By Riddima Pandey, Co-Multimedia Editor
Sophomore Ananya Ahluwalia founded a baking club last year that has held multiple events since its inception. The club bakes and donates brownies once a month to an organization called Hand4Hand, which is part of a larger organization called DOPE (Doing Our Part Eclectically) which gives out food to homeless people in Philadelphia. Club advisor and world language teacher Alice Havrilla believes that giving students the chance to bake and learn to bake brings them joy.
“I think baking is really something that gives you self-worth. I feel like it gives you that fulfillment and self-worth that I think we’re all looking for in life,” Havrilla said.
The club held a Halloween bake sale in October and a spring bake sale on March 18. While they do not bake in school, members bake goods at home and bring them into club meetings for other members to test and critique them.
“I think if anyone wants to try it out, I think they should look at a bunch of recipes and see commonalities between them,” Ahluwalia said. “There are a lot of simple recipes if you want to get into baking and if you like it, then you can try more complex recipes.”
When she was 11, Ahluwalia started baking after watching baking shows and competitions on TV. This led her to decide to become a pastry chef in the future and go to culinary school. She currently has a portfolio called “Rise” that contains stories of all the treats she has baked so far. In addition, she has a social media page named @ananya_bakes where she posts her baking creations. Ahluwalia shares what she hopes to use her portfolio for in the future.
“It’s not published anywhere, but it’s a physical book. But if I want to get a job or an internship, it’s something I can show them,” Ahluwalia said.
Recently, she designed her own menu called “Ananya Bakes” and has already gotten five to six orders. It is a way she can share her baking creations with the community. Ahluwalia not only sees her love for baking as a passion but also a stress reliever.
“I honestly think it’s therapeutic because with school, there’s a lot of times where I’m really stressed out with whatever tests or if I have any events coming up,” Ahluwalia said. “But then (when) I know I have to make something over the weekend, I get really excited.”
Riddima Pandey can be reached at [email protected].
