The star pastry chef is back on screens this month as a judge on Junior Bake Off, runs empowering hospitality platform Countertalk and has just released her third cookbook, Baking for Pleasure – she certainly keeps busy. Ravneet talks about levelling the playing field, pregnancy cravings and her love for chocolate cake
I was a fussy eater. I grew up eating Indian food, having roti most nights, or chicken and chips, because I had quite a bland palate when it came to anything else. I didn’t even like ketchup. But I loved sweets. I grew up above a corner shop and got a hole in my tooth because of how much sugar I ate. That’s probably why I’m now quite good at knowing how much I can consume.
As a female chef it’s common to be dumped into pastry. In my experience, most of the pastry team would be women. People would tease you and I didn’t like that – the idea that you were weaker for being in pastry. But I went into it because I loved it. And the minute guys from the kitchen had to cover a pastry shift, they would have a meltdown. It’s a tough job because you’re the first one in and last one out – you have to wait for everybody to decide if they want dessert. When you start to get more confidence and own it a bit more, it becomes less of a bother.
I got the Junior Bake Off job through an Instagram DM. I showed up thinking I’d be trained but was just thrown onto the set! At the beginning, my critiques were quite harsh because I was used to leading adult pastry teams. They kept saying, “Can you say it again, but a bit nicer?” Funnily enough, though, I think the kids respected that I would give them tips as to why something had happened, and what they could do next time.
I set up Countertalk because I had years of working in one good kitchen and then a bad kitchen. I thought, why isn’t there a place that shouts about the good ones? We’re doing a series on how to read your payslip, and another on starting a business: what’s a shareholders’ agreement? What’s trademarking? These are resources you wouldn’t know where to find, especially in hospitality. When I was asked to write a book proposal, I remember googling ‘What is a book proposal?’ I think it’s important to be transparent if you can, especially with pay, to help someone behind you.
I’ve always been the one to open my mouth when I see something’s wrong or someone needs something. It has got me into trouble, but I’m that person on the train who, if
