Cacaoté, a patisserie and brasserie, has made its entry into Ahmedabad with a 15,000 sq ft space in the heart of the city, to offer the finest Belgian experience to India. The patisserie, founded by Indian mother-son duo Vraj Patel and Rita Patel, will offer a range of gourmet chocolates, cakes, and macarons curated by Michelin star chef Jonathan Gallet. The brasserie will have a sophisticated menu bringing luxury dining to the city. My Kolkata was there for an exclusive preview before its official launch this December and here’s what to expect.
From Belgium to India
Founders Vraj Patel and Rita Patel
Vraj Patel and Rita Patel, the founders of Cacaoté have lived in Belgium for over 30 years. Vraj was born and raised in Antwerp where he was introduced to the world of master chocolatiers. It led to a deep appreciation for the country’s chocolate craftsmanship, which is famous worldwide. Eventually, it became his dream to bring the Belgian legacy of luxury chocolates to India. Cacaoté was born from Vraj’s vision to create sophisticated confectionery experiences for Indian customers, comparable to the best globally. Speaking to My Kolkata, he said, “We wanted to give Belgian chocolates and cakes to India. I was born and brought up in Belgium. During that time, we visited Turkey and tried chocolates and cakes at a hotel there. It was the same quality as Belgium, except in Turkey. So, if they can make it in Turkey, why can’t we make it to India? At the end of the day, I was born in Belgium but I consider myself Indian. At the time, me and my elder brother were also out of college. My mom was free. She always had a passion for cakes and chocolates. We started with a pet project. From there it’s now a 15,000-sq-ft project. The idea was to give the best quality to the Indian population.”
The patisserie is housed on the ground floor while the brasserie is in the first floor with an outdoor seating area
The patisserie is on the ground floor and the brasserie, which also has an outdoor seating area, is on the first floor. Like swirls of white, milk and dark chocolate, tones of white, beige and brown come together in the space, beautifully designed by an Australian architecture firm, Storm Worldwide with interiors done by London-based design studio LEQB. Cacaoté will soon begin workshops where customers can have hands-on experience in making their own flavours.
Blending Indian flavours into gourmet confections
Cacaoté’s chocolates are a fusion of international and local flavours
Rita Patel's passion for chocolate and pastry-making was nurtured long ago while living in Belgium, where she continues to reside, and she was later inspired to pursue a diploma in confectionery. Now, while her son looks after the business and operations, she plays a crucial role in establishing Cacaoté’s state-of-the-art kitchen, working closely with chef Jonathan Gallet to ensure the use of the finest ingredients and maintaining quality.
Cacaoté aims to offer finest gourmet confections to India
Rita has also played a key role in blending Indian flavours into Belgian chocolates. “Being in Europe, we have tasted all the chocolates there. But it’s all the same like vanilla, lemon etc. Here (at Cacaoté) we wanted to bring something different. Therefore, the chef and I tried to use Indian spices and other ingredients.”
Cacaoté offers a range of confections, all made fresh in their well-equipped cutting-edge kitchen
Cacaoté blends Gujarati spices, chai masala, five spices, jaggery, etc into their creations. The chocolates are tempered in a humidity-controlled chocolate room that preserves the flavour and texture.The patisserie offers bonbons, gateaux, macarons, pralines, chocolate bars, cookies, fine chocolate tablets, baked goodies, and more. They have also introduced cacao tea.
The best part? All of this comes in a pocket-friendly package. “Good quality chocolates are rare in India,” says Vraj, adding that while the imported ones are available everywhere, the price point is too high. “Here we don’t want to skyrocket the price such that it becomes out of reach for people to buy. The idea is to bring the best chocolate and the best international ingredients to the Indian consumers here.”
The French connection, and the Michelin star magic
Cacaoté has partnered with a French company called Valrhona which sources cocoa beans from the tropical forests of Central and South America and Africa. After roasting and grinding the cacao beans to unlock their complex aromatic flavours and smooth velvety texture, the resulting cacao liquor is then ‘conched’ to develop its characteristic silky perfection.
Valrhona sends the chocolate by air to Cacaoté, ready to be transformed into their signature confections. In the kitchen, modern technology is used with the expertise of chef Jonathan Gallet.
Chef Jonathan Gallet brings his 25 years of expertise into the flavours of Cacaoté
French chef Jonathan Gallet brings 25 years of experience as a trained patissier. He has worked in London and Germany with the Alain Ducasse group. In Antwerp, Belgium, he helped Kasteel Withof earn its first Michelin star. In France, while working with the Rothschild group, he secured a second Michelin star. Jonathan further honed his skills under Yannick Alleno at One & Only, The Palm, Dubai, managing a team of 18 patissiers. His career also took him to Hong Kong with the Shangri-La group and Turkey to the Maxx Royal Hotel, where he led a team of 35 patissiers, bakers, and chocolatiers. It was at Maxx Royal that he met Vraj, who invited him to develop Cacaoté in India. Sharing his vision for Cacaoté, the chef said, “Our vision behind the menu is to craft a culinary experience where artistry meets innovation, celebrating flavours that are as luxurious as they are unforgettable.”
Making confections like art
Milk Chocolate Tahini Gateaux and (right) Vanilla Berry Blossom
In an exclusive tasting, we tried Cacaoté’s bonbons, petite gateaux, pralines, bars and cookies.
The tasting began with four gateaux. We tried a Milk Chocolate Tahini Gateaux with layers of sesame biscuit, crunchy feuilletine, and a milk chocolate mousse with tahini. It was coated in a chocolate glaze and topped with sesame crisp and a 24k gold leaf, and made for a luxurious nutty creation. Next, was a Chocolate Mandarin Bergamot Tartlet featuring a chocolate streusel crust and layers of dark chocolate-orange biscuit and chocolate cream. It was topped with mandarin supremes, bergamot whipped ganache, and candied mandarin — the robust flavours celebrating the classic combination of orange and chocolate. Then we moved to Vanilla Berry Blossom which highlighted summer flavours with layers of citrus-infused biscuit, vanilla cream, and berry compote. It was adorned with vanilla Chantilly cream, blueberry compote, and chocolate petals. Lastly, we were served a playful twist on the classic cheesecake. The Lemon Speculoos Cheesecake has a crunchy spiced speculoos crust topped with sweet New York cheesecake, and finished with a shimmering, tart lemon glaze and piped vanilla Chantilly cream.
We also tried two bonbons — a creamy and zesty four-layered Citrus Cheesecake bonbon and a smooth, luscious dark chocolate-coated Salted Caramel bonbon.
A selection of bonbons, pralines and bars at Cacaoté
The two pralines we tasted were Red Thai Chilli, which had the crunch of praline and a kick of red Thai chilli, and the Three Brothers, which had three kinds of chocolate — dark, semi-dark, and milk — blended together yet distinctly holding their own.
Among the bars, we indulged in a Peanut Bar Paramel that had roasted peanuts, blending creamy and crunchy textures reminding us of a Snickers bar. The Black Sesame Pear was an exquisite combination of subtly sweet pear and nutty black sesame seeds, encased in smooth chocolate.
And finally, there was a tempting Strawberry White Chocolate Cookie — a sweet, chewy and creamy creation with flavours of white chocolate and strawberries.
Strawberry White Chocolate Cookie and (right) Chocolate Mandarin Bergamot Tartlet
Cacaoté’s products will be available for pan-India delivery by 2025.
