Ahmedabad My favourite were rose cookies Pooja Though I come from a Punjabi home Ive always loved Christmas Till I was eight I would write notes to Santa In the last couple of years Christmas food has undergone a modern makeover We do Plum Cake Cupcakes Conrad Oh yes even were doing a special Christmas menu with Black Forest French Toast Pooja How do you make that Conrad Winks Come and taste itFood arriveshellipConrad Taking a bite of the waffles They are crisp and the tomato sauce isnt overpowering so I can taste the yolk of the perfectly poached egg Digs into Poojas salad The pomegranate is adding this nice flavour I am a carnivore but Ill try the sandwich After a bite The filling is good When I return Im definitely ordering this Pooja Points at the burrata Now we get an excellent variety of cheese locally which wasnt the case five years back In fact we source more ingredients from India now Our vanilla comes from Kerala Conrad But its high time we got good chocolate in India Pooja I agreeKrutika Is this a good time to be chef in MumbaiPooja Definitely Theres a lot happening Were seeing so many standalone specialised offerings Diners have become experimental A few nights back we started Table No 13 where chef Pablo and I offered a 10course vegetarian menu It was fun For dessert I made a dudhi cake Im obsessed with dudhi we made it with dark chocolate ganache and powdered burnt onion Popups now a big thing are a great way to showcase creativity too Conrad Thats true We are planning a popup every month starting January For the first one were doing a take on coastal food since Im Mangalorean and my executive chef is Goan Pooja Its an exciting time but I am taking it a step further and planning to learn to cook in 2017 I have a fear of hot kitchen because pastry chefs work in a specific manner following recipes to the T Cooking is instinctiveConrad Dear once youve mastered pastries cooking is a cakewalk I somehow foresee you opening a bigger restaurant with a barPooja Thats what I want to do I am going to get a wine licence for this place too Its my dream to own a barConrad And my new year resolution is to open a 45seater bar with a grungy vibe in a basement serving Prohibition era cocktails But only in Bandra laughsDesserts are herePooja Thats Lucie chocolate and salted caramel tart and Amelie milk cake raspberry coulis pepper crumbs mint All our desserts are named after French ladies Dont ask me whyConrad Im not a dessert person but I make an exception for Pooja Digs into Lucie Ooh the base and caramel are perfect and the chocolate is not Indian for sureKrutika One thing youd like to know about each otherConrad Smiles I know what Im going to ask Pooja What keeps you goingConrad My family My elder brother is a huge motivation He helmed 14 restaurants in Ahmedabad and Dubai till his partners chopped him off And now my fouryearold son Veer He is a foodie Now my turn When are you making your own wedding cake Pooja What sort of question is that even my mother doesnt ask me this laughs Initially every year my team used to decide what cake theyd make for my wedding Then they stopped Find me a boy