Ankita Agrawal is known better around town as just Annie. Always a lover of delicious food, she had never thought this love would translate into a vibrant business one day. Now the proud owner of the Jhamsikhel-based Annie’s…Creating Moments, a dessert parlour hogging the news this summer, Ankita spoke to the Post’s Alisha Sijapati about the spur-of-the-moment decision that gave birth to Annie’s and the passion that sustains it. Excerpts:

You are very new to the food industry. How did the idea of launching Annie’s come about?

I have always loved food and desserts, but the thought of actually owning a place of my own had never occurred to me. One evening, me and my brother were desperate for some good dessert after dinner but were disappointed not to find any ice-cream parlours that served good home-made ice cream. In a spur-of-a-moment we decided we wanted to try a crack at it. We went to register our company the very next day.

That is very spontaneous, to say the least. Did you have any experience in preparing desserts before?

Once we registered the company we quickly realised that we had no idea where to begin! Although, we came from a family that loved to cook and eat, starting a commercial venture based on it, as we found out, was completely different. We would have to complete a diploma course in making desserts from Mumbai before we actually rented a small space to start operations.

Ice cream parlours in Kathmandu seem a dime-a-dozen. Why does Annie’s stand out from the rest?

Here we are trying to take things to a different level. All our ice creams and desserts are homemade, and we rotate our flavours every day.

None of our desserts are made with pulp or artificial flavours; it is ice cream made from scratch every day, with fresh locally-bought fruits and ingredients. We also put out ice creams according to the season; right now our summer mango flavour is doing really well.

What about winter flavours?

I am really excited for our first winter season. We are looking forward to introducing ice cream flavours that have never been explored in the Capital before. We are introducing a lemon ginger flavour and a banana caramel flavour for the monsoon and winter seasons. We will also be branching out into waffles, mocha and chocolate mint flavours as the cold sets in.  

How has the response been to the dessert parlour? What flavours have hit a sweet note this summer?

It’s just been three months since we opened our doors and the response has been extremely awe-inspiring. We are already receiving multiple offers to open some more chains in central Kathmandu. What surprises me is that customers from all over Kathmandu come here, and it has all been word of mouth. They all love the paan-flavoured ice cream; we run out every day.

You would think a parlour like this would be located in Durbarmarg or Thamel, why did you pick a small space in Jhamsikhel?

I love Jhamsikhel. It is very upbeat and new. I like the silence here, but we still get a steady stream of customers. This location is also ideal for lounging and enjoying a cool dessert with a book in hand. Initially I didn’t want any WiFi, so that Annie’s could become a space for socialising as well as enjoying ice cream, but not many people were happy—including ourstaff. We had to bring that back, but this location is a lot more laid-back than say a Thamel or a Durbarmarg and we love it here.

What apart from Annie’s keeps you busy?

I also run a travel agency, called My Choice, and Pashmina retails, both out of the dessert parlour. So, you could say I practically live here. I love being busy, though, and with the way Annie’s has taken off, it has been a very busy summer indeed.