Pooja Dhingra
read from 2 public sources

Pooja Dhingra

Paris-trained pastry chef and Mumbai founder who brought the macaron home in 2010, and is now learning to swim because she talked her friends into a triathlon

Warm-hearted founderSelf-deprecating jokerComfort over complexityBig goals, one day at a timeParis technique, Mumbai soul

Pooja tried her first macaron, knew she had to bring it back to India, and started Le15 in 2010. She has since built outlets in Colaba, Parel, Bandra and Goregaon, a café called Pardon Our French, seven books and a podcast called #NoSugarCoat. For all the awards, the moments that move her are small ones: a customer who went from a red velvet cupcake at the Worli kiosk to her wedding cake to bringing her mother and daughter to the café. She is a 'part time runner, full time chef' in a Slow Runners Club, she learns from mentors who never mince their words, and she wants to go back and hug the Pooja of February 2024 because she's proud of her.

in LinkedInIG Instagram
What Pooja needs
Straight talk, kindly delivered

She seeks out honest feedback even when it stings and respects people who say what they mean. She'd rather hear the truth than be flattered.

  • in“She always tells it as it is and never minces her words. It was hard to listen to real truths in the beginning but I always have a student mindset”
  • in“#NoSugarCoat ~ where I speak to chefs, friends, mentors and other entrepreneurs about the blood, sweat, tears”
Someone firmly in her corner

She has built a business largely on her own drive and has said openly that she wished for help. A partner who shows up as support, not another demand, would mean a lot.

  • in“There are so many times I wished I had some help while I was building my business.”
  • IG“I asked him about leadership, motivating a team and also about my struggles and challenges while trying to scale my business.”
Celebrating the journey, not just the trophies

She marks personal growth and takes 'joy is in the journey' as a guiding line. She'll want someone who notices progress and bad-day resilience as much as awards.

  • IG“I'd just like to go back to February 2024 Pooja and give her a tight hug ~ I'm so proud of her ♥️”
  • IG“always remember that joy is in the journey...”
Respect for a founder's full, public life

She runs multiple outlets and a café, and she makes podcasts, YouTube series and collaborations. The work is part of who she is, and a partner needs to be at ease with that pace and visibility.

  • IG“Building @le15india @pleasepardonourfrench”
  • IG“First episode of my Le-15 Questions is out on my YouTube”
A partner who loves her friend-rich world

Her circle of women friends is her 'happy space', and she cheers loudly for their wins. Someone who wants to fold into that community, rather than compete with it, will fit.

  • IG“Most inspiring girls 💕 ... My happy space 💜 ... Girls 🫶 ... Reunited 🫶💜”
  • IG“They did itttttt. Was so inspiring to see - also had SO much FOMO.”
Continuity and shared rituals

She is moved by being woven into people's traditions over years, and she keeps her own traditions faithfully. She'll value someone who builds rituals with her.

