9,476.
9,476 km is how far I have traveled to get to where I am today. I left my home in Nepal in December 2008 when I was 20 years old. It's 2,877 km from Kathmandu to Dubai and I had no idea what to expect of this new city, and new life.
I was hired by one of the UAE's leading supermarket chains as a baker. I had never baked anything before in my life, but they agreed to offer me the training I needed to become proficient at my new job.
During my time with Spinneys I learned traditional baking using all your standard ingredients like wheat flour, milk, eggs, the usual... I had never heard of gluten free when I first started my baking career, let alone bake anything gluten free myself.
After completing 6 years with Spinneys and growing in my knowledge and career I was up for a new challenge. I wanted to learn something new. In April 2014 I applied for a job at The Treat Cafe & Bakery, the leading gluten free gourmet bakery in the UAE. As I know now, it took the Executive Pastry Chef, Katinka Reichelt, 2 minutes to decide to offer me the job and personally train me for the next 2 years in the art of artisan gluten free bakery. Everything was new for me. E V E R Y T H I N G! I had to learn how to bake from scratch. New recipes, new ingredients and new techniques.
Within weeks of starting at The Treat, I became passionate about baking gluten free breads, cakes and cookies unlike anything available in the market. Our client base grew every day. Five star hotels, cafes, coffee shops and airlines were lining up to buy our products and I loved my new job.
In November 2014 I was promoted to Executive Sous Chef and started training the new staff. I continued to build upon my knowledge and push myself to new limits. In October 2015 I received one of the highest recognitions in my career when I was promoted to Executive Pastry Chef and Production Manager. By that time I had a team of bakers that I would supervise during our daily production, making sure that every bread, cake and cookie that left our bakery was perfect.
And now in April 2016 a new chapter in my life will start... 6,599 km. The distance to my new home in Germany. After building the leading gluten free bakery in the UAE with Katinka, we are now moving to Germany to bring the best in gluten free baking to Europe.
In January 2017, a brand new gluten free bakery has opened its doors, Flour Rebels GmbH with me in charge of production and quality control. I can't wait to start this new chapter in my life and see where life will take me next.
9,476 km and counting...
