For a foodie, especially for someone who loves baked goodies, Shaheen Peerbhai is a familiar name. For someone like me who has a sweet tooth and loves checking out bakeries, talking to the Purple Foodie—as she is known in the blogging world—was a dream come true.
Shaheen who grew up in Mumbai surely has come a long way since she won both the prestigious James Bread Foundation Scholarship and the Culinary Trust scholarship in 2011. From there, she went on to study at one of the best culinary institutes, Le Cordon Bleu. In 2016, she went to Alain Ducasse Education in Argenteuil, a small suburb on the outskirts of Paris. There she got her diploma in superior culinary arts.
It has been a month into the opening of her first bakery-cum-workshop in London, where she currently resides. Shaheen talks about her solo venture, Miel, and what is next. “I have been wanting my own space for a long time now. In December 2017, I started putting thought into paper, coming up with a business plan, making a list of equipment ,etc. It took nearly six months to find a place. When we finally found one at Warren Street, Fitzrovia, London, it was just about finishing building works, which took about three months,” Shaheen says.
The name Miel translates to honey in French. “The idea was to have a short and easy name that resonated with sweet in French, which was also easy to pronounce outside of France.” Shaheen, who had a job in marketing earlier says she does not have any dramatic moment to share simply because her “growth has been organic”. “It all grew organically from when I started my blog, The Purple Foodie, in 2007. After I started the blog, I started with workshops, then I applied for the scholarship (both James Bread Foundation and the Culinary Trust). After studying at Le Cordon, I worked then studied again and here I am,” she says.
And while she loved travelling for classes and workshops to India and other parts in Europe, Shaheen says she wanted a place to call her own where she could offer baked goodies as well as conduct workshops and practice her craft. “The idea is to keep progressing and do the best you can,” she says when asked about if she always had a vision ahead of her.
The Miel menu offers a mix of breads like brioche and foccacia; snacks like financiers and madeleines; pastries like the canele and shiny AF chocolate tarte (it really says that!) and sandwich and a quiche of the day which is usually offered for lunch. “I like to keep the food rotational and seasonal. Like if there is a raspberry tart today, tomorrow it would be a lemon tart,” she says.
Shaheen's most recent event was the high-profile wedding of Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta for which she was asked to create an assortment of 40 desserts in the theme of magic.
Shaheen who equally enjoys Indian food says, her favourite eateries in Mumbai, the city she grew up in, are Gajalee, Mahesh Lunch Home and Trishna. “I am very lucky to have a family who has been very supportive of whatever I do. Especially my husband who has been a sounding board and been the numbers man, helping me with the excel sheets; and being supportive during the times I was in self-doubt. Even here in London, I am lucky to have friends who pitch in on a day off. So it really is the collective effort of people what is making Miel what it is,” Shaheen adds.
Shaheen says she enjoys all the three aspects of baking, putting together the batter and bringing together the ingredients which is a chemistry of sorts. “Because, the ratios have to be right, and if not, the entire recipe could be ruined. Then there is technique where you whip it or fold and not simply pour and stir. Here, the right tool matters, too. Then you get into the creative aspect to assemble the dessert any way you want and decorate it.”
Shaheen says she takes inspiration from French pastry chef Pierre Conticini. “I like his approach to pastry,” she says.
Shaheen who has co-authored two books on baking and food, says: “Paris Picnic Club is the result of massive cookouts I would have with my friend Jennie (Levitt) during my time in Paris. There was a baker who would drop off a bag of freshly baked baguettes at this farm near the place we lived. This was inspiration to cook and invite people to literally picnic with us. All the recipes there are from our experience.”
“Sucre, a pastry zine happened when I met this amazing illustrator Manolya Isik in London. Manolya is also into baking. So we got together and came up with a book that would be easy to navigate with illustrations, making it easy for bakers. It was meant to be playful not serious and that is what we achieved, I think,” Shaheen says.
Both the books released in March 2018. About the one thing she took back about dining and food from the French that was not taught in a classroom, she says: “I love how the French pay attention to detail. I like how they understand and specialise in aspects of food. I had been to this market in France where I saw a guy selling apples. He was also selling apple juice, apple sauces, and a nice reduction that could be a spread. Just imagine the different things he did with these apples. I love how detail-oriented they are when it comes to food.”