Mangaluru: There’s a Baker’s treat in town. Literally; it’s a deli, and its fare is delicious. Why? Because it is made with love, passion, creativity and over seen by the one and only Mariam Mohiudeen, a march born co-incidentally. On women’s day this year, she is a living example of the maxim “pursue your passion to live your dream”.
But she is not just pursuing a passion – she has converted her passion for cooking and baking into a successful business enterprise in its own right, for which she won an award from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for being the Best Microenterprise in restaurant category at YourStory’s first edition of the Brands of India Awards, held in New Delhi in association with the MSME ministry on the 27th of February 2019. Her’s was one of 41 home-grown brands from across the country that were recognised for transforming themselves through business and technology innovations, and steering themselves on the path to becoming billion dollar companies..
This is not the only award, it is only the latest. Mariam has received other awards too – Best Start Up at the 2017 Power Business Excellence Awards and a second award this year at the 2019 – the Yenfame AWARDS for startups, the Women’s Entrepreneur Award.
These are achievements that must be celebrated on International Women’s day for they inspire. As Mariam said after receiving the award at the MSME Award ceremony from Minister of State Giriraj Singhji, “I’m overwhelmed. For the hard work my team & I put in. It feels great to be recognized with an award. To all those women out there, don’t stop dreaming. It’s never too late to start anything.”
There’s another reason why it is being celebrated by Newskarnataka.com. She hails from the city of Mangaluru, the same city from which your favorite news brand newsksarntaka.com started up and started out and which today is a popular brand across Mangalore and the state – much like Mariam and her Baker’s Treat.
Mariam’s story is a story of incremental excellence that has resulted in the success that she is today. It also represents hard work, and a passion to give her best to and for others.
Mariam began her foray into the restaurant business by selling home baked goods in 2014 in a small 220 sqft space. But by then she had already honed her business and baking skills. During the period 2000-01 she managed a coffee shop at the Al Rais Centre at the Gold Souk-Dubai after earlier working as restaurant hostess at the at ITC Welcome Group Windsor Manor in Benglauru.
She was so good at what she did that in 2002 she was featured in an article on food in the Friday Magazine section of the Gulf News, Dubai. Fast forward to 2011, a year of achievement for Mariam. In November 2011, after sharpening her cooking and baking skills 2011 November she authored and released a self-published cookbook “from Mariams kitchen”….and there the story began! In the same year, she was the runner-up in Dubai ONE’s Amateur Chef Challenge organized by Dubai TV with Movenpick . She was runner up again at the LG Cooking Challenge held at Armani Hotel at Dubai
In April 2013, Mariam started training others holding regular cooking classes and has trained 600 students till date, she says. But real success story started in 2014 when she opened her first outlet. By March 2017 she had grown in confidence and of course fame and decided to open a restaurant cum bakery in a larger space, at Falnir Magnalore. Her family joined her and helped her make the move. From then on there’s no looking back. Its awards galore!
For far being just an entrepreneur that is taking her business on a upward trajectory she is also contributing to nation building and the economy as a job creator. Speaking at the award ceremony on Feb 27th, Minister Giriraj Singhji said “We want micro, medium and small industries entrepreneurs to become a profitable brand on a global scale, maintain cost and quality and provide employment. This sector is to become the economic backbone of India. Our goal now is to create employment.” According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of MSMEs with MDI Gurgaon, National Small Industries Corporation, and industry body India SME Forum, each MSME unit, on an average, employs about seven people, the Minister said.
This quote from Marie Skodowska-Curie((1867 – 1934, Polish-French physicist and chemist)) aptly sums up Mariam’s philosophy. “We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
Ladies, be inspired, wherever you are, whatever be your circumstances.
Newskarnataka.com wishes its readers a very happy International Women’s Day.
