At 25, Shambhavi Singh is a fresh graduate from Bangalore’s Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry arts. The younger princess of Gamph has followed her father’s footsteps in delivering world-class hospitality in their family-run haveli in Jaipur. The father-daughter duo reclaimed the erstwhile garage space of the property and recreated it into an exclusive gourmet eatery called Café Samsara.
Vibrant hues of turquoise, fuchsia, orange and green blend into an uplifting symphony against an abundantly white marbled space with archways and arched bay windows. A selection of novels and board games lies stacked in a corner and a door at the diagonally opposite side of the Café opens up to Shambhavi’s very own workspace, laboratory and playground, all in one- the kitchen. Here, Shambhavi laboriously whips up culinary delights for every season, occasion and mood. Warm, buttery croissants with artisanal coffee. An indulgent array of toasties with wasabi and chicken tikka. Homemade pasta and hand-rolled ravioli. A Kerala-style stew with steaming appams. A rarely curated Rajasthani thali. A charlie full of decadent brownies and bakes. All this and more, Shambhavi’s take on local and global cuisines has only just started, in much style and charm.
Throughout her childhood and early adolescence, the young Chef grew up admiring her maternal grandmother of Khatipura, who honed an extraordinary skill of cooking. Being the youngest grandchild, Shambhavi would join her grandmother in several cooking sessions and would help her document her various recipes in the form of a cookbook. “Khatipura cooking is a mix of recipes from various provinces such as Sailana, Umarkot and many from Rajasthan. Apart from these, my grandmother learned how to cook from Chefs and khansaamas of the various places that she had travelled to. Since my grandfather loved his food, she would take the pains of sitting in select kitchens for hours on end in order to grasp a certain style of cooking or a recipe. I still remember her telling me that her curiosity to master the Rampuri ran made her spend twelve hours in the kitchen while the khansaama prepared it! I admired that she was never shy in approaching people for the recipes that she set her heart upon”, says Shambhavi.
One afternoon, in reminiscence of those cooking sessions, Shambhavi cooked the safed chicken that was taught to her by her grandmother, and there was no looking back ever since. Her passion and talent lay in the world of culinary delights and it was time to deliver that to the world. To ensure her preparation as a well-rounded food connoisseur, Shambhavi recently compensated for her lack of prior knowledge in baking and pastry arts by pursuing an intensive course at the aforementioned academy. The new patissier is taking the Pink City by storm with her multifarious delights that are appropriately sweet, savoury, creamy, spongy and moist- never more and never less.
Bearing sleek, manicured fingers, her languid hands refuse to give in even to the most trying of circumstances. To cite an example from the recent distress that the surging pandemic has thrown us all into, Shambhavi continues to cheer up our quarantined souls with her delectable goodies. She prioritises small-scale and thoroughly sanitiseddining preparations that are available for home delivery via popular apps such as Zomato. Once, when I marvelled at her culinary dexterity, she nonchalantly replied, “food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.” Creative, steadfast and agile, Shambhavi moulds each one of her handmade delicacies by pouring in a tiny piece of her mushy heart. In a time when the world pines for love, I can’t help but admit that Shambhavi hands it over on a decorated platter.
The author is a writer, hotelier and a protagonist for Rajput culture.