Cricket whites to Brownie Heaven!

Cricket was his first love; but he shifted focus to food later in life. 25-year-old Chennai boy Nishant Vijaykumar is the proud owner of Brownie Heaven in the city. The young man recounts experiences from his entrepreneurial journey in this tête-à-tête. Though he is full-time into the food business, Nishant credits the sport with moulding his character and attitude. “I was taught that singular focus, determination, and resolve are necessary to make it to the top. Looking back, I’m very glad for having played the sport at the U-17 and U-19 levels, as it taught me so many valuable lessons,” Nishant says effusively.

Born and raised in Chennai, he is a gold medallist in hotel management from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal. He was subsequently selected as one of the 10 kitchen management trainees for the ITC Hospitality Management Institute, Gurgaon.

“Food has always taken centre stage in my life. I love good food and new food experiences. Each city had its own food culture and style of preparation and it was truly delightful to try various cuisines. During my sports travels, I would always look forward to the unique cuisine of each city! The condition of the pitch, the weather, etc. was always secondary,” he says.

When he decided to switch careers, food was the natural choice — “Once I decided, I was advised by my family to experience working in a kitchen first-hand. I began my journey under chef Anand in his restaurant, by training there for around five months in various sections of the kitchen.”

When quizzed about the competition in food business, he says, “One of the primary reasons I started my eatery in Chennai is that the food scene here isn’t as developed as cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi. That said, competition is good and there is always place for one more business. You just have to differentiate.”

A busy person, a day rarely goes as planned for Nishant — “I have to be really agile throughout the day.” He unwinds from his busy work by watching a movie or a quick lunch with his mom. “Also, I play badminton almost every morning to keep fit, and whenever there is a cricket match I try my best to go,” he says, adding after a pause, “I have just scratched the surface; I do not know how the future is going to pan out but I will continue to work diligently with singular focus.”

The young entrepreneur is very determined and wanted to take his outlet pan India and make brownies so mainstream that everybody can connect with the product.