Skip to main content

Fabelle: A Willy Wonka Story



There is a new Willy Wonka in town and her name is Bhumika. Just like Mr. Wonka of yore, Bhumika and the team at ITC Maratha have created a chocolate wonderland called Fabelle. Luxury chocolates, made with pure cocoa and devoid of additives and chemicals, are rare in India which is why ITC's initiative to create chocolate boutiques is such a fantastic idea. There are two kinds of chocolates you can buy at Fabelle - the boxed variety that is manufactured in the ITC factory in Bangalore or the brilliant creations the chefs come up with inside the boutique. No matter which of the two you go for, this is chocolate at par with the likes of Valrhona.

Fabelle invited me yesterday for a chocolate tasting experience. We kicked off with their square ganaches - these are essentially your cocoa and cream squares coated in cocoa powder - what others called truffles.



The ganache squares come in three variants - milk chocolate from ivory coast, dark chocolate from Ghana and an apple and cinnamon variety. The last one was my instant favourite; chocolate is the star here but apple and cinnamon flavours shine through. You can buy these truffles in boxes of 20. Or you can buy the next set I tasted, called the elements.




The elements are pralines - hard shells filled with a variety of flavours. I loved the earth, coated with a crunchy textured chocolate. But the star of this box and the whole afternoon of tasting for me was Fire - white chocolate, candied mango, ancho chilli - this is a flavour bomb. Apart from these two, you can also get single origin bars and hazelnut and milk chocolate pralines suited for folks looking for something sweeter. You can buy these gorgeous looking boxes as is, or tell them to create a variety of hampers for you. They are nice that way!

Throughout the tasting, Bhumika and I chatted away about the origin of these chocolates and the process of chocolate making. For someone as young as her, she seems to have mastered the art of chocolate really well. Which is why, when we moved to the next part of our tasting, I left it all in the chocolatier's hand. At Fabelle, they let you create cups of your choice. So you can pick empty chocolate shells and fill them with a variety of toppings and flavours. Bhumika made mine in dark chocolate and filled it with berries, white creme, almonds and a hearty sprinkle of salt. It was layers upon layers of flavour.



Fabelle has also created a whole range of desserts made out of their chocolate, including cheesecakes and eclairs and a gorgeous black forest cake. But I had had my fill of sweets by then so I settled instead, for a final cup of hot chocolate. Mark my words, if you have been looking for good hot chocolate in Mumbai, this is it! Pure milk whipped with two kinds of chocolate and topped not with marshmallows, but with house made pistachio nougat, there isn't a better chocolate drink in town. There is a camera right above Bhumika's workstation so you can even see her making your chocolate or plating your dessert on the TV inside the cafe.



India is a country that grew up on Dairy Milk. Luxury chocolates have always been something you bring back from trips abroad. But if dutyfree Lindt truffles are your primary reason to travel, Fabelle may just be all the cheer you need. Of course, the hot chocolate is my reason to make Fabelle a constant favourite.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kadhi Chawal

I just can't think of what to write today. That's what my absolute favorite meal does to me, I just want to stop talking and dig right in. So I won't ramble and go straight on the recipe for kadhi. First, make the pakoras that would go in the kadhi. Slice an onion lengthwise. Make a batter with 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan), salt, red chilli powder and water. Dip onions in this batter and deep fry until crisp. Keep aside. Now blend 1 cup yogurt and 1/3 cup besan into a paste. Add 3-4 cups water to make a very thin blend. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add a tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain (carom seeds) and methre (fenugreek seeds). Let splutter for a few seconds. Now add a large onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices and cook until browned lightly. Pour in the yogurt/besan mix and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for at least half an hour. You have to stir this occasio...
17 comments
Read more

Bibimbap

This is the reason I love taking part in Taste & Create . There is so much new to learn and try when you meet new partners. This month, I am visiting Kitschow in Vancouver for a course in Asian cooking. She also tries a lot of other cuisines, but wok is her favorite way to cook. I first thought I'd find very little vegetarian choice at her place. But as luck would have it, she has recently done a lot of vegetarian cooking and eating for lent and I had a virtual rainbow to pick from. Everything looked so delicious it was tough to pick one. I picked the one with the cutest name : Bibimbap . Bibimbap is a Korean rice, usually topped with beef and vegetables but Kitschow made a vegan version for Lent. The recipe has three parts. First you cook the rice. Then, when it's almost done but is still moist, you arrange vegetables on top so it looks colorful and pretty. For the vegan version, Kitschow just put raw veggies there and let them cook in the steam. But I liked the i...
13 comments
Read more

Dukkah

Talk about myths busted. I went to Dubai planning to buy zat'ar, the fragrant herb and spice mix. And Dukkah, the interesting blend of nuts and spices. Not sumac, because I still have a pack left in my fridge. So zat'ar was easy - every Carrefour supermarket had that one. But no one had dukkah and I was like, how can they not have dukkah? It's a middle eastern thing, right! But well, they don't sell dukkah in Dubai, so I came back and armed with recipes from 10-odd blogs (all roughly the same), I set to make my own. The key to making dukkah is : line up all your ingredients, toast each of them separately in a heavy non-stick pan till they are fragrant and lightly roasted, then put everything in a blender and grind coarsely. This is your dukkah. Now dip your bread in olive oil, then dip it in dukkah and indulge. A final word of warning: this can be highly addictive. And finally, my list of ingredients: 1/4 cup almonds 2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 1/2 tbsp sesame...
14 comments
Read more