On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate women who transform passion into purpose — and few embody this spirit as powerfully as Prachi Dhabal Deb. In January 2026, she created history by becoming the first Indian cake and royal icing artist to be appointed Associate Artist at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, positioning edible art within an academic and cultural framework.
In her exclusive conversation with Namita Nayyar for Women Fitness, Prachi Dhabal Deb opens up about her journey from finance to fine edible art, her challenges as a woman entrepreneur, and her mission to document heritage through sugar. She has been featured earlier on the cover of Women Fitness India magazine, celebrating her work as a pioneer in royal icing and edible heritage art.
From Childhood Creativity to Career Calling
Her story begins in Dehradun, where, as a ten-year-old, she spent summers baking and creating. Although she later specialised in Accounts and Finance and built a professional career as a financial analyst, life intervened through a health challenge that forced her to pause. During recovery, she returned to baking, painting, and creating — a process she describes as deeply healing.
In 2011, Prachi Dhabal Deb consciously began baking for friends and family, receiving appreciation not just for flavour but for artistic expression. A defining moment came when an event manager friend encouraged her to design a cake for a professional ceremony. The overwhelming response marked the start of her professional journey, guided by her mentor Sir Eddie Spence’s words: “If you love what you do, you will never work a single day in your life.”
When Baking Became Both Art and Business
She realised baking could be both creative and commercial when people responded emotionally to her work. They did not just see cakes; they saw stories, heritage, architecture, and textiles. Baking, she explains, no longer remained transactional — it became experiential and cultural. Business became the vehicle, while art remained the soul.
Turning Stories into Sugar
Her creative process begins with research. If the theme is textiles, she studies their history. If it is architecture, she examines geometry. If it is heritage, she understands symbolism. Only then does she sketch. Emotion is translated through colour, motif repetition, symmetry, and texture. Royal icing becomes her sculptural medium, allowing relief work similar to stone carving or embroidery. She does not decorate cakes — she documents narratives in sugar.
Challenges in a Changing Industry
Fourteen years ago, customised cakes and royal icing were niche in India. Sourcing tools and ingredients meant importing them with long delays, high costs, and heavy customs duties. Educating clients was another hurdle, as many struggled to understand why handcrafted cakes differed in price from mass-produced bakery products. On a personal level, leaving a stable financial career required persistence to be seen as a professional rather than a hobbyist.
How Entrepreneurship Changed Prachi Dhabal Deb as a Woman
Entrepreneurship made her financially aware, emotionally resilient, and decisive. It taught her negotiation, boundary-setting, and self-valuation — skills women are rarely encouraged to develop. Most importantly, it showed her that creativity and strength can coexist. Women do not have to choose between sensitivity and power; they can hold both.
Breaking Stereotypes in Baking
She challenges the idea that baking is “soft work.” Precision baking, structural cake engineering, and royal icing architecture require immense technical mastery. Prachi also rejects the assumption that women bakers remain small-scale or hobby-driven. Women, she says, can lead industries, mentor globally, and create cultural documentation through edible art. They are not just decorators, but creators, historians, and innovators.
A Women’s Day Cake Vision
For Women’s Day, Prachi envisions a textile tapestry-inspired cake. Each tier would represent a woman’s journey — the strength of Kanchipuram silk, the grace of Banarasi weave, the resilience of Ikat geometry, and the softness of Chanderi translucence. Like textiles, women carry stories woven across generations.
Support System and Discipline
Her strongest support system has been her family, mentors, and students. Beyond people, she credits discipline as her greatest ally. While passion may fluctuate, discipline sustains artistry.
Historic Recognition at Oxford
In January 2026, she reached a historic milestone with her appointment as Associate Artist at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. The recognition was deeply humbling, as royal icing — often dismissed as decorative craft — was acknowledged within an academic and cultural framework. Her upcoming work focuses on positioning edible art as heritage documentation, linking temple architecture, textiles, and cultural storytelling through sugar as an unconventional yet meaningful canvas.
International Women’s Day Message by Prachi Dhabal Deb.
Prachi’s message to women is rooted in quiet strength: do not underestimate the power of consistency. Impact does not require loudness, and success does not demand haste. Building slowly, authentically, and with integrity allows women to rise rooted in purpose — and when they do, they uplift not only themselves but society.