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Meet the Chocolate-Wallahs!

Indian-American Entrepreneurs’ Sweet Success

 

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost Indian immigrants who have spent time in the homeland will remember their childhood passion for Cadbury chocolates – the only big brand available in India in the good old days! In those days chocolate was a rarity and a treat. NRI relatives visiting India would always be asked to bring back  just about any kind of ‘foreign’ chocolate and as much as could fit into a suitcase. Now of course, the chocolate landscape in India has changed and every kind of gourmet chocolate is available in that huge sophisticated, consumer society.

Knowing the back-story of immigrant lives, it’s no surprise that Indian-Americans still have that insatiable chocolate hunger and having made a mark in every business in the US, it’s sweet to know that they are also getting involved in the business of gourmet, artisan chocolates! At the recent Big Chocolate Show in New York it was surprising to see that the Indian hand was visible – and sometimes invisible – in the international world of chocolates.

Indeed the Chocolate Show had everything expected and unexpected,  from chocolates from all parts of the world to chocolate inspired food and drink, accessories made out of chocolate, hand-painted images on chocolate and even cosmetics concocted out of this magical brown stuff that the world seems to be hooked on.

At the recent Big Chocolate Show I saw chocolate cosmetics from a company called Indi – I was told the owner had named the company after her  daughter who was named India  after the parents attended a big fat wedding in India  (needless to say their other daughter is named Sienna, after a visit to Italy!) Such is the passion chocolate evokes in people.

 

 A Touch  of India at the Big Chocolate Show in New York

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nd of course, if you looked carefully, the Chocolate Show did have a touch of India, Indians and Indian-flavors! One of the participants was Surbhi Sahni, a chocolatier and pastry chef who runs BittersweetNYC, which ships India-inspired confections all over the US and who  also sells her confections in numerous food markets and street fairs like Little Italy’s San Gennero Festival.

Sahni, who completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management from the School of Hotel Administration in India and her masters in Food Studies and Food Management from New York University, is a Michelin starred chef who has worked in high-end restaurants like David Burke and Donatella. Married to noted chef Hemant Mathur, Sahni has over the years created the desserts in restaurants like Tamarind, Amma,  Devi, and Tulsi. Her fusion desserts include a sumptuous Mango Cheesecake, and her truffles with an Indian flavor have crossed over to the mainstream. Some of the flavors include Pecan Cognac (Callibaut chocolate ganache, toasted pecans, dark chocolate), Ginger (Candied ginger, Ginger ganache, Callibaut dark chocolate), Coconut (Coconut, reduced milk, green cardamom) and Chili Chocolate (Indian red chilies, reduced milk, dark chocolate, Valrhrona cocoa powder.)

 

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the Chocolate Show Sahni had a constant stream of mainstream consumers stopping to try her India- inspired confections, including the mithais and laddoos which sat delicately in pastry wrappers as they were presented to the large receptive audience of American consumers. She said, “I think the country has evolved and come to a different place. We are all looking not only for new products but new concepts. The mainstream is also truly global and wants to know what the next big thing is. I feel the Indian product is going to be placed in better and better markets. The younger generation of the South Asian community is also adventurous for new flavors.”

Another big trend  in chocolates at the show was the popularity of vegan, vegetarian and  organic chocolates. The word vegan  has become a buzz word , and also a passion and a belief with many consumers.  In fact it is estimated that over 15 million Americans have food allergies to  milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts or gluten so there’s a growing market for vegan chocolates.

From Wall Street to Vegan Ayurvedic Chocolates

Vegan or vegetarian chocolates seem to be big and Indian flavors are being introduced by even mainstream companies. At the show I met a Lithuanian chocolatier who had been earlier married to a Pakistani in California. She was well-versed with Indian spices and in her chocolate company she uses both turmeric and ginger.

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] also met Alak Vasa,  a young Indian chocolatier who had forsaken a high powered job in Wall Street to start her company Element Truffles, and was at the Chocolate Show selling ayurvedic chocolates!

