August 01, 2014

                                                Chocolate Making Session with Little Chefs

                                                                  By Akshita Singh

A bunch of exuberant little kids, some chocolate cakes and Delhi Baking Company’s coveted Salted Caramel gelatos – what else could one ask for, to make his or her evening perfect? A bakery-cum-cafe, known more for its geletos and sandwiches than for its cakes, pastries and pies, is a beautifully designed place which could enchant anyone who visits the place. Internationally acclaimed fashion designer Ritu Beri hosted the event, wherein she invited her friends to a cake making session with their little ones. And that it would be a joyful evening, was made conspicuous by the kids frolicking and cavorting all around the place.

For the little chefs, who were all geared for their novel attempts at preparing chocolate cakes, tables were aligned as semi-circle on the right of the bakery. Our young chefs kept pouring in with their mothers, euphoric at the idea of making and eating cakes.The innocent assurity that they exuded, at preparing cakes better than professional chefs, was a pleasurable sight. It’s always entertaining to watch kids’ curiosities – they loved inspecting each and every corner of the bakery.  Sugar sachets were opened; the powder was emptied on to the petite palms and then licked away till every sugar particle was off their hands.

Executive Chef Girish Krishnan assembled all the kids and discussed their experience at making cakes in the past ( which, as was expected, many kids had) and then assigned one chef each for 2-3 kids on every table. Chef caps were put on, which ended up shrouding some kids heads ( that, of course was taken care of); gloves were introduced, and aprons were tied and thus began the hour long cake making session.

This was a session with a lot of stirring and intermittent splattering. Unfortunately, most kids had to stand on their toes to stir the contents in the bowls that were placed too high for them. The first round of blending was of chocolate and butter. The white of the egg was separated from the yoke, and then stirred – the un-uniform but gentle movements of the kids were pitted against the swift whisking and beating by the chefs. Designer Ritu Beri and the moms supervised the whole process of cake preparation,.

After further beating, blending and whisking, the cakes were moved to the ovens while the kids’ focus shifted to ice-creams. Although, initially it was intended that the kids would actually prepare their own ice-creams as well but the already available array of geletos was too tempting a sight to resist and so they just scooped some flavors into their glasses, straightaway. Delhi Baking Co.’s signature salted caramel gelato was nothing less than a intense, succulent feel of cream slowly melting in your tongue.

Salted caramel obviously explains itself well – there’s the salt and the caramel – but the intensity of the different ingredients could blow you off. Salted caramel is one rare flavor that brings salt and sugar together and Delhi Baking Co. knows exactly how to pull off the right sugar-salt amalgam. If a salted caramel can make you feel mildly dizzy and yet still, make you want irresistibly crave for more and more of it, you have certainly gotten access the best of all salted caramels. Delhi Baking Co.’s galeto is is a classic example of such a salted caramel.

Until the cakes that our young chefs made weren’t ready to be eaten, their was a wholesome assortment of snacks. The labels for the snacks were suspended from decorative pieces that had Indian spices and legumes stuffed inside the transparent glass exteriors. This innovative way of presenting the buffet made you feel hungrier still.

Trying Chunky Peanut Butter S’mores was another new food experience. This dish, popular in the United States, consists of roasted marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between Graham crackers layered on the inside with peanut butter. This is yet another risky, but successful merger of salt and sugar. Although, both the sugar and salt were too mild for either to stand out, the crunchy outer layers, the softer middle part and gummy marshmallows made a delicious S’more. You’d sure want “s’more”!

The Spicy Potato and Green Pea Puffs , although not at all spicy, were again, a delectable treat which could touch perfection if the filling was greater and creamier. Then there were little cubes of Cucumber and Sour Cream sandwiches, Lamb burgers and Mac and Cheese among other things in the diverse buffet. Howsoever much one might have eaten, how could one not try the plat du jour – the scrumptious cakes by our little chefs?  And honestly, that was the best thing we got to taste in the whole evening. The 5-6 year olds proved yet again, that experience and age is no bar if there’s enthusiastic and innocent efforts involved. Little kids know just how to impress and astound the wiser, older lot.

It has just as, if not more, attractive an architecture as the hotel to which it belongs – JW Marriot Aerocity. The interiors consist of stone wall cladding, embellished intermittently by structures painted with graffiti. The pendants are hung too low, and if you’re tall you might bang your head against the suspended lights while sitting down and getting up. Nevertheless, these pendants, right above your couches look very agreeable.

The bakery has many different segments. The largest one is the one that displays pastries, cakes and pies. There’s one part displaying chocolates and the other which has the ice cream counter. Then there’s a counter with breads on one shelf, donuts on another and muffins on yet another. The most interesting segment is the one exhibiting various cookery books and baking equipments like beaters, ice makers and plethora of other cooking machinery.

Coming back to the wonderful event hosted by Ritu Beri -the Chocolate Making Session was a delightful event and 99 % for the success of that evening has to go to none other than the Little Chefs, who, through their excellent cake making abilities and more so through their unabating ebullience, won everyone over.