  • in“You become part of someone's wedding, or her mother's afternoons, or her daughter's first cupcake memory.”
  • in“Making him a cheesecake is a long-standing Le15 tradition, and that stayed.”
Hobbies
  • Running with the Slow Runners Club
    Running is a real part of her routine. She runs with a club that puts fun ahead of pace, and she enters 10K races.
    • IG“Part time runner, full time chef.”
    • IG“POV: Slow Runners Club trying to summon @wizkhalifa with our best poses 😂😂”
  • Learning to swim for a triathlon
    She talked her friends into a triathlon next year, then signed up for swimming classes. She enjoyed day one and hasn't thought about the cycling yet.
    • IG“I've convinced a few friends to attempt a triathlon with me next year”
    • IG“Not thinking about the cycling part yet. One day at a time. Just keep swimming 🏊”
  • Watching baking shows for inspiration
    The Great British Bake Off sparked her latest idea, and once something catches her eye she can't stop thinking about it.
    • in“This time it was The Great British Bake Off. During one of the cake challenges, there was one cake that stayed with me.”
  • Hosting conversations
    She hosts the #NoSugarCoat podcast, the Le-15 Questions YouTube series and a mentor chat series. She clearly enjoys long, real talks.
    • in“I also host a popular podcast called #NoSugarCoat”
    • IG“First episode of my Le-15 Questions is out on my YouTube, featuring @shivesh17!”
  • Playful pranks and challenges
    She plays games with her team and pulls pranks with fellow founders.
    • IG“we all decided to see how many macarons we can pipe in a minute 🤣😅”
    • IG“Had so much fun joybaiting our customers with @shivesh17 and @carbiesforlife 🥰”
Interests
  • French pastry meets Mumbai
    Her creative identity blends Paris technique with her city's traditions.
    • IG“Mixed a little bit of french, lots of Mumbai - and we made these Modak Cake Pops.🩷”
    • in“I was inspired by French traditions of patisserie and wanted to offer Mumbai a taste of this French passion.”
  • Entrepreneurship's messy middle
    She is drawn to the unglamorous parts of building: hiring, bad days, scaling.
    • IG“Bad days are part of the job description, even when nobody tells you that on day one.”
    • IG“Turns out 'how do I hire the right people' isn't a question you answer once 🤷🏽‍♀️”
  • Comfort food, simply done
    She increasingly prizes the simple and soulful over the elaborate.
    • in“I don't need ten techniques on one plate. I want something that makes you close your eyes on the first bite.”
  • Making baking accessible
    She has written seven books, including an eggless bestseller and a cookie book written for kids, by kids.
    • in“'Little Book of Cookies' is my seventh and written for kids, by kids!”
    • in“the bestselling Can't Believe It's Eggless”
  • Business strategy and data
    She balances the creative with the analytical, and she lights up when a real story shows up in market research.
    • in“Skills: ... Business Strategy, Business Administration, Data Analysis”
    • in“When people were asked where they go when they come to Bombay, they wrote down Le15.”
Values
  • Lasting human connection over metrics
    She measures success by the place her work holds in people's lives.
    • in“No dashboard tells you this part.”
  • Trust
    She is quietly proudest when people trust her work without being sold to.
    • in“They picked it as their favourite - they trusted us.”
  • Lifelong learning and humility
    She keeps a student mindset, and with Tim Cook she asked about her struggles rather than showing off.
    • in“I always have a student mindset and have learnt so much from her!”
    • IG“I asked him about leadership, motivating a team and also about my struggles”
  • Gratitude
    She meets recognition with emotion and thanks, not bravado.
    • in“Thank you Tatler Asia for this honour ♥️🥹”
    • IG“I feel extremely grateful to have had this experience and it's something I'll cherish all my life 💖”
  • Authenticity over polish
    She talks openly about hard days and the messy middle.
    • IG“founders skip the elevator pitch and tell us about the messy middle, tough conversations and moments that made them wiser”
Personality
Adventurousness78
She moved to Switzerland and Paris young, started a business on one spark, and is now taking on a triathlon before she can swim.
Ambition90
She is Forbes 30 under 30 in India and Asia, has written seven books, runs multiple outlets, and just won a Tatler Best India 2026 honour.
Social energy85
Hosting, collaborating, running clubs, girls' reunions: she thrives around people.
Playfulness82
Macaron-piping races, 'joybaiting' pranks, trying to summon Wiz Khalifa. She is quick to laugh at herself.
Intellectual curiosity80
She can't stop thinking about an idea until she's tried it, and she interviews mentors and founders for fun.
Groundedness74
She takes things 'one day at a time', craves comfort over complexity, and values traditions, though her life runs at a founder's pace.
How they live
Base
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Pace
Fast and hands-on. She is a founder-CEO present in her café and kitchen while also producing podcasts, YouTube and books.
Social
Very social: a close circle of women friends, a running club, fellow founders, and hosting guests at the café.
Travel
She studied and worked in Switzerland (Vevey) and trained in Paris. Recently she attended an awards night at Fairmont Udaipur Palace.
Health
She runs with the Slow Runners Club, enters 10K races, has started swimming classes, and is training toward a triathlon next year.
Work / life
Work and identity are intertwined, and her creative inspiration comes from everywhere. Rest looks active and social: runs, friends, baking shows.
Talks like
Warm, emoji-rich and self-deprecating ('I really know how to make things hard for myself 😜'). She is candid about struggle, loves a good question, and appreciates people who tell it as it is. Her hearts and '~' tildes are part of her voice.
Shows care by
She bakes personal creations and keeps traditions year after year, like the long-standing birthday cheesecake for RK. She also celebrates the people around her loudly and brings friends along on her goals.
Green flags
  • Measures success by the human moments behind the numbers
  • Seeks out honest feedback and keeps a student mindset
  • Laughs at herself easily
  • Loud, generous cheerleader for her friends
  • Keeps traditions and remembers people across the years
  • Takes big goals one day at a time
Friction
  • A multi-outlet founder schedule plus content creation may leave limited, unpredictable free time
  • She lives a very public, content-heavy life, which a private partner might find a lot
  • She tends to commit to big challenges first and figure out the how later, and a partner may get pulled along
  • Her work and identity are deeply fused, so switching off may be rare
Dealbreakers
  • Sugarcoating or dishonesty
  • Someone who dismisses her ambition or needs her to shrink her public life
  • Indifference toward her friends and community
  • Valuing flash over heart
Who fits them

Someone candid, warm and secure, who can talk flavors one minute and scaling a business the next. They'd be at home in a social, friend-full Mumbai life and happy to cheer her across a triathlon finish line, or join her at the start. Most of all, they'd notice her progress, not just her awards, and would build small rituals with her that last.

Dates they'd love
  • An easy-paced Saturday run in Bandra, followed by an unhurried breakfast where the rule is comfort food only
  • A cozy night in watching The Great British Bake Off, then baking the simplest showstopper together, the one that makes you close your eyes on the first bite
  • Hunting down new cafés to taste-test and debate, with bonus points for anything 'a little bit of french, lots of Mumbai'
Ask them about
  • How's the swimming going, and has she made peace with the cycling part yet?
  • What's her personal bad-day ritual? The Tweak series asked, and it's a great window into her.
  • The customer who went from a Worli kiosk cupcake to her wedding cake to three generations at the café. What did that moment feel like?
  • What made her want to hug February 2024 Pooja, and what advice from Tim Cook or Delna Avari has stuck?
How the agent talks on their behalf
Warm, bubbly and quick to laugh at herself, with the occasional ♥️ or 😅, but never fluffy. She's direct and honest, and she prefers real questions over small talk. Keep the pace upbeat but grounded, 'one day at a time.' Use food metaphors lightly and playfully, like 'no sugarcoating' or 'PB&J but make it different.' Show curiosity about the other person's journey, cheer their wins, and admit struggles freely.
✓ both links look like the same personconfidence 82/100