Vasa, who grew up in Ahmedabad,  Gujarat,  always had a sweet tooth  and is a big believer in Ayurveda, meditation and the natural lifestyle. Yet she worked in the high powered financial world and admits, “Wall Street was always stressful, you were always on your feet. It was intense  – you were always on!” She knew life needed to be a fine balance and that prompted her to create a product that brought happiness and was good for everyone. She explored sweeteners to find the right nutritional one rather than yet another commercial product.

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]he soon found that her chocolates were in synch with what people were looking for – a healthy lifestyle and products which were made the right way with the right ingredients – dark chocolate, honey, sea salt and spices like turmeric which were good for your body. Her chocolates have no dairy and 5 percent of the profits from Elements go to the education of tribal children in India.

Vasa’s husband who still works with a hedge fund, does help her with her chocolate business. Does she miss Wall Street at all? “Not all all,” says this erstwhile financial trader who now trades in health and happiness. “My hourly rate is much lower but I go to sleep with a big smile on my face!”

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile the inspiration of India is visible in the use of Indian spices like turmeric, cardamom and saffron, and even chillies and chai in chocolates, it was at the show I first got to learn about the invisible hand of Indian-Americans in providing the machinery for making artisan chocolates. This delicious bit of information was provided to me by Robert Bowden, a New Jersey chocolatier who put me in touch with Dr. M. Balu and his wife Andal Balu in Atlanta who he said were providing equipment to several chocolatiers in the US and abroad since the last 15 years.

Their chocolate-making machine first started out – believe it or not – as a grinder for making idlis!

I connected with the Balus and learned some intriguing facts about the innovation and can-do attitude of Indian-American entrepreneurs. It is hard to believe that this couple from Tamil Nadu is such a big resource for at least 300 chocolatiers across the world.

The Amazing Story of the Balus’  Grassroots Chocolate Factory 

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ndal Balu did her masters in Coimbatore before working as an Agricultural Research Scientist (ARS). She came to the US after getting married to Dr. Balu M. Balasubramanian, a chemist. She recalls, “He had to work long hours in the lab and occasionally even overnight. When our kids were younger, I wanted to stay home with them to take care of them and the house. When the kids grew up, I wanted to start a business instead of working for somebody else.”  They formed the company Inno Concepts Inc. to market innovative items, and as she admits they did not know what they would be selling but wanted to sell unique/innovative items and not the items one can find in regular stores.

They started out by getting the dealership for grinders from India and asking the company to make modifications to the Meenu Maxima to create the Meenu Sleek, and became the first company in the US to sell kitchen equipment with warranty and service. It was a time when you didn’t see women analyzing and creating machinery so when Andal traveled to India to do this the manufacturers were surprised.

Recalls Andal, “I traveled to India to learn more about the Meenu grinders and to fix them. They were surprised that a lady is wanting to handle the tools but they taught me how to assemble and repair the unit. We imported our first batch of machines and I worked from home. I used to open each and every machine, reassemble to make sure everything will work the way it is supposed to!”

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Balus got a good response from South Indian community as they were excited to make Idli and dosa the authentic way.  After that they were on a roll, getting various unique appliances from India such as Chefmaster Rotimakers, commercial wet grinders from various manufacturers and tandoor ovens too. They certainly helped make life easy for Indian households in America by coming up with Idleez electric idli steamers with timer (made in China) with non-stick idli plates (stainless steel plates with calphalon quality non-stick coating in India), Cookeez Stainless steel pressure cookers from Portugal (whistle less pressure cooker and pressure pan combo), and Roteez Tandoor oven. In 2000,  the business moved to a warehouse and started importing commercial equipment.In 2007, when the economy plummeted, the Balus wanted to diversify – and chocolate came into their lives! And so it was that an idli making machine in a new avatar came to the rescue of would-be chocolatiers!

 

From Idli-Grinding to Gourmet Chocolates 

[dropcap]“W[/dropcap]e explored and found out that a few people in USA were starting to make dark chocolate with only two ingredients – Cocoa beans and sugar,” says Andal. “ They had the knowledge to make the chocolate but when it came to equipment, they had to import vintage machines from Europe, refurbish and use them. That involved lot of capital and huge space and many employees.”

