A chef and owner of a bakery, Purna follows her passion for baking. She believes that a lot of time and perseverance is required in order to become a chef. She is also a blogger and writes food blogs to provide simple recipes and also makes all types of fusion recipes.

A Pune native, Purna Chawla owns ‘Layers: A Chemistry of Tastes’, a home bakery. In addition, she runs a food blog called ‘Simple Chef’ where she posts easy recipes for dishes that anyone may try. She claims that in addition to preparing various delicacies, she creates a variety of fusion recipes, such as Gulkand Cakes, Rasmalai Cakes, and Paan Rabdi Cakes.

Purna sells fusion cakes and handmade cakes with specialties like vegan, keto etc. at Layers. She has started home delivery and curated tiffins under Simple Chef. She also sells customised tiffins, which require orders placed a day in advance. She evaluates the needs of the patrons and provides the client with a menu and price list.

Purna is an engineer who graduated from Symbiosis Institute with a B.Tech in Computer Science. After that, she made a career switch and attended IIMT, Delhi, to get her MBA in Culinary Arts. She claims that when asked about her future plans during one of her placement interviews in her graduation days, she unintentionally said that she wanted to run a restaurant someday. Her life's course was altered by this occurrence, And it was then that she explored her interest and made the decision to pursue an MBA in culinary arts. She applied to 4-5 colleges and after getting into IIMT Delhi, she told her parents about her choice.

Purna claims that while she was in eighth grade, she had her first culinary lesson with her grandmother. She and her grandmother made ‘Kada Prasad’ and she learned a lot. Her MBA experience prepared her professionally and allowed her to train under some experienced chefs.

Following her two years of education and six months of training in Delhi, Purna considered opening a bakery of her own. With the help of a loan from her parents, she launched Layers, a home bakery that sells freshly created cakes and pastries. Purna began on a very modest scale, according to her, and  currently operates through two locations of Mumbai and Pune.

Purna claims that she encountered several difficulties during her journey as a chef and a bakery owner. A rigorous schedule and extended standing hours were necessary for pursuing an MBA in Culinary Arts. According to her, this line of work is extremely difficult since accuracy must be maintained regardless of fatigue. She admits that it might be difficult to overcome an inferiority complex when you see other chefs who are better. Another issue she encountered in the beginning of business was  building a solid client base and offering quality at a fair price.

Purna believes that being happy and comfortable with her business is her greatest accomplishment. She is just appreciative of everyone for their support, including her spouse.

Purna talks about an instance when she had to do a lot of research and squander a lot of money to complete her first order of a three-tier cake for a wedding. However, she delivered the cake on the wedding day, and her customer was overjoyed. Purna’s first customer is not only her customer at present but her dear friend and biggest cheerleader. She also received a lot of orders through referrals done by her first client then. She has served customers nationally and globally with her festive gift hampers that have been shipped to different cities across India and globe.

Purna claims that practically everyone within her family got Covid during the second wave and had to stay in separate rooms. It was a difficult period for them. She continues that everyone started baking during the lockdown, and that there are now bakers on every corner of every lane. She laments that a large portion of raw materials and components had to be thrown away, causing losses from which they are currently recovering.

Purna states that being diligent, self-assured, and never giving up is the single success mantra she lives by. She is also appreciative of her family, who provide her with an incredible amount of support.

Due to his amazing culinary skills, Purna says that her father is her inspiration. She has learnt a lot from him as well, and he used to prepare a variety of meals for her, especially on Sundays. Her other mentor is Miam Patisserie's chef, Bani Nanda. Purna watches all of Bani’s videos  As the videos present food creatively, they  serve as a learning for Poorna.

Purna envisions expanding Layers into a cloud kitchen in the next 10 years, enabling home delivery via her own baking channel. She hopes to launch her own brunch series for The  Simple Chef, wherein she will invite guests to have the delectable meal she prepares herself. Sharing food, experiences, and tales with others is something she enjoys doing.

Purna’s advice to aspiring bakers is to concentrate on oneself and avoid becoming overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge available online. To make a meal stand out from the others, one needs to add their own unique touch.

According to Purna, education and experience go hand in hand and are both significant aspects of life. One cannot have a successful life experience without the right education .

If she gets a time machine, Purna  wants to travel back in time to her MBA college days and relive all the wonderful times she had with her pals.

Purna  says that she enjoys going out  on weekends in her spare time. She likes to explore new places and new foods. She enjoys long drives as well with her husband. Along with these interests, she enjoys reading the newspaper in the morning while holding a cup of tea and watching baking-related TV. In the late night, Poorna enjoys scrolling through instagram to learn more about food.