Catching Up with the Maldivian Patissier Aminath Hameed

by Iyath Adam

For our interview article this time, we sat down with famed pastry chef, Aminath Hameed (Ainthu) – owner of the Maldivian Patissier bakery.

Read on to find out about how she came up with the Maldivian Patissier brand, the products and what it’s like to run such a niche business like a patisserie here in the Maldives.

Lonumedhu: So, our last interview with you was back in 2020 when you were working in Waldorf Astoria. What have you been up to since then?

Ainthu: During the COVID-19 pandemic, I actually took a break and moved back to my island, Addu, for about six months. I always dreamed of opening my own bakery, but I was waiting for the right time. So, during this break, I actually took the time to develop my ideas; I started doing the costing, planning production details – all the backend work that goes into opening a business.

Then, in 2021, I joined The Ritz-Carlton at a slightly higher position. The working environment and creative freedom there really helped me to thrive, and I learnt a lot more about baking and pastry-making. Before that, I was more interested in desserts and chocolate-making. I was at Ritz-Carlton for three years and I left there in 2024 to open the Maldivian Patissier shop – and now I’m here in Male’.

Lonumedhu: How did Maldivian Patissier come together, and how has it evolved since you first started?

Ainthu: We opened Maldivian Patissier as a physical space on 1 December 2024. After the kitchen was set-up, it took me about six months to get suitable staff and the necessary permits, so during that time, I sold desserts and baked goods through my Instagram page.

The plan was to rotate the baked goods every two weeks. Then, we started having a lot of repeated customers who requested a certain thing, so it was kind of difficult to touch certain products and rotate completely. So now, I try to rotate 2-3 items weekly, just to have something different. As a chef, I also feel like it’s important to try new things; if you do the same thing over and over again, your creativity will disappear.

When the bakery started, I mostly offered sweet items and less savoury ones. During Ramadan in 2025, I received a lot of requests for savoury products, so I made a whole new menu for that. I made changes with the bakery very gradually; introducing longer opening hours in increments, with more products, drinks and now we have breakfast items available as well.

As someone who worked in the resort scene for 12 years, I also wanted our service to match the quality of the food. I believe that every customer should leave the bakery with an experience worth remembering – so we place a lot of emphasis on that too.

Lonumedhu: What has the response from the public been like?

Ainthu: The response from the public has been great, which I wasn’t really anticipating. During my first pop-up, which was only held for 2-3 hours, I was amazed to see the huge line of people waiting. That was when I realised that there are many people who prefer quality products even if they are pricier. Right now, we have a very good customer base, and we have repeated buyers all the time.

Before I started this, a lot of people told me that it would be impossible to sustain a bakery of this quality. But I really wanted to offer this level of premier bakes and viennoiseries in Male’ and I’m very firm on not compromising the quality of food we offer, even if it was costly to produce. I figured I’d try, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll do something else.

Lonumedhu: You have a very distinct logo and space. How did that come about?

Ainthu: When I was first conceptualising the bakery, I realised that I wanted a really good branding to go with it. I wanted my logo to tell my story and for people to be able to immediately associate it with Maldivian Patissier when they see it. So, when I talked to my designer, I said that I’m from Addu – which I’m really proud of – and it should have a croissant in it. So, the designer came up with the idea of the white tern with the croissant in its beak, and it was perfect.

The green colour came from my father, who was a well-known businessman in Addu City, known to everyone as ‘Evergreen Hameed.’ All his business names also had ‘evergreen’ in it, and that kind of stuck with me. My dad has always been very supportive of me since the beginning of this, so it was kind of an homage to him.

Lonumedhu: What are some of the challenges you face in being an entrepreneur and running such a niche business like this here in the Maldives?

Ainthu: As an entrepreneur, you have to think about every single thing; food cost, suppliers, admin work, HR cost – you’re basically working the whole day. I used to work very long hours at resorts too. But then, at the end of the day, when you go back to your room, at least you have that peace and time to unwind. You don’t have to think about numbers or products. But for me, it’s my passion, so I love doing it.

For the first three months, it was really hard to get the necessary ingredients. Before I officially started the bakery, I talked to a lot of suppliers to secure a consistent supply. Even now, supply issues do come up occasionally, but we have now increased our storage space and come up with a system to stock up for one month in advance, so that even if issues arise, we can continue as usual for one month. There are also some ingredients that we bring in ourselves now.

If I can’t get an ingredient, then I don’t offer the product. For example, our tiramisu is currently discontinued because I can’t get the type of mascarpone cheese needed for it. I get a lot of repeated requests from customers for it, but I don’t want to compromise on the quality at all.

Lonumedhu: I think you were always a pastry chef who really championed Maldivian flavours and desserts. Do you have plans to incorporate that into the pastries at Maldivian Patissier?

Ainthu: Our product line is very huge right now, so it’s hard to focus on just Maldivian flavours, but we are working on introducing more into the menu.

Right now, we do have some Maldivian-flavoured products like our gabulhi tart. But for that too, it’s hard to get a consistent supply because I specifically use gabulhi (young coconut) from Addu. We also have a kanamadhu praline and a chilli chocolate with scotch bonnet in our signature bonbon chocolate box, both of which are very popular with customers.

Lonumedhu: What's your advice for aspiring chefs and food business owners?

Ainthu: Quality, consistency, and passion – I think these are the three things which you should always hold on to.

Be yourself; don’t try to copy other people and what they are doing. Come up with your own ideas. Don’t do something just because someone else is doing it or because you think it will be a lucrative business. And don’t compromise on the quality of your ingredients and pay careful attention to maintain the consistency of your products.

Lonumedhu: What's next for the Maldivian Patissier business?

Ainthu: Right now, we’re preparing to expand the bakery space and open a proper dessert café on the first floor. Actually, the downstairs space that we have right now was not designed for dining in, it was designed more like a takeaway space.

We’re hoping to open the space at the end of January or early February. When the space is complete, I plan on serving plated desserts and really bringing in a different culinary dessert scene.

Lonumedhu: Thank you for your time, Ainthu. It was lovely to chat with you, and we wish you the best of luck in your new endeavour!