“An encouragement to take one more step towards being a professional”
Dimapur, Feb 14 : Mention Feather Touch and visuals of delicious cakes and pastries come to one’s mind. For people living in Dimapur, Feather Touch was one of the first bakeries that ever opened that baked and sold biscuits, cakes and other bakery goodies that earlier was only found anywhere but in Nagaland.
After its opening there were successive and numerous bakeries and cafes that sprung up in Dimapur town, perhaps inspired or maybe realizing the worth of opening a bakery.
After several years since the establishment of Feather Touch, Sonia Jamir, proprietor and baker of Feather Touch was awarded the entrepreneurship appreciation award on February 11, at Guwahati in recognition of the outstanding contribution to the Indian economy through the MSME sector at the North East India MSME Meet 2010.
In an exclusive interaction with The Morung Express, Sonia Jamir said that since she was a young girl she has always loved cooking and later after graduation it was at the insistence of her brother that she took up baking.
She narrated that since she was a young girl she did not want to study but pursue her hobby which was cooking. “My father, who is no longer alive, made sure I graduated before I could pursue my hobby” she revealed.
After graduation she said that she did not take up hotel management as she was not keen on learning housekeeping or hospitality, which hotel management requires one to study and instead opted for diploma courses that introduced her to baking. After which she worked for several top end hotels in Delhi, all for the sake of learning to be a better baker.
She says that when she returned home she saw that there were no ‘Quality’ cakes and biscuits available in bakeries and shops. Also, most of the few places selling them were usually owned by non-locals. “This motivated me to set up Feather Touch” she said. Sadly, Feather Touch outlet has been closed for some time now.
Sonia reveals that a lot of people think the bakery has been out of production. She informs that currently she is freelancing and taking delivery orders through phone. She also said that they supply to a lot of bakeries and shops in Dimapur and even some villages outside of Dimapur. “I am happy to say that Feather Touch is only going stronger”, she enthused.
“Currently we have four vehicles supplying all over town and we have two categories that we cater to. One is high end customers who ask for cakes and cookies which are a little expensive because of the quality and price of the ingredients. Second, is the low end customer who can afford fruit cakes and biscuits. We do this so that people can afford the biscuits we make” she says.
She also says that when it comes to work there has to be passion and interest. “Just because someone is successful doesn’t mean you will also succeed” she expressed. She says that unless one is prepared to work hard and is determined to weather the ups and downs, it is hard to run a business or any for that matter.
Jointly owned and managed by husband-wife Sonia Jamir and Sashank, Feather Touch employee count of around 35 workers. “Through this small venture of us we are trying to light not only our kitchens but others as well” shared Sashank. He also states that he and his wife Sonia are “Not doing anything big” just something that we have a common interest and passion for.
His mantra to work in the food business he says is “As long as you are sincere and work hard, it doesn’t matter which profession you are involved in.” He also says that the award has been an ‘extra mileage’ which will only make him and wife to work hard, to take the extra step to be better and be more professional.
An award conferred to a ‘baker’ recognizing the contribution to the economy is like a flashing neon sign that says “white collared jobs are not the only route to attain success or recognition in the society.”
via Morung Express News
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