Bitter truths do not make the sweet tooth irredeemable. The quarantine is enforced solitude for survival, but Delhi-based Finnish home chef Elias Nikolai is ready to beat the isolation blues. “People are sitting at home bored. Let’s get cooking, shall we?”Nikolai’s agenda is to concoct an array of vegan desserts on the table. Veganism is a pandemic food trend but finding a vegan dessert, even in bakery profuse Delhi can be extremely difficult. Nikolai, a karting enthusiast-turned- self-taught baker, aspires to change that. He encourages people to use being grounded to get acquainted with veganism and try out simple recipes from the comfort of their kitchens. It will be rewarding, he assures.
There has been a steady rise in the number of home chefs in Delhi NCR, he has noticed. Baking has caught people’s fancy big time. The home has become the best food lab to test existing skills or develop new ones. “This period teaches us an important lesson: how to get creative despite the limited resources. Take out all those old recipe books and get on YouTube to discover the hidden home chef in you,” Nikolai urges.
The Finnish foodie fell in love with karting at an early age and competed professionally in the European circuit for more than a decade before setting up a racing team in India. Baking was an incidental and accidental passion.
When he made India his home, he missed the traditional cakes and bakes of Finland. His solution was to make them at home and serve them to his appreciative friends. Finally, at the start of the year with corona around the corner, he established Vega Bakes. Its current menu includes Carrot Cake, Tiramisu, Peanut Butter Cake and Blueberry Cheesecake, all of which can be ordered on Instagram.
Nokolai uses organic products largely. “I believe that only pure ingredients can nourish our body and soul,” he says. His Tiramisu has a dominant flavour of coconut fat and a generous sprinkling of coffee on top. The home chef also offers gluten, dairy-free sweets which contain only natural sugars.After Nikolai urned vegetarian in his early 20s, his best friend encouraged him to take the next step— becoming vegan.
“My desserts suit people with dietary limitations, as well as those looking for some great flavours,” he says.
Because he uses different types of non-diary products, including almond, oat or soy milk in his cakes, their taste and texture differs from the conventional ones. With pictures of vegan products garnering an almost 300 per cent increase in views over the last year, according to Pinterest, food companies have begun to target this niche group through social media, the rise of which seems to have coincided with the rise of veganism. Nikolai, too, like so many of his peers selling art, jewellery and fashion, has taken to social media to get views and orders. For now, there isn’t much of a choice.