Not everybody could afford to start the business at that scale. So the Balus started making machines in small scale to make about 10 -12 lbs of chocolate liquor per batch (compared to industrial equipment which make one ton or more of chocolate liquor in a batch). Then they came up with bigger machines to make 100 lbs of chocolate per batch, so the customers could scale up.The Balus started with modifying existing idlidosa grinders for chocolate industry – idlidosa grinders or wetgrinders run for 20 -30 minute batches. The cocoa nibs have to be ground for 2-3 days. So they modified the machine to suit the chocolate industry. She says, “Our customers loved our equipment and we were catalysts for the growth of the “bean to bar” industry. Europeans and people from all over the world came to the US to learn about the “New American chocolate or 2 ingredient chocolate.” Over the years, they started making other machines specifically needed for the small batch chocolate industry and have already a patent and are working on couple of more patents.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ccording to Andal,  their company CocoaTown is the only company that makes a series of machines for the bean to bar industry for three different levels – laboratory scale for entering or exploring bean to bar business, professional scale to exhibit and showcase the chocolate making process and commercial scale to expand the business.

Helping Cocoa Farmers Get a Piece of the Chocolate Dream

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile these machines could be used for several gourmet/craft food industries,  the Balus currently make machines for all the four steps: CocoaTRoaster for roasting the cocoa beans uniformly. They can also be used for roasting nuts and dhals: CocoaTCooling Tray)– To cool the roasted beans faster to avoid overcooking; CocoaTCracker, which is for winnowing, have patent pending technology to crack the beans into bigger pieces and also peel the skin off of the nibs.

Other chocolate making machines are the Winnower (CocoaT and InnoWinno)–This machine separates the husk (not used in chocolate) from the nibs (the primary ingredient of small batch, artisan chocolates).  There’s also the CocoaT mini Pregrinder – For grinding nibs and sugar into powder to reduce the grinding time in the melanger / Grindeur Melangers / Grindeurs (ECGC series) – for grinding cocoa nibs into chocolate liquor from 1 lb to 100 lbs batch. These patented melangers / Grindeurs are multipurpose and can be used for grinding nut butters, nut milks and other gourmet foods.

[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ou thought all you have to do is unwrap a chocolate and pop it into your mouth and you probably didn’t know all the hard work that goes into making artisan chocolates by small teams of chocolatiers.  No surprise then that the grinders have been a savior for artisan chocolate makers, letting them do something which would have been impossible without these machines.

“The biggest satisfaction of our work is when our customers tell us that we enabled them to start their business with minimum investment and they do not have to be McGuyvers to make machines work for them – they can just concentrate on making chocolate instead of focusing on refurbishing or repurposing machines from different industries.”

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n fact the Balus travel to chocolate shows globally and are surprised to find their machines are being used in many countries. Says Andal, “We are glad that because of CocoaTown even cocoa farmers in several countries can make chocolate and increase their income potential – verticalization of cocoa. In coffee industry, they say that the coffee farmers do not have easy access to coffee. We are glad that we could change it for cocoa farmers so they cannot just eat chocolate but also can make chocolate with minimum investment and a 10’ x 10’ room.”

 

Chocolate Restaurants, Chocolate  Inspired Drinks and Chocolate Making Classes

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]esides this invisible role in the chocolate industry, there are many second generation Indian-Americans who are pursuing this very American business but with an Indian twist in restaurants and lounges.

Coco Sala, a hot and happening chocolate lounge, bar, restaurant, pastry shop and boutique on F Street in Washington DC, closed recently after a very successful decade in the business. it ws co-owned by two Indian-American entrepreneurs Bharet Malhotra and Nisha Sidhu with chef-partner chef Santosh Tiptur, who has just created his own chocolate themed restaurant called The Conche

Co Co Sala, which opened in 2008, has received critical acclaim including ‘hottest bar scene of the year’ by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and reviews from The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine. Besides dinner, chocoholics can also stop by the 200 square foot boutique to try chocolate bars and artisanal chocolates including the famous chocolate-enrobed bacon, cognac truffles and hot Co Co Pops.  Co-owner, Nisha Sidhu had found her way to chocolate in a roundabout way. She earned her Bachelor’s from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Master’s from Johns Hopkins University in Engineering & Applied Physics in Biomedicine, and became a bona fide biomedical engineer working for the Naval Medical Logistics Command. She however had a passion for baking and recalls, “Working with pastry and chocolate is chemistry and I love science so it was fascinating to me. I also love art and how aesthetic pastry can be.”

