the sweet Escape When the Coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, Naiel and Punhal were just eleven and nine, respectively, and found themselves in a similar situation to the rest of us. They were desperate for a hobby, a reason to keep going when nothing was looking up. As parents Aifra and Mozzam reflect, they did not want their children to fall into an unproductive rut. Rather, they tried their best to channel their kids’ boredom into creativity. When it came to television, the only shows that Naiel and Punhal were allowed to watch were productive ones, including cooking shows. Recent studies from MIT show that creativity thrives within limits, and Aifra and Mozzam’s parenting of setting television boundaries corresponds with several of the institute’s suggestions for nurturing creative minds. This includes involvement with projects that require socialization and passion, baking being a great example of this (Resnick).
Naiel excitedly tells us about how watching these cooking shows became a family routine and something that bonded him and his sister. “Every Saturday morning, Punhal, my Dad, and I would watch the Kids Baking Championship,” Naiel explains. Seeing the rows of bakers intently perfecting their craft was a huge source of inspiration for him and kept him motivated through the isolation. Little did he know that in just over a year he would be on this show himself, presenting his famous fusion recipes to world renowned bakers Valeri Bertenelli and Duff Goldman. Naiel and Punhal officially started their business on Valentine’s day of 2021, the perfect time to delve into a new set of desserts that their customers would love. One of the primary desserts that they offered during this time were fruit breads, given the copious amount of fruit trees in their backyard. Around this time Punhal also tried her hand at crafting healthy desserts such as keto truffles and cakes. However, Naiel and Punhal knew that if they were going to stand out in the baking business alongside hundreds of thousands of others, they needed to offer something special to their customers that would make them stand out.