Vidhi Valera grew up in India watching her mom teach cooking and baking classes out of their home kitchen studio.

“That’s . . . where I learned,” she said.

Recommended Videos

The recent Lambton College alumna didn’t come to Canada to pursue a culinary career. She received her advanced project management and strategic leadership diploma from the Sarnia school in June.

But “I think life has its own way of showing your purpose,” the Sarnia woman said.

Earlier his year she started Viva Bakes, a home-based bakery with egg-free cakes and other baked goods.

It started with friends looking for egg-free options and coming up empty, she said.

“So I just offered them, ‘I’ll share with you. I’ll bake for you.'”

They told others and her orders grew, she said.

“But it wasn’t a plan to make it a

See Full Page