If it’s 10 in the night and you are craving some brownie, an enterprising lad would bring them to your doorstep packed in a neat box named Brownie Heaven with a slug, ‘If there is no brownie in heaven, I’m not going’. That’s Nishant Vijayakumar, a 25-year-old entrepreneur in Chennai who is proud to play the role of a delivery boy to develop a rapport with his customers. “I know all my clients personally,” says Vijayakumar.
As India’s culinary diaspora is growing at an exhilarating pace where pretentiousness overshadows quality and pricing derides affordability, Vijayakumar understands the gimmicks of the game and has the right dose of creativity, exposure and social media expertise to bake a flourishing brownie career for himself.
The whole brownie affair for Vijayakumar was not like how Mildred Brown Schrumpf of Bangor of Maine, in the early 20th century, came up with as a result of her failed cakes. Not wanting to waste the cake, she served them as little squares. But for him, it was well planned and executed.
He had taken admission in Loyola College through sports quota. But it was the kitchen that was his call and he pursued Hotel Management at Welcomgroup Graduates School of Hotel Administration, Manipal. He joined the ITC group of hotels and quit his secured job as a junior sous chef to make an independent start.
“The idea was to create a simple consistent high-quality product and build a sustainable brand. I chose brownies because one cannot go wrong if you have the ingredients in the right proportion,” says Vijayakumar who had worked at prominent restaurants like Copper Chimney and Cornucopia.
Vijayakumar, who represented Tamil Nadu in Under-17 and Under-19 cricket, started off his selling through his Facebook page. His seven-month-old Royapettah outlet started off in June 2015. And his only advantage was that the place was his own.
“From taking orders to baking brownies, wrapping them and delivering, I did it all by myself and sold 2,500 kg of brownies within the first three months,” says Vijayakumar. If this success gave him a boost, Diwali orders of 600 kg in just five days ensured he need not worry.
The outlet serves 22 flavours of brownies, most of which are the chef’s unique creations like the Filter Kaapi, Roasted Nuts and Peppermint, Chilly and Jamaican, to name a few. However, his favourite is the Brownie Junkie, which is brownie with crushed potato chips and ice cream. “The salt of the chips compliments the sugar of the ice-cream to give the spongy textured desert a great taste,” he explains.
Besides these, there are some assorted varieties like the Brownie Banoffee with sliced bananas, whipped cream, chocolate shavings and toffee sauce; and Heaven on Earth, a brownie base with fruit mélange and citrus mascarpone quenelle. He has also come up with an aphrodisiac brownie with sliced strawberries, almond flakes and pista ice cream, especially for Valentine’s Day.
So, what is his take on brownie competition in the gourmet market? “Sizzling brownie is common. But the fact that I have repeating business and positive reviews speaks volumes for my quality. Chennai market is loyal and challenging. It takes time to accept you,” he says.
Vijayakumar is also planning to introduce other products in the market. He would be launching an idli brand in just two weeks, offering the newest varieties of idlis ever—be it idlis dipped in chocolate or those stuffed with chicken slices. And for the sambar, that’ll be white in colour.
Ask him on what makes him to work for 18 hours a day and he replies, “It is the training you receive as part of the hotel management course. It has made me street smart, confident and ready to take on-spot decisions. Plus, I can’t sit idle.” Today, his brownies are served via a kiosk counter in Thiruvanmiyur. He is also receiving franchise offers to set up his brand in other cities across India. “I will take a little more time before going for such expansions,” he says. For now, he sums it up by saying, “When you think of brownies, my outlet should be the first one to come to people’s mind.”