From Minnie Bay to Macarons: The Sweet, Soulful Rise of Jenny Clinta

Bengaluru: In a quiet colony in Minnie Bay, a young girl once scoured the jungle for hidden chits planted by her father, weekend treasure hunts that ended with candy and laughter. Today, that same girl is the brain, biceps, and beating heart behind Sakare, one of Bangalore’s most poetic food experiments: a dessert-dining space that fuses Indian soul with French finesse.

Meet Jenny Clinta, lawyer-turned-chef, home-baker-turned-entrepreneur, and perhaps the only woman who’s equally fluent in the language of coconut chutney and crème diplomate.

Island Roots, Sugary Routes

Jenny’s story begins with salt-kissed mornings and jungle adventures. Her family, deeply rooted in the Nicobar and Sri Vijaya Puram communities, embodied quiet discipline and everyday magic. “My grandmother Cecily was a legendary PT teacher at Model School,” she says. “Even now, people don’t know me, but they know her.”

Life in the staff quarters at Minnie Bay shaped her in ways no city ever could. “We didn’t have malls. We had mango trees, the sea, and picnics at Chidiyatapu.” That barefoot closeness to the world became a philosophy she would one day whisk into her desserts.

It also taught her a unique culinary grammar. “In the Andamans, food isn’t fixed. Even dal tastes different in every home. My base was South Indian, comforting, spicy, and full of coconut.” It’s a vocabulary that now finds its voice in Sakare, where Indian ingredients meet the precision of French pastry. “I had to make my own cheese in Sri Vijaya Puram when I was starting out. That spirit of adaptation never left me.”

Jenny’s career, like one of her tasting menus, had a few surprise turns. A state ranker from KV Sri Vijaya Puram, she was nudged into law by a well-meaning mother. “I told myself, okay, I’ll do law, and then I’ll chase my dream.”

It was during COVID-19, stuck at home with flour, sugar, and an itch to create, that Tasty Trails was born. Unlike the typical bakery setup, Jenny insisted on doing things from scratch. “No whipped cream shortcuts. Real frosting, real buttercream.” Her cakes flew off the shelves, often delivered by her father himself.

The experiment snowballed. A diploma at the Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts in Bangalore followed, then stints in breweries, cafés, and 5-star kitchens. And then, France.

A French Wake-Up Call

Her internship at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Normandy changed the game. “In France, ingredients are sacred. If tomatoes aren’t in season, they simply don’t use tomatoes.” The reverence for seasonality and the craft of plating lit a new fire. “I did everything, service, plating, cleaning. It gave me the confidence to dream bigger.”

But there was also a sobering reality check. “In India, chefs slog 14-hour shifts for ₹14,000. It’s exploitative.” That mismatch nudged her toward entrepreneurship.

Thus was born Sakare, a name drawn from the Tamil word for sugar (Su-kar-rey) but said with a French twist. “It’s like me,” she laughs. “Indian roots, French technique, and a lot of sweetness.”

Sakare isn’t your average café. It’s open just twice a week, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 to 5:30 PM. Why? “Because food should feel like poetry, not production,” Jenny says. The menu changes every month, guided by season, memory, and mood.

And if there’s one dish that encapsulates her journey, it’s the Blueberry Cheesecake Macaron. “I made it in France and chefs would sneak them when I wasn’t looking. But I also failed 50 times trying to make it in Andaman.” It’s her mother’s favorite. It’s her bestseller. And it’s a reminder that failure, done right, becomes flavor.

Bigger Dreams, Smaller Plates

Jenny isn’t chasing an empire. She’s chasing impact. “I want to put Andaman on the global food map. People still ask if you need a passport to come here!” Her dream isn’t just to run a successful patisserie, it’s to tell a story about where she came from, one plate at a time.

To young islanders dreaming of careers in writing, photography, cooking, or just dreaming, period, she offers this: “You don’t have to move mountains today. Just do the small, boring things every day. Be consistent. Be curious.”

And for the girls in particular: “Don’t let anyone dim your light. My dad never told me I couldn’t jump off a cliff because I was a girl. He said: ‘Go for it.”

She did. And she’s still flying.