Lounge Preview | La Folie, Mumbai
The haute French ptisserie opens at the Kala Ghoda art precinct next week
Yuzu in a dessert
When a young chef is promoted at a Michelin-starred restaurant in one of the leading hotels of the world, the last thing one expects her to do is resign. That is exactly what happened when Sanjana Patel was asked to take charge of the chocolaterie at Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, France. “If I could get promoted there, then why couldn’t I start my own?" she wondered. And now, she is set to open the La Folie Pâtisserie in Mumbai next week.
Patel’s résumé lists the who’s who of the French pastry world—École Grégoire-Ferrandi, Pierre Hermé, Emmanuel Ryon and Jean-Charles Rochoux. Ahead of the launch, Patel and her team of chefs took me on a tour of their kitchen.
The Tart Folie Passion ( ₹ 165) is light, with many flavours in each mouthful. The tartness in this seemingly simple passion fruit cream tart is beautifully balanced with the sweeter flavours of apricot. For added texture, the dessert is decorated with orange crumble-topped profiteroles. I reluctantly moved on to a millefeuille. La Folie’s 1000 Leaves ( ₹ 245), served with figs, is an honest tribute to the classic French dessert.
Patel rues the fact that Mumbai is so chocolate-mad. Her 100% Chocolat ( ₹ 235) will appeal to many. It is a decadent tower of chocolate custard, dark Venezuelan chocolate mousse and crispy praline feuilletine (thin flakes) blanketed in a dense chocolate fondant. While working with Hermé, Patel learnt how French pastry could survive in tropical climates. That training is proving to be useful now, she says.
A purist in thought, Patel has had to innovate for vegetarians, borrowing from the principles of molecular gastronomy. There are several egg-less desserts on her menu, including Infinite Caramel ( ₹ 215), with layers of milk chocolate mousse, caramel sea salt cream and a hazelnut praline crumble base. “With the exception of caster sugar, I have imported all my other ingredients," she says. The ingredients include Iranian pistachios, Tahitian vanilla from Bora Bora, Amarena sour cherries from Italy, and macarons made with Marcona almonds from Spain.
The La Folie macaron flavours—blackcurrant and violet ganache, lemon grass and basil, and gulkand (a sweet preserve of rose petals)—are a welcome change from the usual fare of coffee and passion fruit crowding pastry counters. At ₹ 75 each, they are more expensive than most others in the city, but also pack in some unique flavours. The yuzu (Japanese lemon) macaron and the caramel sea salt macaron had a burst of pure flavours, and the pop rock candy macaron had bubblegum marshmallow cream and a strawberry jelly centre.
La Folie has an assortment of caramel, ganache and praline chocolates ( ₹ 175 for four) made from single-origin Criollo beans from Venezuela and Ecuador. The truffles and pralines are made by Patel herself, once all her chefs have gone home. “There are some secrets that I am not ready to share with anyone," she smiles.
In addition to the desserts, petit fours, macarons and artisan chocolates, La Folie will offer a selection of drinks that will include teas, traditional whipped hot chocolate, single-origin coffees and fruit juices.
La Folie, 16, Commerce House, Rope Walk Lane, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, will be open from 28 January, 11am-11pm, daily. For details, visit www.lafolie.in
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