Kueh celebrates holiday spirit with traditional cake mixing ceremony

CHENNAI: It is that time of the year when restaurants across the city will gear up to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Cake mixing ceremony is the first step to start with, bringing together family and friends. This European tradition was initially followed to preserve cakes during the winter season. With time, it has become a way to lighten up the festive spirit within us.

Kueh, a newly-launched bakery at Pharos Hotel, organised a cake mixing ceremony on Saturday. Taking us through the history of cake mixing, executive chef Dinakar says, “It originated in the 17th century in European countries. Adding to our excitement, this is our first cake mixing event. This ceremony is not just about mixing fruits and spices. It is about togetherness and creating memories, which is missing in today’s era.”

At the event, a total of 45 kg of mixture was made with several ingredients. “Fruits, nuts (especially cashews), brown sugar and a few more spices are added to it. Our motto is to focus on local ingredients,” the chef adds, who has 14 years of experience in the culinary field. Another highlight at Kueh is that no artificial colours are used and their 58 varieties of cakes are free from fondants. “We extract colours from natural elements like rose and our breads are made up of sourdough. We change our menu every three months to offer something new to our customers. Kickstarting the celebration, we will have new plum cakes for Christmas and New Year,” he shares.

“The age-old tradition is great in Chennai. Cake mixing ceremonies are popular in places where there is a history of Anglo-Indian settlements like Chennai and Goa, among others,” Dinakar remarks.