Gelatos to macaroons to chocolate - it’s a buffet for your sweet tooth

The cafe brought an Italian chef on board to train the staff on how to make gelato.

KARACHI: Given the crush at the corner of Shahbaz Commercial Area on Thursday night, one would think that Willy Wonka was handing out Golden Tickets for a tour of his famed chocolate factory. But in place of the popular character from the Roald Dahl novel was a beaming Lal Majid, welcoming her guests to the launch of Lals Patisserie.

The popular confectioner - whose products have made their way into wedding favours and birthday parcels for several years now - opened up a new cafe in Karachi on Thursday and the cutesy shop was packed to the seams.

A jazz band played at the entrance as models circulated with trays of truffles and a small battalion of waiters pressed cupcakes and mini quiches on guests. Those who attended the opening appeared to be largely from Majid’s social circle and clientele, as well as a smattering of faces from the social pages: models Ayaan and Ayesha Omar, designer Deepak Perwani, stylist Nabila and Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, as well as Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislator Khushbakht Shujaat.

Even though the patisserie’s neighbour is the extremely popular Espresso, Majid says she doesn’t believe in competition. “Everyone has their own fate, and we’re good neighbours. For me competition is when something ‘new’ comes into the market.”

A taste of Italia

“We do have cafes here but we don’t have good gelato,” Majid told The Express Tribune. “I wanted to give people real gelato and chocolate.”

After several years in the business, Majid’s looking forward to another challenge. “When I started with flowers twelve years ago, the trend was to give mithai, and I would wrap that up for people. Then my son pushed me into making chocolate, saying I should have my own brand,” said the owner. “I had to make people taste the chocolate, like how I will now make them taste the gelato!”

The patisserie brought an Italian chef on board to train the staff on how to make gelato, which features heavily on the menu. Eleonora Dozza, dubbed as the ‘maestro’, posed for pictures in her chef’s whites. Dozza told The Express Tribune that she had trained and worked in Italy and also worked in France and the United Arab Emirates. Dozza trained the patisserie staff in making gelato. “Three bowls of our gelato are equal to one bowl of ice cream, so it is calorie conscious too,” said Dozza.

Happiness wrapped in chocolates

Yasmin Saleh, a guest at the event, said the cafe was “an innovative idea.”

“Lal wraps her chocolates so beautifully and it is great presentation. I have received the chocolates as a gift and it is beautiful,” she said.

The “highlight” of the patisserie is meant to be its chocolate bar. After choosing from milk, dark or white chocolates and three toppings, customers will get their own customised chocolate bar thirty minutes later. The toppings range from wafers and marshmallows to dried mango, which can also be added to gelato shakes. Éclairs, cakes, muffins and other savoury items are also on the menu to keep people coming back for more.

Afshan Safdar, one of Lal Majid’s childhood friends, gushed about her. “She made the cake for my son’s second birthday and he’s 28 now! So she’s been making cakes and pies for so many years.” Majid, she said, is a “remarkable woman” who “has been working day and night.” “She always says one must educate themselves to work, so she went from country to country to get diplomas and work in bakeries and restaurants,” Safdar said. “She is so creative!”

Lals Patisserie officially opens today. Majid said the timings weren’t final but they hoped to be open from noon to midnight. “The prices aren’t very high,” she said. “We’ll have a mixed clientele.”

By the looks of the crush around the patisserie on Thursday evening, she might have to consider keeping it open around the clock.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2012.