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LA CHOCOLATIER DE BOMBAY
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Saturday, 03 November, 2007, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ronita Torcato, Mumbai
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y time through the year what with the Parsi New Year, Christmas and orders from corporates, but the demand during Diwali is stupendous!
We just can't cope! "exclaims veteran chocolatier Meher Pinto whose chocolate candies are sold under the ChocAffaires label at four outlets in the metro.
She's been in the business since 1980, keeping the flag flying of a custom that originated some 2,000 years ago in Central America when the Aztec and Mayan peoples began to make a spiced beverage from the cacao (cocoa) bean which grew lushly in the tropical rainforests of their land.
Mass production of cocoa became possible thanks to the perfected steam engine, which mechanised the cocoa grinding process. By 1730, the commodity had dropped in price from three dollars or more per pound, making it more affordable. Today, West Africa is the largest producer of cocoa beans. Two million plus farms mainly located in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire produce 70% of the world's cocoa.
Milk chocolate is said to have been invented in Switzerland in 1876 when a man named David Peter devised a way of adding milk to create the world's first milk chocolate back. US candy manufacturers use 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolates.
"We only use dark chocolate, never milk chocolate. I'm sure you've read that dark chocolate is, actually, beneficial for health," says Pinto who got started 27 years ago.
"We were very small then, but people kept asking me for my chocolates. Over the years, more and more people have been going in for chocolates instead of mithai. So, I got more and more successful. When it comes to festival gifting, Diwali is way above, there's nothing compared to Diwali! The orders just keep pouring in. I never dreamt I would be this successful!"
Her daughter Ghazala began assisting her after she finished her studies some 10 years ago. Now, she's got a few workers to help her cope with the Diwali rush but she prefers not to elaborate.
" Back then I was doing everything by myself, all on a trial and error basis. I never learnt chocolate making, never looked at a recipe book. I don't know where other people get their recipes from, but our centres are all devised by us. They're made up by me, we don't source them from books. So, nobody else has the kind of chocolates that we have."
It's obvious Meher Pinto is firm in the conviction her chocolates are special.
This notion of exclusiveness is as old as the proverbial hills. The ancient Mayan texts refer to cacao as "food of the gods." It was the Mayans who first created a beverage from crushed cocoa beans, which was enjoyed by royalty and shared at sacred ceremonies. Ditto, the Aztecs who even bartered it for gold.
The ancients didn't have much to choose from unlike us post- moderns. Pinto reels off some names: Rum, cherry brandy, apricot brandy, orange, coffee, marzipan, almond crunch, dark bitter, nougat-almond - all fresh and preservative-free. "Rum, almond crunch and almond are popular. Our almond crunch is crunchier than most because we roast the almond in caramel and then dip it in chocolate. No one else here does this. "
And she hasn't envisaged diversifying.
"Abroad they do varieties like cinnamon. I would never do it here, it doesn't go with the Indian taste. And we don't want to go into moulds. Our chocolates are completely different."
What does she think of the competition? Whose cbocolates would she buy?
" Swiss and Belgian chocolates are good but far too expensive. Napoleon is quite good. Patchis too, but they all get their ingredients from abroad. We don't use foreign ingredients in our chocolates; everything we use is homegrown and Indian."
And she won't consider selling them loose. " People have asked me if I would do it and I've said No. All our chocolates are individually wrapped, the wrappers are printed with our name. We don't sell open ones because of hygiene. Especially in India where there's so much population, I feel we ought to wrap our chocolates. We really take a lot of care. Customers come to us year after year. They buy for themselves or for gifting. We've never had to release an advertisement. We just keep getting featured in the newspapers."
Like chocolates have been immortalized in movies like "Chocolat" starring Juliette Binoche. And books like Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" which was also made into a movie.
What's the price range of the goodies made by our Mumbai-based confectioner? Around Rs 680 per kilo pus 12.5% VAT. The cashew and almond rocks cost a bit more. Rs 780 per kg plus VAT. The chocolates are sold in a gold box.
"That's the regular packing, for fancy packaging, we charge extra. That's because we get the paper and ribbons from abroad. We design our own boxes. We've also got new carry bags for Diwali. A lot of people take our chocolates to London which suprises me."
Meher Pinto is not surprised when I tell her that West African women and children in particular are exploited and do not get fair wages for their labour. "Doesn't the same thing happen here? Don't we exploit our children who work in the carpet and embroidery business? Why should we criticise others when we're guilty of the same thing?"
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