"Chocolate." This simple word holds a special place to most humans. Yes, humans! Coming to think about it, no other non-essential, non-addiction forming food has pervaded the Earth to the extent Chocolate has. Most of us have memories sneaking a taste of that melted Cadburys in class, waiting eagerly until a classmate distributes some for their birthday or best of all, a relative or friend giving you that ziplock bag filled with bits of heaven from "foreign!"
Curiously, this infatuation with chocolate silently dies down once most of us "grow up" although we still appreciate a nice chocolate anytime. Indian adults at least can be excused if they thought chocolate was a delicious, nutritious but ultimately simple sweet one pops into the mouth. Why is that I wonder. Perhaps the answer lies in our ignorance of chocolate's true complexity, a glimpse of which I got at this session.
If you want to skip ahead to the part about the Tasting session scroll down till you see *******************
That bar of Chocolate has history!
Chocolate's story begins from the soil in which it is planted, to the place where the cacao tree grows, then the story moves on to how the harvested beans are treated and processed, who exactly processes them (is it by the farmer who cultivated them or is it transported to be treated by another company or person? It's usually the latter). In fact, innumerable factors affect the final flavor of the Cocoa powder and hence the chocolate we eat especially when it comes to fine chocolate which uses organic ingredients. You'll understand a few of these once you're done reading. The session itself was a lot more detailed!
So when I got an invite to check out the fine Chocolate appreciation session by L. Nitin Chordia at Intercontinental on the ECR, I forced myself to go even though I hadn't slept the previous 36 hours! I'd heard earlier about Mr. Nitin, India's first certified Chocolate Taster and he seemed the ideal person to solve chocolate's mysteries.
Location
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| The Courtyard |
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| Pathway leading to restaurant |
Once inside, the cavernous reception invokes a curious feeling with artful fixtures here and there. Beyond the reception, we walked along one of the most interesting courtyards I've seen. The yard itself was located along the inner periphery of the huge square building holding the rooms. We were walking through the central part with either side completely filled with water live with fish! There was a curious humming sound as well emanating from somewhere not sure if that is part of the setup. Walking along the deserted pathway, it felt dream-like to an extent.
The restaurant here is Tao of Peng and its ambiance is different from the usual as well.
Within, there seemed to be minimal artificial lighting so the place still seemed dim inspite of it being mid-day. I liked this aspect but it isn't very conducive for good photos! All the light pouring in was from the tall French windows that opened out to the beach (quite private to the property.) Although the waves were out of sight (greenery blocking the view), one could hear the rhythmic churning of the waves out there; calming indeed and the outdoor seating took full advantage of this.
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| View from outdoor seating! |
About Nitin L. Chordia
The session is the brainchild of Mr. Nitin L. Chordia who's India's 1st Certified Chocolate taster and Judge at the International Chocolate Awards. Mr. Nitin's career was that of He conducts such fine chocolate appreciation workshops around the world with the aim to promote fine chocolate consumption. He along with wife, operates Asia's only integrated chocolate school called Cocoashala. He also runs Cocoatrait, a company based out of Chennai that strives to source fine chocolate from across the globe. Link
Chocolate Appreciation Session
Once all the participants had arrived, Nitin started off the session with the aid of slides; it was very interactive too. The first half of the session was to be the informational one where he explained in detail, the processes and stages that transforms the Cacao fruit to its final form: cocoa powder! He explained the chocolate we eat today is a concoction made from a proportion of Cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar and various other flavorings either natural or artificial.
In dark chocolate, the proportion of cocoa powder to sugar would obviously be higher upto a maximum of 99%! He warned that one needs to slowly work their way up to such intense chocolate variants to truly appreciate their taste. In fact, in today's tasting session, 76% was the highest cocoa content among the 12 chocolates we sampled! Mr. Nitin started right from the basics to make sure we understand not just the history but also the "geography" of the present day Cocoa plant. This is important since Cacao beans sometime take on the flavor of the surroundings in unexpected ways!
Cocoa
The Beginning ( From Tree to Bean)
Theobroma Cacao (scientific name of Cacao tree) is essentially a water guzzler and hence can survive only in certain select areas around the world, one of which luckily happens to be in Kerala, in India! Not just that, the tree also requires shade and hence needs to be planted amidst existing trees! All this means that if one were to start developing empty cultivable land for Cacao, it would take at least 3-5 years for the shade-trees plus 3-5 years for the Cocoa tree's harvest itself for a total of around 10 years! Whew! This was just one of the innumerable facts about the process that we learnt in the course of this session.
However the main growers of Cacao are from countries in South America and Africa. Nitin's selection of chocolates hence were primarily from South America with others hailing from African countries and India as well.
There's Cacao and then there's Cocoa!
Once the fruit is harvested, the Cacao beans are removed, allowed to mature/ferment for a specific time and then dried usually out in the open. The maturation period is critical and lets the actual flavors associated with Cocoa develop. Only then is roasting done to yield what we know as "Cocoa" beans; note the difference in spelling. Cacao is the raw form while cocoa is the processed resulting edible product.
Kinds of Cocoa powder
Cocoa powder is further categorized into the Natural and Dutched variety! Natural cocoa powder isn't processed further and is slightly acidic in flavor while "Dutched" cocoa powder is treated with alkali to yield a more neutral taste, which also tastes more "chocolatey." The type of cocoa powder one uses has further implications in baking.
Cocoa Butter - the mystery constituent!
