CHENNAI : What links creativity, science and art? One may rack their brains to come up with an answer, but for Arun Vishwanathan, pat came the reply — chocolate. Though an unlikely choice for an answer, it seems perfectly legitimate coming from someone who talks about chocolate with scientific precision and artistic abandon. Arun is the first Indian chocolatier to win an award at the ‘International Chocolate Awards’ that was held in Italy.
He won the bronze medal for his signature Chitra’m Craft Chocolates — Mango lassi milk chocolate in the ‘Milk chocolate with natural infusions’ category. Arun decided to experiment and come up with flavours that would suit the Indian palate. “We have so many distinct flavours to play around with and it will cater to the Indian market. It will also represent Indian flavours in the international markets,” he explains.
He heard about the awards while attending a chocolate tasting programme in June. Two months ago, he sent the samples for the first stage — ‘Asia Pacific Chocolate Awards’, and two of his chocolates — the ‘Mango lassi’ milk chocolate and the 70 per cent palm sugar dark chocolate bagged the bronze medal.
They were later sent for the International award, the results of which were announced on November 17. “I did my undergraduation in Biotechnology and went on to pursue a Masters in Food science and technology at Cornell University,” he says. It was a coincidence that he was assigned ‘Confectionery’ and as part of that, Arun visited the Hershey’s New York chocolate show as a student. Once Arun returned from Belgium, he set up the cafe ‘Infusions’ in Coimbatore.
This was in addition to his venture, ‘Ganache,’ which specialises in corporate gifting. In May, he launched his own line of exquisite award winning chocolates under the ‘Chitra’m’ label, named after his mother who passed away a year ago. The chocolates are handcrafted with unique infusions like ragi and coconut milk or moringa and lemon. “We intend to add a new line that infuses the taste of Indian sweets too. Our flavour infusions are natural and we source the best cocoa from Kerala,” he says.
In an age where fitness and health are the buzzwords and sugar is being touted as something one must avoid, Arun has a fix. “Absolutely eradicating sugar from chocolate is not a possibility but, we can find ways to make it healthier,” he explains. The label doesn’t use artificial flavour in their chocolates and have options made from palm sugar, and low glycemic cane sugar. Currently, these chocolates are only available in Coimbatore. However, Arun says they are looking for partners who would sell their products at cafes and restaurants in Bengaluru and Chennai.