As a child, I would accompany my mother, Vineeta, to meetings with chefs, directors and general managers in the hospitality industry. She held senior leadership roles across the hotel and foodservice sector, and watching her operate at a professional level shaped my early understanding of standards, leadership and consistency.

I later completed my Certificate III in Hospitality at William Angliss Institute in Melbourne, Australia’s leading specialist hospitality training institution. The technical foundation I gained there, particularly in flavour balance and sensory profiling, continues to guide how we develop products today.

After beginning my career in hospitality, I also spent several years in the corporate sector. While professionally stable, I felt drawn back to food with a deeper purpose. In 2015, I stepped away to live in an ashram, a spiritual retreat centred on discipline, simplicity and self-reflection. In the presence of my Guru, I began to understand that food carries more than ingredients and technique; it carries the consciousness of the person preparing it. Around this time, I first adopted a vegetarian lifestyle and shortly after transitioned fully to veganism, aligning my personal choices with the values I was beginning to explore more deeply. That period became one of the most defining chapters of my life.

After returning from the ashram, my father gave me the push I needed: ‘Start now.’ A friend shared some foundational recipes with me, which we converted to vegan and have continued to evolve to this day.

Living in that environment reshaped how I viewed nourishment. I saw how food prepared with care and gratitude could influence not only the body, but also the experience of the person receiving it. Meals were treated as prasadam, food prepared with reverence and shared as blessed nourishment. Success was no longer measured only by financial return. It became about building something commercially strong that also contributes positively to the world.

Mahadeva’s Kitchen was founded on that principle. The goal was never to create desserts chosen simply because they are vegan. The goal was to create desserts that stand confidently alongside traditional offerings purely on flavour, texture and quality.

Product development became rigorous and methodical. We studied alternative ingredients in depth, understanding their structural behaviour and flavour impact. We tested tirelessly. We consulted experienced pastry professionals around the world, including chefs who had been vegan for decades, continually refining the range until it could compete on deliciousness alone.

My mother later became actively involved in recipe development and product evolution, strengthening the family-led nature of the business. Together, we continue to advance the range with both technical precision and conscious intention.

In 2018, William Angliss Institute invited me back as a featured alumnus to showcase Mahadeva’s Kitchen at their Open Day in July. (picture 2) That moment marked a full circle, from student to founder, from learning to execution, and from technical training to purposeful creation.

Today, Mahadeva’s Kitchen operates as a HACCP-accredited, dedicated 100% vegan production facility in Melbourne. We supply hospitality partners who demand consistency and reliability, and retail customers who seek food made with integrity.

The mission of Mahadeva’s Kitchen remains as it was first realised in the ashram: that food prepared with intention and gratitude becomes more than sustenance. It becomes an offering.