BENGALURU: Commonly known as the ‘Chocolate Man’ by his peers, 32-year-old Irfan Ahmed has been a pastry chef for the past 13 years. After working for several top-notch hotels in the city, he mastered his work with chocolate by creating his own artworks such as hand-made chocolate sculptors and carvings.
“I used to work in the chocolate room of several hotels and I would be covered with chocolate. Since those days I have been known as the ‘chocolate man’,” says Irfan, who now works at The Den Bengaluru. Starting at the age of 16 under the guidance of his grandfather, Irfan was first inspired by chocolate artwork after working with one of the two top pastry chefs, Nasim Delvi and Deepmohan Singh Bajaj, in the city who continues to be his role model.
“One of the biggest works was the six feet Eiffel tower, which was done over a year ago at a pre-opening of a star hotel. Most of my work is displayed at exhibitions,” he says. He has also made carvings of horses.One of the biggest challenges of chocolate, Irfan admits, is handling it quickly since it tends to melt quickly. “Without proper tempering, it is difficult to use chocolate,” he says explaining that there are two kinds of chocolate - couverture and basic chocolate.
Having a sweet tooth himself, Irfan says he is inspired by his day-to-day observations which helps him come up with something new and creative every day. “I always think about what to create next and love to experiment as well,”he says.Currently, he bakes around 15 varieties of pastries every day pertaining to the needs of the hotel. “I taste what I make, and if I don’t like it then I don’t serve it. Because if I don’t like it then how will others like it,” he says, while adding, “I hope to experiment more with my craft.”