Big Appetites, Big Hearts at Bake Sale for Nepal

CHENNAI: Eat to feed Nepal, may well have been the message of a bake sale organised in the city over the weekend. And while the concept may sound a tad unsettling in the stomach for those who weren’t in attendance at Amethyst on Friday and Saturday — we assure you the vibe was quite the opposite among all the Good Samaritans with big hearts and evidentally big appetites that dropped by the event.

School goers were spotted running around with their heart-shaped lollipops and candy floss. Families browsed the shelves for everything from fresh-out-of-the-oven focaccia bread and chocolate brownies. And for those connoisseurs of the dessert palate, there were even options like white chocolate macadamia nuts and jars of poached figs for the taking.

The lady behind the idea, Priya Sabanayagam, a homebaker herself who brought 40 plus bakers together to participate for the cause, tells us, “The sale far exceeded what we expected to collect.” In fact, she tells us that a few  buyers on the second day purchased entire batches-word of baked goods just to accelerate the fundraiser’s momentum, and by 3 pm on Saturday afternoon, all that remained were different shades of crumbs.

Organised by the Rotary Club of Madras Next Gen (which comprises members all below 33 years of age), the sale brought people from varied backgrounds together — who may have never thought they could contribute to an earthquake-ridden Nepal otherwise. After all, if there’s one thing we Chennaiites don’t have to be taught to do — it’s eat!

Priya adds with a smile, “My 96-year-old grandfather made it a point to come, even though he’s a diabetic!” The grey haired gent, who’s always had a sweet tooth, got to do two things with bite of his indulgence that day — enjoy a slice of cheesecake and hopefully get someone across the border to say ‘cheese’ again.