A chocolate haven

Tuesday, 16 July 2013 01:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cheranka Mendis Aiming to create a new chocolate culture in Sri Lanka, Indian company ‘The Chocolate Room’ last week opened its first store outside India down Rosmead Place, bringing world quality chocolate and frozen yoghurts to the country. Drawing on years of retail experience, The Chocolate Room has produced an inviting and distinctive fit for the increasing demand for boutique chocolate cafés in the country, offering high quality, world class services for local patrons.

One of the owners of The Chocolate Room Vikas Panjabi told the Daily FT that the company identified the need for such a product in the market while they were holidaying here. “We came here as tourists and saw that the market is good and that people are looking for such places. Locals as well as tourists who frequent the country are enthusiastic on new ventures such as our own. We feel that this was an ideal time to expand our presence out of India and reap the opportunities here.” The Chocolate Room is not only about chocolates he said. They have also introduced the Yogola brand of frozen yoghurt in Sri Lanka. “It is the perfect balance between those who count calories and those who don’t. For the former, the frozen yoghurts are a welcome treat, while for the latter, they can indulge in a variety of chocolate induced products,” Panjabi said. “People can come in and explore as to what they want. What we have is something unique from all others.” The Chocolate Room has 93 stores in India while Yogola is present in 15. In the extensive menu, there are close to 160 products under 22 subheads, he noted. This includes hot chocolate, frozen chocolate frappes, choctails, choc shakes, chocolate pizzas, chocolate fondues, desserts, sundaes, etc. They also have chocolate syringes, a unique experience for those who feel a bit tired and in need of some energy. “Anyone who is feeling sick can have syringe shots.” There are 16 flavours of hot chocolate at The Chocolate Room and a unique crockery set has been specially designed and launched as well for customers to try them all out. Explaining, Punjabi said: “For example, traditional Italian crockery was made in a manner where people could cuddle and drink hot chocolate. Therefore we have a cuddle cup on which we serve hot chocolate.” There are also warming mugs, meting pots, etc. “We also have a diverse variety of fondues, pancakes and waffles which have not been explored up to its potential in Sri Lanka,” he asserted. “We are giving the complete European touch for product in Sri Lanka. Let’s see how people react to that.” Admitting that Colombo has a large number of cafes and chocolate shops, Panjabi noted that what sets them apart from others is their menu which consists 90% of chocolate related products. “I know there are a couple of chocolatiers around. However, we don’t consider any one of them as a proper chocolatiers as 90% of our menu is chocolates. Whereas many have only 20-30% chocolate on the menu and have a restaurant that serves other items.” All chocolates are imported from Belgium. In their savoury range are a number of Italian, Mexican and Spanish dishes such as paninos, nachos, burritos, crepes. Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera