Whipped

I must admit, I met one of Nalima’s cupcakes a few minutes before I met her at an event, where she was hired to set up a cupcake station to match the brand’s colour and theme for the event. Soon after, I visited her cake shop on Ariapita Avenue where I was more than delighted to taste her amazing chocolate cake and coconut jelly ice cream. It was no surprise to me, to see her open a new spot in One Woodbrook Place, Whipped, where she is not just offering cake and desserts but a full menu that is a fusion of her passion for food and her travels around the world.

Nalima Debideen, 29, always had a passion for food. She also believes that passion is what makes you successful in the food business, especially in TT. “Food was always my thing. I went to school and I did culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in the US. I knew that was one of the top schools in the States. I knew by Form 3 in school that this is what I wanted to do. I was always in the kitchen with my aunt and my mother. I experimented with flavours and coming up with stuff and then I was like I could do this.”

Debideen remembers making pasta, lots of dough, cookies and pizza while growing up. “I feel that I started more with sweet. I remember doing blueberry muffins when I was younger." After completing her degree in culinary arts, then she did food service management, at the Miami and Rhode Island campuses of the university. “In between my studies, I worked at Hilton in Miami and Hyatt in Orlando. I also went back to the Rhode Island campus and did baking and pastries and then moved back to Miami to work at the Hard Rock Café.”

Then she returned to Trinidad and worked at a top international hotel, which Debideen describes as a negative experience. “I hated it. I find they were just unprofessional. I felt it was the same stuff over and over. I was in the bakery as one of the cooks. I really wanted to be in food and they put me there. And one day, I just quit. Then I opened Whipped on Ariapita Avenue.”

Whipped by Nalima opened in 2017 and offered a host of cakes and desserts until the wee hours in the morning. After a while, Debideen wanted to branch out into a full menu and get her own spot which she has now opened in One Woodbrook Place. “I really wanted to do more. Food is really my passion. I was ready to get my own spot and have a full restaurant”. Debideen admits that at her new location she gets a different clientèle as she opens earlier than she did at her last location. “Tourists, the residents, bank people, the other shop owners, everybody comes to this location. And between my friends and family, we are always busy.”

When it comes to her new menu, Debideen says she really tried to represent many different types of cuisine, especially those she experienced along her travels around the world. She also has some local favourites such as curry duck. There’s a tapas menu, waffles and pancakes as well as eggs available all day and much more. For Debideen it’s really about doing different things.

“Why would you come to Whipped if you could get it somewhere else? I wanted my menu to be unique. An example is my alfredo which we make in-house. We do a pesto alfredo rather than just a plain alfredo. Walnuts instead of pine nuts. We also do a cannelloni pasta which you don’t see a lot either. And our teriyaki, we make the sauce ourselves. We make most things ourselves. Especially all the desserts and the ice creams.”

As for the secret to success in the food industry in TT, Debideen sees passion as the answer. “This is what I am passionate about and I work hard at it. I always want to do more with Whipped. I tell my team all the time, you can always improve. You can improve your speed. Your technique. Even though you’re good, you can always be better. To succeed in this business, especially as a chef, you need to have a combination of all the skills. Multi-taking and passion gets you through. It’s hard work. You’re on your feet all day, in the heat but I love every minute of it”. Debideen plans to add a grab and go section to Whipped and maybe get into sauces. “I never thought we’d be as busy as we are in the new location but I am really happy to see the brand grow and be able to offer good food to my customers.”