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter marriage and children, Nisha enrolled in the professional Pastry Arts Program at L’Academie de Cuisine. Graduating at the top of her class, she worked in 2941 Restaurant in Virginia as the chocolatier, creating elaborate pastry buffets, wedding cakes and sculptures. She then started her own company The Sugar Gallery by Nisha before collaborating with Bharet on Co Co Sala.While the chocolate devotees come in every size and shape, Nisha recalled that women were big on Co Co Sala. “It was very fulfilling for me as a woman entrepreneur to know it’s a haven for women to indulge in their favorite food group – chocolate! The best part is the five course dessert tasting in the evening.”

The Chocolate Man

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]antosh Tiptur is the man behind the happening new chocolate themed restaurant The Conche. In 2015, he was listed among the Ten Top Chocolatiers in North America by Dessert Professional magazine. Food, especially chocolate, was always on his radar. He remembers that growing up in India he loved to cook with his mother: “One day my Uncle who had a bakery was visiting us and my mom asked him to show her how to bake a cake. W did not have an oven, and my uncle’s friend used heated sand to bake the cake, which I can still see and smell in my mind – that was fascinating!”

The very first chocolate he ever ate was a Cadbury’s Chocolate Éclair. He recalls: “I always wondered how this was made, since there was no Google to find out. I always wanted to know h “I came to understand pasty is more an art than just cooking and that is where the love affair began,” he says. After earning a degree in Bakery and Confectionery Technology from the University of Agriculture Sciences in Bangalore, he went abroad to hone his skills at the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

The philosophy behind The Conche:  Experience all aspects of chocolate

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ince then, Santosh worked as the executive pastry chef at the Ritz Carlton Hotel San Juan Spa and Casino, and also participated in new hotel openings for South Beach Ritz Carlton in Miami and Grand Cayman Island. He has consulted for the Ritz Carltons in the West Indies, and was on the Pastry Advisory board and has also appeared on the Food Network.

“I like to incorporate chocolate with most of the dishes – that’s a monumental challenge but one I love taking on,” he says. The philosophy behind The Conche is to let guests experience all aspects of chocolate, be it in cocktails, hot chocolates, artisan chocolates and confections, desserts and savory cuisine. The restaurant is named after the conche which is the machinery for making chocolate and the process is called conching. He says, “Without the conching process we would not be able to enjoy the quality and mouth feel of chocolates as we all enjoy today.”

Tiptur also has extended the experiences a chocolate lover can have at The Conche: “Our chocolate boutique is situated at the entrance of the restaurant, where our guests see the display of all our assortment of chocolate sculptures, artisan chocolates and retail products. The Chocolate Lab is where all the magic happens. It’s a 300 SFT space dedicated to R&D production of all the handmade chocolates and confections, garnishes for our desserts and drinks.”

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Saturdays Tiptur conducts chocolate tastings and chocolate making classes. During summer break he also offers three-day summer camps for kids and adults, where they share the secrets of chocolate tasting and making class, restaurant style desserts and plating, and making of  chocolate sculptures.

Perhaps remembering his own yearnings for chocolate knowledge as a child, Tiptur has made this a totally kid-friendly place: “As we are in the suburbs we have lots of families come to watch how everything is made,  and the chocolate production is a real feast for the eyes! We have a staff of four to make the chocolates in the chocolate lab.”

