A lot of us are tired of the daily grind of a demanding job and harbour secret passions we wish we could pursue. Pet chef Kamini Nanda is one such person who made a choice to pursue her dreams, “I loved my old job and the friends I made there, but I always felt like I should be doing something else,” says Kamini. A proud owner of two dogs, one of which she terms as ‘the noisiest dog in the universe’, she approached pet stores in the city two years ago with the idea for pet treats but recession interfered.
A neck injury in December led to long hours spent in front of the computer
“Frankly, it gave me the nerve to do what I’d been wanting to do for a long time,” she says. Her family and friends also encouraged her passion. “They told me to go for it, although, there were few nay-sayers who warned that I would miss the end of month paycheck,” she adds.
Pressing forth despite her apprehensions, Kamini now makes mostly baked goods like biscuits and cookies, and also quiches, meatloaves, pizzas etc. After conducting a thorough research on what dogs need, Kamini customised her treats. “A great dane gets big biscuits whereas a pug gets smaller portions,” she adds. Passionate about her work, she wants to maintain her quality. “I will not make something that I am not willing to eat myself! My products are actually really healthy for people too,” she quips.
“I only bake according to orders as I don’t use preservative so the food is collected the next day or the day after that,” explains Kamini, who also has a delivery system and plans to take orders online once her website is up and running.
The future looks bright as she is now expanding to cater to the needs of cats as well.
“Dogs and cats have different dietary needs, so I am currently looking into what cats need, aided by a few feline volunteers,” she says. She also does theme parties for dogs. “I had organised a party for my own dogs — a cat theme with a cat-shaped cake and other treats. All day, I could feel two pairs of dog eyes following me around as I baked. At the party, they literally drooled all over the cake,” she says. “Both humans and the furry pals had a great time,” she adds.