“Believe it or not, MasterChef Australia made me who I am today. The journey from studying for chartered accountancy, then passing all my exams and being a successful CA was a promising career path that my family chose for me. I was very nerdy in school and college, you know, but I remember the precious moments I spent with my grandmom and mom watching MasterChef Australia between my CA exams, on prime-time TV while my dad was furious about missing news. I fell in love with each creation and every story behind it. In a society where the norm is to pursue finance, medical, or engineering, I faced significant opposition when I expressed my desire to pursue a career in pastry & baking – cooking should be a hobby and not a career. I had to fight tooth and nail to change my path, despite the scepticism of my family and friends” – Rugma
Meet Richemont Masterbaker’s bubbly Chef Rugma Sarma.N, our youngest member, and a super talented chef. She can do math at the back of her hands while her palms are dedicated to her craft of passion. Her story is grounded in her Indian heritage, bringing multicultural perspective to baking. Her journey from chartered accountancy to creativity and artistry of baking and pastry, Rugma has truly followed her passion and dreams.
While the pandemic in 2019 was a nuisance for most, it was also a boon for a few people, like for Rugma it prompted reassessment of her career goals. She decided to pick on the strings of her dreams and enrolled herself in Lavonne Academy in Bangalore, one of India's top baking schools and completed a Diploma in Pastry Arts & Baking Science against the wishes of her family.
Rugma's shift to being a chef wasn’t an easy transition, it was a complete lifestyle adjustment. She adapted from a desk job to the physically demanding environment of a busy professional kitchen. Coming from a vegetarian family, she had never worked or consumed eggs before training at Lavonne Academy. “So many new experiences I had to embrace in my culinary education, all of them weren’t pleasant”, recalls Rugma.
A touch of serendipity marked the change in her career. Her husband, also an accountant and the only crusader of her dreams in her family was interviewing in Dubai and got lost in Jumeirah Lake Towers. He wandered into Richemont Masterbaker for directions, only to stumble across Chef Christiane Trilck, head of faculty. He happens to have his new wife’s CV and shared it with Christiane, who immediately called her for an interview. The rest is history.
Post her training at Richemont Masterbaker, Rugma has made significant strides in the culinary field. She advocates and teaches various baking courses, enthusiastically sharing her knowledge and skills with others. Her teaching style comes from what her experience as a student was - imparting practical skills and techniques to her students. Her vibrant character instils life into every class she teaches. Her journey is one of bold transitions and personal exploration.
“I’m as much a student in every class that I teach. I absorb every experience and translate it into my next creation that may inspire my students”, says Chef Rugma, a true inspiration.