Portraits 
Choco-La - Srinath Balachandran
Choco-La - Srinath Balachandran
| 13 January 2011
Meeting with Srinath Balachandran : Portrait of a chocolate maker in Pondicherry
«If you like something at my place, tell others; if you don't like something, tell me »
Chocolate is not really part of what we would call “Indian traditional food culture”. And beyond that, if the most sweet chocolates such as Dairy products are quite successful in India today, dark chocolate is something different : less sweet products are not necessarily likely to fit Indian taste.
As explained by journalist Aditi De in The great dark chocolate rush1, even though “big-league global manufacturers recognise that the future market is gearing up for chocolate labelled bitter, dark, extra dark, extra bittersweet or extra-cacao » -also because this type of chocolate is more healthy-, still « dark chocolate has very few takers in India, simply because we do not accept bitterness as a complex taste sensation”.
So, what about making dark chocolates in India : brainwave or fiasco?
First, can you tell us what kind of chocolate is generally found in India?
In India, you generally find some chocolate that is more sweet; people like it sweet. The cocoa content is less. There is very few dark chocolate; however, India is a capital for diabetes, so you have more and more people going for less sweet products, and dark chocolate has entered in the market.
How happened your own discovery of chocolate? How did you start the shop, and with which motivations? Why Did you choose Pondicherry?
I love chocolate... and I wanted good chocolate! It started in 2003, I wanted to launch a business and I saw there was a huge demand of chocolate about to start. But no one was thinking about opening a chocolate boutique here. So from 2003, I started to make chocolate and to sell it at my mother's shop [Arcadia -flower shop]. I used to donate chocolate to customers and to get their feedback. I went on like that for 5 or 6 years. For me it was an experimentation : during those times I started to learn and improve. At the beginning, I was challenged by the difficulties in sourcing the right ingredients, the right cocoa and the temperature control while making chocolate, so I spent some time in trial and error, but welcoming a lot of positive criticism.
In March 2006, I had a chocolate training in France where I learnt a lot. And then, Choco-là boutique was started three years later, in August 2009. It was a very new concept in Pondicherry : this is the only boutique that has 100% chocolates. This is my speciality... Chocolate and chocolate related desserts remain our main commitment, what gives us the opportunity to be a significant player in that food segment.
Today, on my counter, I have almost a hundred chocolate products everyday. We are trying to offer a vast range of chocolates, which include dark chocolates rich in cocoa, flavoured chocolates, creamy white chocolates, sugar-free or semi sweet chocolates, hazelnut pralines, ganaches, truffles and chocolate related desserts. It is more or less the same products that we keep over the months, but we have regular events with new products coming. In December for example, we had a « chocolate festival » for 5 days : we introduced a lots of new products, and in general people like to come and taste them.
It is also a way to improve for me. I keep telling to my customers : « If you like something at my place, tell others; if you don't like something, tell me ». I am opened to criticism, I take it very positive.
Where do you get all the ingredients for the production? Do you have to import some of them?
I get the raw material (the cocoa powder basically) from Belgium, which is very famous for its chocolate. I think that Belgium, Swiss and French chocolates provide the best quality of chocolate in the world. Right now, it is not yet possible to get this raw material from India -maybe in a few years...
Of course, chocolate is expensive, and you have to pay for transportation, customs, etc... So it becomes quite costly to bring it here. I can give you a broad range of price... Just as an example, for an home-made dark chocolate, it is almost 200 Roupies for 100 grams. That's the price I get it from.
So I have to import the raw material, but still I am very proud to present those chocolates as Indian chocolates, because we still make it here, with our own techniques and creativity. This means a lot to me : what was once available only in countries like Belgium, Switzerland and France, it is also available here, and in a good quality standard.
Who is the staff of Choco-là today? Did you have to give a special training to the staff?
We are twelve people presently. I have six chiefs, and six people in the boutique. And I do both, I can be in the kitchen or at the counter.
When a new “recruit” arrives, he needs to have a training – it is a three months procedure. He will learn the procedure for the making of chocolate here. Then he will start.
What about your customers : who are they?
All kinds of people are coming to the shop. Tourists, but Indians as well -lots of Indians! They like to come and try new things, and there is a buying power from Indians that is huge. And as I said, if Indians generally like more sweet products, taste is also evolving with time and with the research of more healthy food for your body.
One interesting thing about Pondicherry is that you have a very specific mix of population : you have a lot of tourists people, you have localites, and you have expats. Pondicherry is very unique for that : this kind of mix, you would not find it in other cities -or not as developed that it is here. This is very challenging for us, because we need to meet every customers' demands and to be accessible to all.
