We’re not telling you a children’s story with a name that sounds like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. We’re introducing you to a young lady who creates an interesting range of goodies with chocolate and more. Meet Maya Lilani – who can cast a spell over chocoholics or those of us with a mouth full of sweet teeth.

Cooking Goddess: Maya, thank you for being with us. You run a unique dessert service in Pune – a one-of-it’s-kind venture, aptly named ‘Shockolaah….’. It’s an interesting name. So, how did you come up with this name and what’s the concept behind it?

Maya: Hey, my husband and I both are in love with chocolate. Jus Kiddin… we had a concept in mind we always wanted to create our own brand and no one had that name. We have specialized in Chocolaterie and sugar craft as well as Patisserie. Chocolate is the very best and prompt name for it, but at the same time we never wanted to be simple. Take it with a surprise was our motto. Hence the name “shock” and ‘chocolat’ means chocolate in French hence the pronunciation “olaah” coming together to be “shockolaah….”

CG: What is Shockolaah…., your dessert service, all about?

Maya: We have tried to bring the best of desserts and chocolates under one roof of our workshop wherein we do supplies to the finest and most populated restaurants of Pune. Our concept is “Give us a display unit and we will make it look good” just like you have interior designers coming and revamping one’s home.

CG: Please tell us about the different types of desserts that you have on the menu.

Maya: We have exotic Mousses and soufflés, along with brownies, mud cakes, pies, fudge, cheese cakes, Bavarian creams, and the simplest of things like crème brulee and pannacotta. We have favourites like Tiramisu, Lemon cheese Cakes, and German Dark Chocolate Mousse.

CG: Those sound really tempting and we can’t wait to dig into a bowl of melt-in-the-mouth Dark Chocolate Mousse. Have you professionally learnt to prepare these delicious desserts?

Maya: Yes, well now that’s a long story. My Hubby and I, are from the same institute, where we learnt our basics, and lots of innovations came our way and we started developing our own recipes. Some came from him, and some I derived. Vishal worked for the Taj and I was handling a Bakery export firm and was handling a Bakery lounge as well.

CG: Where did you get your hands-on training from?

Maya: Well we developed our hands in our workshop itself and all our recipes and methods are tried and tested.

CG: After working at Oven Pick and a dessert lounge, what made you start your own dessert service?

Maya: I was always of the opinion that one should work for himself / herself rather than working for long dragging hours for some one else. All you need is operational experience which both of us had. This was our biggest motivation.

CG: Did starting your own venture involve a lot of planning and ground work? Would you like to share some of your experiences of your initial days of beginning Shockolaah….?

Maya: Oh yes it definitely did, It is very important to plan for all the needs that would arise in future if one wishes to be an entrepreneur. But what is most important is motivation and the willingness to take a risk. Initially we were operating with very little equipment thinking that if the business doesn’t click then we don’t loose too much of the money that was invested. We were taken for a surprise when we discovered that the market was in for this and that our business was picking up really fast. There were times when we had orders which had to continue till late hours of the evening and sometimes even sleepless nights to complete and deliver these.

CG: Did you like cooking and whipping up desserts even as a child?

Maya: Not really, not too much but I definitely had a sweet tooth or two.

CG: Making a good mousse often seems a bit complicated to most of us who prefer to whip up simple puddings and pies for desserts. Maya, would you like to share some tips with our readers about making a good chocolate mousse?

Maya: A good chocolate mousse is one that has the entire ingredients mixed well with no lumps of cream hanging around. When you cut a mousse it should not be rubbery or jelly like, it should be smooth rich and creamy. If you do find a rubbery mousse, then it is laden with gelatin, which is a setting agent, obtained from the bone marrow of cows and usually that means that there is less of chocolate and cream, because chocolate is a natural setting agent.

CG: Thank you Maya, for taking the time to speak to us.

Maya: You are more than welcome, Thank you for inviting shockolaah…. to cooking goddess.

CG: Maya has shared two of her favourite recipes with us: Chunky Chocolate Brownie and Wine and Pineapple Mousse.