Desserts allure many of us, with its creamy, sugary, chocolaty appearance, which is often showcased in cake shops and bakeries.

Besides the obsession for having desserts, Udaipur’s Garima Babel Singhvi, is one who keeps her hands busy in preparing some of the most exotic desserts and presents them in an innovative manner under the flag of GB Temptations, a small cookery cum institute she runs from her home.

Interestingly, Garima plays many professional roles including a qualified Chartered Accountant, Director of Udaipur Mahila Samridhi Co.Op Bank, wife to an entrepreneur husband, and a foodie since her early age.

Her passion for cooking was backed by her husband, who encouraged her to learn the art of cooking and explore the world of food and flavor.

In a span of a year, Garima’s cakes, puddings, cookies, chocolates and vegetarian biryanis, are gaining popularity and grabbing the attention of many cooking aficionados who want to learn how to ignite the taste buds.

Going to celebrate her 28^th Birthday this February, one year back Garima’s skill was restricted to her family and close ones but now she got not just a handful of admirers but hundreds of fans on her facebook page, dozens of students who attend her cooking classes and plenty of orders of her designer chocolates, cup-cakes that are hardly available in any reputed cake shops of Udaipur.

“Passion Perfect”

“I was always very passionate about the art of cooking and food, so I used to read a lot about it. The ingredients, the variety, the aroma, the presentation, all used to lure me towards it. Gradually, I started making things from a very early age. It was because of this obsession that I went to Mumbai, where I learned how to make different deserts” she says.

“Husband, my biggest admirer”

Garima proudly disclosed the secret of her success, which goes to her husband, Punit Babel.

“My husband is a great admirer of my passion for cooking. It was his idea to start GB Temptations. He suggested me go to Mumbai to try out various deserts at various popular outlets to get a look and feel of what people like, how specific desert or chocolate tastes, the packaging, pricing etc. He always fills me in with various ideas and input that he thinks can be done. I think it is very important for your loved ones to support”.

“CA is profession, Cooking is passion”

Born and brought up in a family of Chartered Accountants, Garima’s father Nirmal Singhvi is a renowned CA of Udaipur and a dedicated Rotarian, Garima’s husband and father in law are also CAs.

“Cooking is my passion and CA is my profession and both will go hand in hand.”

“I am right now enjoying this amalgamation and haven’t made cooking as a full time job. I think it is more fun like the way it is now where we take a batch whenever a suitable number of enthusiasts come together.”

“The CA degree has come after a lot of hard work and I will try and use it and balance for our own work/business.”

‘All Veg”

While eggs are termed as main ingredients in preparation of cakes, Garima, who is a pure vegetarian, prepares everything eggless. Even her scrumptious biryanis are made of vegetables.

“I am a veggie and I teach veg- Biryanis and Pulao. To name a few there is layered Biryani, Parda Biryani, Kaju Moti Pulao, Ambe Bhaat, etc.”

“Some of the dishes which I personally like and are not available easily are: Printed Chocolate Bars, Dessert Cups, Cheese Cakes, Hot Fudge Pudding, Fridge Cake, Red Valvet Cup Cake. Simple yet loved by all is the Mawa Cake. And special about all desserts is that they are all homemade and eggless.”

“Vision is there”

More to the point, how flourishing GB Temptations is, Graima is still not looking for expansion; she called it “Vision”.

“I won’t really say it expansion as it is at a very nascent stage and a lot of work and thoughts are still to be put in to take it further.”

“Right now we are just thinking of making quality chocolates and marketing it properly to a certain set of audience in our city and package different products under the umbrella GB Temptations so that it can be a part of people’s consideration.”

“Tradition vs Modernism”

Settled in a city which has strong traditional and cultural roots, spreading the knowledge of western delicacies in Udaipur sounds impracticable, but Garima doesn’t think that way.

“There is a large chunk of people out there who wouldn’t mind spending an extra buck for something, which is more than just a product but an experience and for something which comes with a quality.”

“People have a spending capacity too to back the aspiration. As far as traditionalist approach goes, there is a traditionalism that does exist but the willingness to adapt to new things and the excitement and appreciation for new and good products or dish is there, which is good.”

“I cook traditional sweets at home but don’t teach them.”

Other than cooking which takes most of the lifespan of Garima, Travelling and exploring countries and cultures is her second obsession.

Garima sets a perfect example of a woman keeping her passion alive and at the same time, also executing her profession.