Chocolat Boulangerie Patisserie- Bangalore

“What do you get when you put together a Civil Engineer and a Lawyer intent on divorcing themselves from their mundane goal-oriented lives? Of course the most obvious answer is a venture in manufacturing and selling Chocolates and Bakery products!”

I have a confession to make. I think writing about food is hard. I am constantly distracted by the protagonist and in the case of this article, it happens to be chocolate. As I reached out to a box of chocolates under the veiled excuse of wanting inspiration, I looked through my notes and realized that writing about chocolate is probably the easiest thing.

You know what’s harder than writing about chocolate? Making chocolate, making desserts with chocolate, ensuring quality, ensuring the taste preferences are met and ensuring that people have something interesting to look forward to, and doing all of that every single day, now that is hard! Meet Raghav and Rahul Seth, owners of Chcocolat Boulangerie Patisserie and read their chocolate story. 

They fell in love chocolate like most of us do, at an early age, “in the pastry shops of Kolkata”, to be more precise in their case. Unlike most of us, though, who learn to like it and appreciate it the way it presents itself, Raghav and Rahul developed a sixth sense to know the difference between good and great chocolate. Degrees and jobs happened, but the  love for good chocolate never diminished. Raghav is an engineering graduate from NIT Jalandhar and Rahul is a graduate from National Law University Delhi. When they realized that the chocolate they love so much was not given its due in terms of taste, quality, and variety, they decided to take matters into their own hands. Instead of just following  their  whim, Raghav  took up a course from IBC (Institute of Baking and Cake Art) Bangalore, which he followed up with experience of working in two bakery’s in Kolkata. Soon, Rahul joined his brother and together they formed a team experimenting with new recipes to the extent as Rahul puts it, “We were baking and making chocolate every day.” They also trained under a pastry chef from Bangalore at home and then sharpened their knives or in this case, their whisks.In their venture, they are supported by a small team personally trained by them.

I did this interview in two parts, one over the phone and one in person at Chocolat as I sat listening to the story of this chocolate world while sipping a glass of Khewa tea and eating their famous Chocolate Éclair. The first thought I had was that I should have made this a three part interview because the mousse filled éclair was so delicious that I was worried my notes would be a ramble on “delicious éclair”, “must eat more”(ever grateful for the record feature on smartphones). But, Chocolat is not just about the chocolates and desserts. It is a place where people care enough about their childhood memories to give the food its due. It is a place where the food is a testimony to their experiences and their travels. It is a place where you will learn that the best way to drink a Khewa tea (and a really good one!) is to not just be dainty and sip, but to dive in with your spoon, grab a bunch of the leaves and nuts and munch them with the essence of the tea.

Despite having an inherent taste for chocolate and getting themselves all the training and practice, the brothers left nothing to chance. Before the launch of Chocolat, they sent out 100 boxes of chocolates to their friends and then reworked some of the recipes based on feedback.  “A lot of things impact the taste of the final product. Sometimes, this includes going back to simple steps in the process. For example, if we are using herbs like mint, then the leaves have to be boiled or crushed the right amount. We reworked and tweaked the recipes to make sure that we had factored in the inputs that we got with our trial boxes” Chocolat began operations from 23-Oct-2014, but being extremely conscientious with their approach, this practice of factoring in feedback is an ongoing part of their recipe development. In fact, when they rework recipes, they invite people to taste them and  make sure the changes work.

Go to the Chcocolat website today and you will find not just interesting  flavors of chocolates like “Chili Chocolate Ganache” or “Sweet Ginger”, but also Cakes, desserts, and savories.  While training and recipe development was a big part of the Chcoclat journey, they also had to work their way through understanding the market and vendor procurement. They spent a lot of time in doing vendor surveys to make sure they get the right raw materials/ingredients  and make the products as authentic as possible.  Their Khawa tea mix comes from Kashmir and is made just the way they make it at home for themselves.  Not just raw materials and ingredients, they also had to work out delivery issues with third party delivery  platforms to make sure your cakes reach you on time.

The journey so far for Chocolat has been very interesting says Rahul, as he talks about reviews and expansion plans. Nine months into opening they  already had the highest rating for a dessert place in the city. Reviews  on their website talk not only about the cozy ambiance but also about the delicious products that Chocolat offers. As much as they pay importance to consumer feedback, they have also developed an overall understanding of the city’s  sweet tooth.  “Adapting products to meet these overall preferences is vital. Each city has a signature style that we need to get a hang of. While desserts in Kolkata are richer and sweeter, Bangalore has a more calorie conscious approach.” Now that is called attention to detail.

In its short span of operation, Chocolat is already looking at expansion. They are opening a new branch in HSR Layout which will have all the goodies you find regularly in their menu and a premium bread section. Not just that, they are redesigning their patisserie concept and menu to make it more relatable for their audience. The idea is to give people not just great desserts and chocolates, but a memorable experience as well. The whole concept will revolve around fantasy fiction and fairy tales, for children who love their desserts and for the child in all of us. Even the menu is going to reflect some of the fun characters that we come across, like the Rum Balls will be called Drunken Brawlers after the Dota 2 character which throws alcohol at its enemies. So if you see a lamppost with Platform 9^3/4 written on it near HSR, make sure you enter this magic land of chocolates. After all, we muggles deserve that from time to time.

Chcoclat is your destination dessert place to sit back and enjoy delicious desserts. Stop by their Koramangala outlet  or their new outlet at HSR (from 20^th March 2016, Sunday) and get your own chocolate experience. As the makers of these treats say it best -“We understand that all of this might seem like just words to begin with, so let an indulgent bite allay your suspicions. Let yourself be overcome by the Chocolat experience, for it is one that shall keep you coming.”

Don’t forget to stop by their Facebook Page  and their website to stay updated on all things Chocolat.

Chocolat Quick Facts