Today marks the launch of La Folie Du Chocolat in Kala Ghoda – a store that promises to quickly become the Mecca for chocolate lovers across the city. This new venture is the brainchild of Chef Sanjana Patel whom you already know from La Folie Patisserie also in Kala Ghoda, and La Folie Lab in Bandra. With considerable expertise in pastry and desserts under her belt, Chef Sanjana set out to make La Folie Du Chocolat a place where art, design, and flavor collide to create a stunningly creative array of chocolates.
Don’t come here expecting run-of-the-mill chocolate slabs. The store uses new techniques to create chocolates that are a treat for the eyes and the taste buds. “There are lot of new techniques we have used for customizing the chocolates such as cold stamping technique with nitrogen for embossing on chocolate, panning confiseries with natural dehydrated fruit powders and inscribing or carving a name on chocolate bars,” said Chef Sanjana, “We have taken inspiration from new French chocolate techniques of fusing art and chocolate together in our bonbons, chocolate bars, confectioneries and pastries everything in our menu is inspired from single origin chocolates be it the desserts/cakes/ vegan cakes/ or the chocolate.”
Grand Cru chocolates carefully sourced from different plantations of the world are employed to create edible intense dark and aromatic milk chocolate ganache creations. Look out for the beautiful half sphere chocolate bonbons in jewel-like shades and exotic flavours like the Japanese inspired ‘Oishi’ bonbon with togarashi spice; and ‘Bali’ bonbon with a vegan coconut caramel. Traditional options include the ‘Rochers a la maison’ – delicately caramelized signature single origin truffles.
Each product is intended to pair beautifully with a high tea selection of petite French savories, signature flavored hot chocolates, freshly brewed coffee by Koinonia Coffee Roasters, a customized affogato drip bar with concoctions of freshly brewed coffee served with ice creams and premium tea collection carefully curated by TGL. Chef Sanjana said that her vision for La Folie Du Chocolat was for it to be a place “where artisanal craftsmanship and taste-making is taken to a whole new level. Koinonia and TGL are known to be the best, and are masters of their product. It thus made sense to present their products as a complimentary service to our clients.”
The extensive menu also caters to those with dietary restrictions. Options include a naked tea cake of chocolate avocado ganache for vegans; and a pure Spanish Marcona almond cream for those avoiding gluten. These items also make great gifts for the difficult-to-please diners that we all know. Considerable attention has been given to packaging as well, with customization options available to those who would like a little something extra.
The store space has been designed by Sharpener Inc. and stays true to what you would expect from a plush SoBo chocolaterie. The team drew inspiration from geometric shapes, patterns and abstract lineation as well as from edible art and chocolate flavour combinations. Luxurious design details include the marble and brass inlayed stairs, a paint-splattered 3D faceted wall and the inviting brand colours of peach and dark blue.
Lastly, we asked Chef Sanjana what she would recommend to first-time visitors to the store. Said the chef, “The vegan Bali bonbon: It’s got coconut water caramel and sesame nougatine. Absolutely dairy free and if it’s a pastry (you want) the Trocadero and the Parisian – these are my hot favourites since I love berries and chocolate as a pairing.”
Where: La Folie Du Chocolat
No. 16, Commerce House, Rope, Kala Ghoda,
Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
