For Chef Prateek Bakhtiani, chocolate is both a comfort and a luxury

The creative director of one of Mumbai’s most prominent haute chocolateries recounts his culinary journey and how he uses chocolate as a means to tell stories.

It’s impossible to be an excellent chef unless being one was your childhood dream and the kitchen was your playground as a kid. Or that’s what most people think.

Chef Prateek Bakhtiani’s journey, however, illustrates that you can become a passionate chef and expert in all things chocolate nevertheless. As a child, he didn’t enter the kitchen much, partly because societal norms dictated that boys don’t belong among pots and pans. Today, Bakhtiani is the creative director of Mumbai-based luxury chocolaterie Ether Atelier Chocolat, whose goal is to “evoke memories, emotions, and stories in every single bite of chocolate through modern chocolate craftsmanship.”

From Chemistry to Chocolate, from Paris to Mumbai

Having studied biochemistry atthe University of Washington and gained work experience in a world entirely disconnected from the culinary space, how Bakhtiani got to this stage is perhaps as layered and complex as the desserts of Ether Atelier.

“Chocolate is not just a medium, but a language for creativity and craftsmanship,” explains Bakhtiani. He has carried this approach to chocolate since 2012, when he trained as an apprentice chocolatier in Paris and realised that working with chocolate was his passion—but not before studying wine-making first

In 2019, Bakhtiani returned to India to launch Ether Atelier. A test kitchen in its early years, Ether Atelier created capsule collections of confectionery to capture emotions that only decadent desserts can assuage. For love and loneliness, there was ‘Black Hearts of St. Valentine’, a collection of chocolates made using black sesame, black soy, black vanilla, and black stout. These ingredients were chosen to allude to the idea of isolation through black-coloured heart-shaped chocolates.

Another collection of chocolates, ‘Water Lilies for My Valentine’, wasreminiscent of Claude Monet’s famous gardens of Giverny in Normandy. The aim was to embody the qualities of Monet’s paintings in a box of chocolates. These collections found their way to consumers through online sales or through partnerships with market players like Godrej Culture Laband Ferragamo.

When asked why chocolate is his focus, the 30-year-old chef keeps it simple yet nuanced. “I see chocolate as both a comfort and a luxury,” he admits. Perhaps that is why having capsule collections right at the outset was a practical decision, since it takes a lot more to be synonymous with two seemingly contrasting connotations.

Later, in 2019, Ether Atelier completed its transition as a standalone luxury brand, and since 2023, has created a niche for itself in the luxury chocolate space. A dedicated brand outlet is perhaps in the offing by 2025. 

What Makes Ether Atelier Unique

Through all its embodiments, Ether Atelier has stayed loyal to “crafting the right chocolate,” as Bakhtiani envisions, with modern dessert-making techniques and single-origin chocolates and ingredients. The chocolaterie thus sources ingredients from all over the world, including Hawaiian and French grey salts and dairy products from the French Alps.

Pushing the boundaries of chocolate-making at Ether Atelier doesn’t stop with the ingredients used. It extends to involving artisans from different fields to build collaborative dishes and unique combinations inspired by diverse experiences and techniques. One such partnership was with tea connoisseurs at No. 3 Clive Road to create a custom spice reminiscent of the spice markets in Old Delhi. This blend was used along with walnut to make ‘Sultan’, an aromatic chocolate bar that brought together two household favourites—chai and chocolate.

“Unlike other culinary mediums where complexity can be layered or built upon, chocolate demands that every element is perfectly balanced from the start,” says Bakhtiani, adding that “chocolate offers the unique opportunity to create complexity within a single bite.”

A print magazine to bring India’s patissiers together

To share stories not only through but also about chocolate, Bakhtiani wanted to create a sense of community among India’s patissiers and democratise the approach to chocolate craftsmanship. This led to the conception of Way Too Many Cavities, an annual compilation of stories and theme-based recipes from around the country.

The recipes that go into the publication are contributed by chefs, accompanied by their own personal accounts and anecdotes. It serves as an ideal resource for amateur patissiers looking for inspiration or even pastry enthusiasts wanting to learn simple recipes. The magazine also lends a supportive nod to fellow chefs already working in pastry kitchens, by inviting them to share their creations.

While a recipe might often be seen as just a list of steps and techniques, ​​Way Too Many Cavities, with each issue , attempts to fill the gap with much-needed cultural context, answering the “why” behind a particular dessert. 

The latest issue, titled ‘Class of Cookie’, features cookie recipes from 22 experts, including Chef Manali Khandelwal from Subko Cacao, Chef Dean Rodrigues of the Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts, India, as well as food writers Aatish Nath and Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi. This edition also carries a detailed piece on the intersection of cookies and art history by art historian Larissa Guimaraes. “Cookies carry memories, evoke nostalgia, and represent traditions that unite everyone,” shares Bakhtiani. It is also a dish that almost every baker—amateur or otherwise—has tried (and messed up) at least once in their home kitchen.

Chef Prateek Bakhtiani’s recipe for Banana Muffins

Can a recipe comprising banana and white sesame be healthy? Even if the answer is in the negative, “this recipe gives you plenty of excuses to get in your chocolate fix first thing in the morning,” says Bakhtiani. Want to bake along?  Check out this Reel on our Instagram, where Bakhtiani recreates the recipe.

Ingredients 

Flour 140 g

Cacao Powder 60 g

Baking Soda ½ tsp

Salt ½ tsp

Brown Sugar 220 g

Eggs 2 

Canola Oil 80 g

Toasted Sesame Oil 20 g 

Banana 250 g 

White Tahini 60 g 

Milk Chocolate 40 g

Dark Chocolate 40 g 

White Sesame 50 g 

Brown Sugar as required 

Method 

• Roast the bananas to make them ripe. 

• Add all the dry ingredients—flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and brown sugar—to a large mixing bowl.

• Draw a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.

• Pour in the wet ingredients: eggs, canola oil, toasted sesame oil, mashed bananas, and a generous amount of fresh white tahini.

• Mix everything together until smooth and well combined.

• Add large chunks of both milk and dark chocolate, folding them gently into the batter.

• Add a pinch of salt.

• Pipe or scoop the batter into cupcake molds lined with cupcake liners.

• Optional: Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a generous amount of soft brown sugar for added sweetness.

• Bake at 160°C for about 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, adjusting the time as needed based on your oven settings.

Lead Image by Eeshani Mitra (@acidicobject)

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