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It's always a good idea to take a break from the daily routine of work and try out something new. Who knows, you may discover a new talent in the process just as Lizia Pinto did a few years ago.
“I had done my graduation in commerce and was working in administration for for two years. However as I was bored, I decided to try my hand at baking on the side,” she recalls. Her first trial though, she admits, was an absolute failure. “ I decided to try making brownies but I didn't know at what temperature to keep the oven at. The end result was that the lower part got burnt and the upper half stayed uncooked!” she chuckles.
However, Pinto continued her experiments and realised that she loved what she was doing. Thus, she decided to enrol for the food production course offered at Cidade de Goa, Dona Paula and later did her training at Bodega in Altinho Panaji. She then worked at Novatel for awhile taking cake orders at home on the side before launching Sweeth Tooth, full time in 2012.
And with creamy simply sinful offerings which beg you to forget about your diet and calories restrictions, it's suffice to say that Pinto made the right decision. “ I take all kinds of cake orders including customised cakes and there is no restriction on ingredients and flavours,” she says, adding that bachelorette cakes are the most fun to make. “ Some customers know exactly what they want when they come to me for an order. In fact sometimes one has to be very careful in dealing with these type of customers. I once had a customer who first said that they wanted a flat printed cake but at the last minute they changed it to a 3D design. They were very particular about every detail right from the size, colour and even the board!” she says laughing. However a lot of customers ask Pinto for her inputs on cake ideas. “ I usually browse online, go through recipe books and scroll through my Instagram feed which features various chefs to get inspired and then come up with my own ideas,” she says, adding that this is usually the toughest part of her job. “ There are so many people out there who are in this line, doing so many new things and you can't do the same thing. You have to be unique for people to notice you,” she says. In fact, Pinto, doesn't believe in following readily available recipes either. “ All my recipes are by trial and error. I don't feel right about taking someone else's recipes and at the same time I want my work to taste unique,” she adds.
And she does not shy away from experimenting with something new at the same time. “ Not many people make the red velvet cheesecake here and also recently I made bacon doughnuts for an event,” she says. In fact, Pinto states that Goans are now much more open to sampling something new as compared to earlier. “Previously people liked the same old traditional cakes and would run away for experimenting new things. But this has changed,” she says. Apart from her home orders, Pinto also supplies to Cafe Basil in Miramar and you can also catch her at the Margao Tinto this weekend.
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Antonio Bachour
Adriano Zumbo
Pierrick Boyer