Nitin pointed out that once the Cocoa bean is cracked and grinding begins, the all important cocoa butter begins to separate out. This cocoa butter is later added during the chocolate making process and gives chocolate that "melt-in-the-mouth" quality because surprisingly, cocoa butter melts around our body temperature! He asked us to be aware that so called compound chocolate (which is used in baking by most local bakeries/bakers/the variant sold in Ooty and hillstations!) hardly contains any cocoa butter and substitutes various cheaper fats instead. I've been aware of this fact myself and it was good to see him emphasising it. Besides being noticeably lower-grade in taste, compound chocolate is also not good for health and should be avoided.
Tasting Session
As the very informative "origins" session drew to a close, we were now ready to do some actual chocolate tasting! We'd noticed the various fine chocolate bars being broken into bite-sized pieces and placed on plates earlier. These brands were chosen by Nitin to showcase variance. We were also handed a paper and pen with space to note down various aspects of each chocolate like how soon it begins to melt in the mouth, its texture and flavour aspects! The staff brought in each brand one-by-one after a short interval.
Getting a taste for tasting..
It was very interesting to slowly but surely notice the subtle aspects that Nitin called out! He told us to engage all senses while tasting chocolate and that meant to let the chocolate rest for a few minutes at room temperature, hold it in one's hand so that it starts melting and then start by noting the smell before placing it on the tongue. He discouraged biting the chocolate, a mistake most people do that leads to us missing out on lots of the complexity that could otherwise be noted; like mouth-feel, initial and ending flavor notes and so on! So it's not just about purchasing a fine chocolate, one has to know the right way to taste it!
As we made our way along the list of chocolates, I could slowly appreciate the nuances of chocolate tasting. It was definitely not easy, as one needs to firstly be aware of various tastes (being a chef/gourmand helps), then carefully recognise and note the tastes unfolding on the palate. But Nitin says it takes time to develop this skill. Some chocolates took a long while to melt while others gave way easily, in some chocolates one could taste pronounced fruity notes while others tasted smoky and tobaccoish to me at the finish. While adding artificial flavourings are looked down upon by purists, natural flavors add a new dimension to the chocolate. I loved the 60% Andean Mint chocolate that was one of the tasting bars. He asked us to note how the minty flavor is mild but stays for much longer than an artificial one would. Indeed, it did. This was a lovely tasting session with Nitin right there to aid us.
Brewing up an Ancient Mayan Drink!!
After the tasting session, Nitin had something special planned for us; a recreation of the ancient Mayan Cacao drink from scratch! We trooped outdoors since he would be cooking it right in front of us! He started off by adding hot water to a bowl before dropping a 100% chocolate bar into it. Next, he began adding various powdered spices like Cinnamon, pepper and tempered with honey. The drink was consumed earlier to improve blood flow owing to its ingredients. Something tells me this drink could have been an aphrodisiac! ;-) This particular brew was "medium strength" to better appeal to our palette but the original is a lot more stronger he said. It was quite an interesting drink which we sipped after a few minutes of thoughtful meditation, just the way it was drunk through the ages.
Five Course Chocolate Themed Meal
The final part of the event was lunch! The chefs at ICC had prepared a special 4 course meal incorporating chocolate just for the event participants! The chocolates used were provided by Cocoatrait.
Note: My palette isn't the most experienced so do take my review with a pinch of salt. I try to be objectively descriptive about the impressions tastewise and otherwise, but opinions are personal.
We were seated at a long table in the restaurant next to the French windows. Luckily, Executive Chef Manpreet Singh Malik was seated right beside me while Chef Indrajeet and team brought the dishes and talked about them at the table.
The first course was a dessert item, Churros dusted with Cinnamon & sugar dust with two dips, chocolate and pistachio. The petite churros was delicate and disappeared in a jiffy with the nice dips to aid.
Next came the Braised red wine & Orange Beet, Chocolate & Rye crumble, Smoked hung curd, Fennel wings. Now the plating made me sit up and take notice but that was just the beginning. I loved the textures melding through the mouth as I carefully carved a bit of every ingredient in a forkfull. Crunchiness from the fennel wings, bite from the beet and the thick hung curd made for pretty satisfying bites, although a tad heavy with the curd's flavor. Could get the chocolate on the palette where it accentuated beetroots' earthy flavor. Nice pairing!
The third item on the menu was the Chocolate Ravioli; butter & baby grapes garlic emulsion, raw banana chips.
I was really curious how this would taste. I assumed I probably wouldn't like it after having a taste of the emulsion. But that was the first impression. Paired with the Chocolate stuffed ravioli and a good lashing of the acidic grapy emulsion, I was still doubtful until I bit into the ravioli. And then it was magic. The astringent chocolate cutting through everything and rounding it out felt just right. An impressive dish using the chocolate to great effect. The banana chips in thin striped form however, didn't add a whole lot, taste-wise at least to me.
Smoked Cheese & Mushroom Filled Baby Spring Chicken Breast; Porchini & Coco braised potato, Red Wine Jus
A hearty dish that I thoroughly enjoyed, just the way Chef Indrajeet probably intended. It was the most familiar dish to me I admit. The red wine jus made bites all the more juicy while the filled mushroom in the chicken with bits of potato made things yum indeed. A simple yet profound dish whose choice in this line-up is a nice touch.
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| Textures of chocolate |
This dessert is one served usually at Intercontinental but it summed up the day's chocolate theme perfectly! With every texture represented, a fitting ode to this "Food of the Gods!" Masterfully plated, a mouthful of this dessert carefully eaten is remarkably balanced inspite of having bold flavors.
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| View towards the ocean |
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General Disclaimer:
Please remember that tastes and experiences are subjective and it's possible that even the same dish may taste different to you during subsequent visits to a restaurant. Chefs aren't machines and make mistakes too. Hence it is advisable to read multiple reviews from various sources to note the customers average satisfaction levels before deciding to eat at a location for the best possibility of having a great meal as per your tastes. Cheers!
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