‘Once chocolate tasting becomes known, we could have an institute of our own’

CHENNAI: Chennai-based L Nitin Chordia, India’s first certified chocolate taster and founder of Cocoshala, and Martin Christy, founder of the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting, UK organised a chocolate tasting event, featuring the top 20 winners of the bean-to-bar International Chocolate Awards on February 17 in the city.

The chocolates were uniquely crafted, catering to hitting the right notes and tones of the cacao. The innovative curations not only used 100 per cent cacao but also added contrasting ingredients like lemon, jaggery, Sichuan pepper, and hibiscus, to name a few. Out of the 20 chocolates, three were of Indian origin- Chitram from Coimbatore, Anuttama from Mangaluru, and Paul and Mike from Ernakulam.

These chocolate curations were judged by a panel of well-known chocolate tasters of the world. Students of IICCT, UK were a part of the event. The session was a learning experience for them to explore chocolates beyond their course.

Speaking to DT Next Nitin says, “I first met Martin at an event abroad. While talking I mentioned my love for chocolates, he mentioned that he has a chocolate and cacao tasting institute and that I would really enjoy it. At that time, I didn’t think much of it. But later, I gave him a call and enrolled myself in the course and got certified.”

He says his connection with Martin made this event in India possible. Martin, who has been in love with chocolates for as long as he can remember, says, “I wanted to create a community where people united to appreciate and adore chocolates just like wine tasters do. These are not two different niches, in fact, for my institute we used the same structure adopted in wine tasting.”

Talking about how such events could open up different avenues in Chennai, Nitin says, “Cocoshala is working towards curating such chocolate tasting sessions in the city. Once chocolate tasting becomes widely known and accepted, we could also have an institute of our own.”