Tabitha Kurien never planned on becoming a professional baker. But somewhere between the cinnamon-scented chaos of holiday baking with her grandmothers and the hours spent interning in cafe kitchens, baking became her calling.
Today, her venture, The Baking Project, has grown from a solo kitchen experiment into a thriving business in Nettoor, Kochi, and is popular for European-style desserts and DIY gingerbread house kits.
“Baking was always around me,” says Tabitha. “During holidays, all of us grandkids would crowd into the kitchen with our grandmas. We would all pitch in — mixing batter, rolling dough. It was chaotic, but also joyful.”
Perhaps it was that childhood joy that eventually led her to do a degree in food and nutrition. “But I did not have a clear career plan. Basically, I was only ruling out what I didn’t want to do. Food, somehow, felt right. It felt like home,” she smiles.
By the end of the course, however, Tabitha knew exactly what she wanted to do — bake. So she went on to do a diploma in baking at Lavonne Academy in Bengaluru, and later, a master’s in culinary arts. “Here, it was Baking 101,” she says.
This was followed by hands-on internships and short stints at high-end hotel groups like the Taj and eclectic cafes across Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad. “These experiences gave me the clarity and confidence to start something of my own.” says Tabitha.
She returned to Kochi and launched The Baking Project from her home kitchen. She handled every order herself, with occasional help from her family.
But just when Tabitha was finding her momentum, the pandemic struck. But Covid, as disruptive as it was, turned out to be an unexpected accelerator for this baking venture.
“It gave me time to experiment, share recipes online, and quietly build a loyal following. Moreover, people weren’t buying from cafes then. Most were closed. So people turned to home bakers. This helped me grow immensely,” says Tabitha.
Today, The Baking Project has a four-member team and a production unit in Nettoor. The brand caters to everything from daily orders to curated dessert tables for weddings, baptisms, and birthdays.
The menu leans heavily into French and European-style confections: choux buns, doughnuts, cheese cakes with inventive twists. It changes every few months “to keep things fresh and exciting.”
But the one constant is one of Tabitha’s most beloved offerings — the DIY gingerbread-house kit, a ready-to-assemble set of pre-baked cookies meant for families to build and decorate together.
“It’s rooted in my childhood memories,” she says. “I wanted to recreate the feeling of togetherness, give people a reason to slow down and connect. It’s not just about the cookies. Think of it, if you will, as a food version of a pottery cafe. A joyful escape from everyday life.”
The idea has caught on in a big way, especially during Christmas, when The Baking Project team clocks over 15-hour days to meet demand. “But if you love precision and patience, baking is the most rewarding kind of work, even therapeutic. And I love it,” Tabitha concludes.
To place orders with The Baking Project, contact 9566184570