Chef Neelma

I ran a bakery café for five years, and whenever people called me “chef,” I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t have any formal culinary education and didn’t feel I deserved the title. In truth, when I opened the café, I knew nothing about food service, the industry, or how to run a commercial kitchen. I was simply fortunate to be surrounded by chef-owned restaurants—many of whom took me under their wings and generously taught me everything they could. I will always be grateful for their support, patience, and willingness to help me grow.

My first instructional job began in 2019, after I closed my brick-and-mortar café. That was my first real step into the culinary world where people regularly addressed me as “chef.” Within six weeks of that initial interview, I was asked to take over the program. I actually turned down three offers before finally saying yes. It took the manager sitting me down and explaining exactly what she valued in a leader at that Sur La Table location—qualities that had little to do with traditional culinary school training. She wanted me for my business acumen, my leadership and marketing skills, and, most of all, for the dedication I showed in my first 45 days there.

I felt incredibly thankful for the faith she placed in me. That moment—surrounded by mentors, opportunities, and people who believed in me—was when I finally embraced the title of Chef with gratitude and pride.

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍽️

So many people are asking me what this is from my stories and then for the recipe. I regret not making a reel of it now because it came out deicious and I haven’t liked any of the chocolates I’ve tried since it went viral until now.

I totally winged it but here is what I did.

Three layers went into the making of this, in order below:

FIRST (bottom) LAYER
4 maria biscuit cookie packs (i used Britannia) crushed (in food processor) with 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Add heated mixture of: 1 can condensed milk, 4 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Stove top then mixed in my kitchenaid with blade tool.

Press into rectangle 1/2 pan (i lined it with with parchment paper)

SECOND LAYER:
Chop one box of Kataifi and cook on low heat with 6 tablespoons of butter until golden brown. Cool completely and add one jar of Pistachio Cream (14-16oz). Mix and layer evenly over base. This was an arm workout I won’t lie.

Cool the above overnight in refrigerator.

LAYER THREE:
Melt two bags of chocolate chips (i used dark) in microwave at 30 second intervals until all melted. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and mix well. Layer on top of the cooled and set kunafa filling, spread evenly. Sprinkle pistachios (I even added dried chopped strawberries).

Cool again for 24 hours and then cut. Inbox if you have additional questions.

If you also have never liked any version of the 🇦🇪🍫 try this or have someone make it for you this

OK, I tried many times and I still don’t think this looks like me, but I like what I see and so I’ll go with it
For everyone, wondering how I did this, comment with and I’ll share.

A lot of you have been with me along this journey, thank you for being here. I know I’ve been disappointing of late, but I’ll be back soon. Promise and cross my heart! ❌

I started cooking at the age of 13. I’m East African born in a Gujarati family. My East African lineage dates back to 1912 in Taganyika which is modern day Tanzania. This is where I was born in 1975 and raised until the age of 10. In 1985 my family moved to Malawi, 5 1/5 years later we immigrated to the USA.

My grandma, who catered for hundreds in her hay day, my mom, who was always ahead of time in food trend and in her culinary experiments that too in a developing country, and my dad who always made what my mother wouldn’t based on her vegetarian philosophy on food, are my biggest inspirations in my foodie life.

After working many years in the food service industry and holding titles that ranged from bus girl to Chef Owner, I am proud to say that I am a self-taught chef and I have had the pleasure of learning from and working with so many talented people in this space.

My expertise includes writing and teaching recipes, scaling and planning menus and overall management and support of commercial kitchens. I’m pretty good on media platforms too.

I’ve been published in small, local articles and have appeared on a fair share of TV space.

I look forward to interacting with you all of you in this space again. 👩🏽‍🍳

It’s time. Needed some inspiration from pies I’ve made in the past. Sweet or savory, they’re all my favorite. Crispy, flaky just the right amount of bite in the center, some ones a la mode.

Tell me in the comments what kind you are making and/or serving this ? 🥧🦃🙏🏽

This was coconuts 🥥 but I miss cooking like this for my boys.

Pumpkin Coconut Soup
Singapore Noodles
Vegetarian Massaman Curry
Chicken Massaman Curry
Mango Chicken
Lemongrass Ginger Jasmine Rice

Ever since moving to North Georgia, we have been surrounded by some of the best Asian bakeries. These are mostly French influenced Korean and Japanese bakeries, and we are not just talking ube cakes and mochi muffins, we are talking about some serious French and Portuguese inspired cakes and pastries. One of them, and a staple in my house, is this Kasutera aka cake. Until today, this was a biweekly splurge for the father and husband from one of the favorites bakeries.

It used to be baking and smiles for me years ago. Since I shutdown in 2018, I haven’t had the urge to bake or make desserts like I used to. The burnout was for real. I folded in my whisk a while back but once in a while I get inspired to try something I haven’t done before, lo and behold the Castella cake is born in my kitchen. This cake is not easy to make, especially for those of us who have failed over and over with merengue based techniques. There are techniques involved in getting the spongy texture, the caramel colored skin and the crumb just about right. Here is a simplified version to follow (inbox me for additional question):

Parchment paper in wrapping style inside 1 lb loaf pan (Google this). Then sprinkle sugar at bottom.

Oven to 340F

Whisk 3 eggs at room temperature plus 100g of sugar until quadrupled in quantity and pale yellow in color.