More detail about Choco-Là
«If you like something at my place, tell others; if you don't like something, tell me »
Chocolate is not really part of what we would call “Indian traditional food culture”. And beyond that, if the most sweet chocolates such as Dairy products are quite successful in India today, dark chocolate is something different : less sweet products are not necessarily likely to fit Indian taste.
As explained by journalist Aditi De in The great dark chocolate rush1, even though “big-league global manufacturers recognise that the future market is gearing up for chocolate labelled bitter, dark, extra dark, extra bittersweet or extra-cacao » -also because this type of chocolate is more healthy-, still « dark chocolate has very few takers in India, simply because we do not accept bitterness as a complex taste sensation”.
So, what about making dark chocolates in India : brainwave or fiasco?
First, can you tell us what kind of chocolate is generally found in India?
In India, you generally find some chocolate that is more sweet; people like it sweet. The cocoa content is less. There is very few dark chocolate; however, India is a capital for diabetes, so you have more and more people going for less sweet products, and dark chocolate has entered in the market.
How happened your own discovery of chocolate? How did you start the shop, and with which motivations? Why Did you choose Pondicherry?
I love chocolate... and I wanted good chocolate! It started in 2003, I wanted to launch a business and I saw there was a huge demand of chocolate about to start. But no one was thinking about opening a chocolate boutique here. So from 2003, I started to make chocolate and to sell it at my mother's shop [Arcadia -flower shop]. I used to donate chocolate to customers and to get their feedback. I went on like that for 5 or 6 years. For me it was an experimentation : during those times I started to learn and improve. At the beginning, I was challenged by the difficulties in sourcing the right ingredients, the right cocoa and the temperature control while making chocolate, so I spent some time in trial and error, but welcoming a lot of positive criticism.
In March 2006, I had a chocolate training in France where I learnt a lot. And then, Choco-là boutique was started three years later, in August 2009. It was a very new concept in Pondicherry : this is the only boutique that has 100% chocolates. This is my speciality... Chocolate and chocolate related desserts remain our main commitment, what gives us the opportunity to be a significant player in that food segment. Today, on my counter, I have almost a hundred chocolate products everyday. We are trying to offer a vast range of chocolates, which include dark chocolates rich in cocoa, flavoured chocolates, creamy white chocolates, sugar-free or semi sweet chocolates, hazelnut pralines, ganaches, truffles and chocolate related desserts. It is more or less the same products that we keep over the months, but we have regular events with new products coming. In December for example, we had a « chocolate festival » for 5 days : we introduced a lots of new products, and in general people like to come and taste them.
It is also a way to improve for me. I keep telling to my customers : « If you like something at my place, tell others; if you don't like something, tell me ». I am opened to criticism, I take it very positive.
Where do you get all the ingredients for the production? Do you have to import some of them?
I get the raw material (the cocoa powder basically) from Belgium, which is very famous for its chocolate. I think that Belgium, Swiss and French chocolates provide the best quality of chocolate in the world. Right now, it is not yet possible to get this raw material from India -maybe in a few years...
Of course, chocolate is expensive, and you have to pay for transportation, customs, etc... So it becomes quite costly to bring it here. I can give you a broad range of price... Just as an example, for an home-made dark chocolate, it is almost 200 Roupies for 100 grams. That's the price I get it from. So I have to import the raw material, but still I am very proud to present those chocolates as Indian chocolates, because we still make it here, with our own techniques and creativity. This means a lot to me : what was once available only in countries like Belgium, Switzerland and France, it is also available here, and in a good quality standard.
Who is the staff of Choco-là today? Did you have to give a special training to the staff?
We are twelve people presently. I have six chiefs, and six people in the boutique. And I do both, I can be in the kitchen or at the counter.
When a new “recruit” arrives, he needs to have a training – it is a three months procedure. He will learn the procedure for the making of chocolate here. Then he will start.
What about your customers : who are they? All kinds of people are coming to the shop. Tourists, but Indians as well -lots of Indians! They like to come and try new things, and there is a buying power from Indians that is huge. And as I said, if Indians generally like more sweet products, taste is also evolving with time and with the research of more healthy food for your body.
One interesting thing about Pondicherry is that you have a very specific mix of population : you have a lot of tourists people, you have localites, and you have expats. Pondicherry is very unique for that : this kind of mix, you would not find it in other cities -or not as developed that it is here. This is very challenging for us, because we need to meet every customers' demands and to be accessible to all.
More detail about Choco-Là