The Chocolatier from New Jersey: Sweet Taste of Success

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n New Jersey, Shefalee Patel is the chocolatier behind a thriving chocolate business which is  inspired by Indian mithai or burfi. Sweet Silk originated back in 2009 with the concept of highlighting the luxurious ingredients utilized in Indian sweets in a pure fashion without any preservatives and low in sugar. Says Shefalee, “By incorporating particular complimenting chocolate to each of our sweets, we were able to achieve a modern taste on Indian sweets.

When we began, we did gear more towards the Indian and Middle Eastern communities due to our cultural and religious ties to sweets for holidays and to commemorate special occasions.  However, we began to receiving growing interest from a broader audience due to our gluten free and vegan options.”

As Americans acquire a more global palate, these Indian-inspired sweets are finding a larger customer base and Sweet Silk continues to use  Guittard and Valrhona chocolate for their confections, citing their quality and nurances in their varietals.

“I like to refer to the making of my sweets and truffles as my Labor of Love,” she says.  “All our confections are handmade in small batches to ensure the right flavor, consistency and fresh quality every time. We do everything in-house by hand, from blanching and peeling pistachios to chopping the huge chocolate slabs down to cooking each batch of sweet and rolling each truffle by hand. There is a lot of time, energy and care put into making our confections and it’s all done lovingly. ”

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]any Indian spices find their way into Sweet Silk, from red chili powder in their Mango Chili Coconut Truffle to cardamom in their Coconut Chocolate Ganache. She says, “For us it not about highlighting one ingredient over the other but creating a balance with the nuts, fruits, spices and chocolate. That is why we experimented many different types of chocolate varietals to pick the one that pairs best with each of our sweets. We have been working on many new seasonal flavors and our own collection of chocolate bon bons to be released this coming year.  These idea behind these bon bons is to introduce a new experience with a variety of flavors and textures with each one.”With the upswing in the chocolate market, Patel says they are moving from exclusively online sales to being sold in many specialty shops in New York and New Jersey: “However, what we are most excited about is that we are looking to expand and open up our first brick and mortar shop! Location is still being determined. So stay tuned”!

Chocolate Weddings

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he second-generation Indian-Americans are into all the current food trends and so dark chocolate is big with them. More and more chocolate is becoming a big factor at Indian celebrations and in almost every big city young professionals catering to this wedding crowd have arisen. Jharna Jaisinghani of Artistic Affairs, an events and wedding planning company in New York has seen that chocolates are the key to the pampered wedding experience. She imports specialty chocolates from India which are custom wrapped in the couple’s personalized choice and given out as wedding favors as well as built into custom gift hampers for gifts for various celebrations.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]arti Mahtani Raman of AMR Catering in Philadelphia , PA, also makes chocolate a big part of her catering for weddings in the Northeast, which chocolate truffles a big part of her wedding party favors. She says. “I try to push brides to not do the standard cake flavors and instead pick unique flavors that their guests would be excited to try – another take on the ‘wow’ factor of the wedding day. Anything from Cardamom Cake with Toasted Pistachio Filling to Chocolate Chai Cake with Brown Butter & Toasted Cashew Ganache filling. For dessert bars, I love cake pops dipped in chocolate, brownies in the shape of a mini wedding cake, and on the fusion list, chocolate covered jalebi is such a fun pick!”

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hocolate has certainly entered the vocabulary of Indian wedding planners and caterers and chocolate bars and fountains are big at Indian celebrations. Even the paanwalla has got into the act! Ankit Narula, who is the Long Island paanwalla in demand at weddings across the US and often flies out to destination weddings has the ultimate treat for guests – paan truffles!  Narula says, “Simply put, it is a deconstructed meetha paan. They are made of a creamy shell made of paan chiffonade and coconut flakes on the outside and luscious gulkand filling mixed with spices on the inside. There’s also the chocolate paan and choc ‘O latte Paan where paans are flavored with chocolate cum coffee for diehard paan lovers. Narula also creates paan truffles and Choc ‘O Latte Paans which infuse coffee and chocolate inside a paan. These intoxicating chocolate flavored paans and paan flavored truffles are so delicious that I challenge you to stop after eating just one!  Wait till mainstream Americans discover the desi chocolate-wallahs!

(C) Lavina Melwani

(This story was first published in Khabar magazine)

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