Mix 2 tablespoons water + 3 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of glutinous starch syrup or karo syrup + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add to egg mixture and whisk on slow only for 30 seconds

Sift flour into egg/sugar mixture and fold/whisk for another 30 seconds

Pour into prepared Pan, knock tray on counter and few times to remove air bubbles.

Bake for 2 minutes them take a spatula and mix the batter (15–20 times) from the left side, then mix (15–20 times) from the right side make sure you do this without touching the bottom. Close the oven, and reset the timer to 2 minutes. Repeat this process 4 X altogether.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool for atleast an hour upside down on a silicon mat.

Cover is plastic wrap and chill overnight. Cut edges off and slice. Enjoy!

4 years ago I got my first ink. It's KRMA (karma) spelled in Sanskrit. What it means to me:
K - for my first born
R - for my second born
MA - what I am to them. They define me. They are my entire being.

The 12 laws of क्र्म

1) The Great Law.
This is also known as the “Law of Cause and Effect”. The main crux of this law is that to receive happiness and love, one must act happy, peaceful and loving.

2) The Law of Creation.
This principle says that life requires our participation to happen. Nothing happens by itself.

3) The Law of Humility.
This law is all about acceptance. If you want to change something, then first you must accept it. If all one sees is negativity, then it’s difficult for them to reach a higher level of existence.

4) The Law of Growth.
If we want to achieve our goals, then it’s not the environment that must change, but ourselves. When we change who we are and our perspective on life, then our lives will follow suit.

5) The Law of Responsibility.
Whatever happens to our lives, one must take responsibility.We mirror what surrounds us, and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth.

6) The Law of Connection.
Everything in the universe is connected. It is undeniable. Past, present, and future included.

7) The Law of Focus.
It’s impossible to do two tasks at once.

8 )The Law of Giving and Hospitality.
It’s important to be kind and compassionate to others, and then people will do the same for you.

9) The Law of Here and Now.
The only thing that exists is the present moment. It’s important to realize this and focus your mind on the present moment. Old patterns of behaviour prevent us from having new ones.

10) The Law of Change.
History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.

11) The Law of Patience and Reward.
All rewards require initial toil and true joy comes from working hard and achieving your goals, in your own time.

12) The Law of significance and Inspiration.
One gets back from something whatever they put into it. The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it.

I just watched Gordon Ramsay spit out Super Bowl snack dishes made by the production staff for James Corden’s and thank god that’s not how my segment went this morning with the gorgeous ladies at Atlanta News First

Happy Big Game Day 🦅



https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/02/11/interview-publix-officials-bring-some-super-bowl-themed-snacks-set/?fbclid=IwAR0BnoytJSxwnMYkDZiFq8rLyH4IR6jvdcVDlUedWT_VuSRrAggtzvup2TE&mibextid=tejx2t

INTERVIEW: Publix officials bring Super Bowl-themed snacks to the set Publix officials bring Super Bowl-themed snacks to our Atlanta News First morning show on Saturday

A lot of you have DMed me to find out what’s happened to me and why I haven’t posted any food content in 2022. I’m sad to report this won’t change in 2023 but happy to say I’m still doing what I love the most. 👩🏽‍🍳

One year ago today, I onboarded at Super Markets in their Aprons Division. Within a few months I was officially the Sr. Managing Chef and I’ve had some incredible opportunities to promote our brand along with managing a cooking school where I still get to enrich peoples’ lives with recipes, a full service catering program where I get to cook for some huge events and managing catering consultants who event plan and sell our amazing deli and bakery goods.

I’ve worked really hard to bridge the financial gaps for the program I manage, ending the the year with a profitable year. With 33% increase in class fees, 39% increase in wine sales, 30% increase in catering sales, 0% increase in total operating cost and a net change from previous year of 105%, I’m confident to say we are on our way to a better 2023.

As the most improved program in our network, I’ve only been able achieve this with the hard work of my team, their trust in my leadership and the support from great mentors. When visions, procedures in place and work ethic align, you can do anything!

What I’d like to add at the end of this grateful post, is that we can all do what we envision. After having to reinvent myself so many times over to accommodate everyone else around me, I’m happy I carved out this niche for myself. I’m grateful to so many of you whose constant support has equated to this little victory of going from banking to baking to basting!

Thank you 🙏🏽

https://apronscookingschool.publix.com/virtual-classes/new-year-new-you-light-dinner

New Year, New You – Light Dinner. - Virtual Cooking Classes | Publix Aprons Cooking School Kick off your year right with our deliciously light Fresh Fish en Papillote recipe.

From to

We are so incredibly proud of Our eldest

I held back for 3 days but this surely deserves some limelight. 7 months after joining an investment and wealth management firm, Kunal passed his SIE a few months ago and the hardest Series 7 on the first try last week. One more to take and up is the only way to go kiddo! We love you and wish you all the success in achieving your financial goals and helping your clients manage their wealth!

This month, only at 23 (I had him at 23 myself), and a little too early for this Indian mom, he also moved into his own digs. Last night we got a tour of his apartment and it doesn’t look anything like his room in our family home 🤣.

This is bittersweet but nonetheless one of the proudest moment in our lives.
📉🏦📚💵