Shikha Kaiwar

When I was 13, I made my first cheesecake and nearly destroyed the kitchen. Then I started an underground dessert club in high school and quickly realized how much I love to cook and eat. I spent the next several years working in restaurants all over the Bay Area with no formal pastry training. I staged and did everything from peeling apples, coating candy bars, plating masterpieces, and finally helping to open a restaurant as part of the pastry team. At some point, I decided to get my advanced certification in tarts and chocolate and went to Paris to train. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life and completely changed the way I thought about pastry and how pastry could be made. I see the world through pastry and started my blog to share that passion. French desserts with California flair are my favorite—especially tarts!