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  Life   More Features  12 Oct 2017  Love for all things gooey!

Love for all things gooey!

THE ASIAN AGE. | DYUTI BASU
Published : Oct 12, 2017, 9:46 pm IST
Updated : Oct 12, 2017, 9:46 pm IST

Her journey from the London School of Economics to chocolate making.

Nikki Thakker
 Nikki Thakker

Nikki Thakker has always been versatile when it comes to her talents. As a child, she took up archery and quickly rose to become a national-level archer. At the same time, she was also pursuing her studies at London School of Economics. It was while she was here that Nikki got to explore another love of her life - chocolates. Now back in the country, Nikki has opened up a shop of artisanal chocolates, each unique in their taste and flavour.

“I have always been passionate about chocolates. Whenever I would travel to America or Europe, I would get chocolates back for myself and my family and friends. In doing so, I realised that we don’t really have those kinds of chocolates in India, and I wanted to bring quality chocolates to the country. That’s what I’m doing with Entisi,” she explains.

The chocolatier’s earliest sweet-tooth memories go all the way back to her childhood when her mother would have to lock up all the chocolates in one room. Even so, Nikki recalls breaking in and later being found by her mother with chocolate all over her face and hands. “Later, when I was about 13 or so, I travelled abroad for the first time. That’s also the time that I started to collect chocolates from other countries” she recalls with a smile.

The love for all things sweet followed Nikki to London, where she was able to explore artisanal chocolates for the first time. “It was when I was studying in London for my economics degree that I discovered some of the more gourmet chocolates. There is a shop by Pierre Hermes and one by Pierre Martini. I used to haunt the stores regularly, along with an Italian store called Venchi, while I was there. Those are the kind of chocolates I have in my store now,” she says with a smile.

Before she began exploring chocolates though, Nikki was also a national level archer. Ask her about her archery achievements, and she laughs. “It’s really something that I wanted to keep as a hobby. I started when I was 13 and continued till I got to the national level. It wasn’t meant as a career path. For that matter, I was also a national level kathak dancer. I also took classes in salsa, jazz dancing and belly dancing. I just love to learn something new and I keep picking up new skills whenever I can,” she smiles.

It was this love for learning that made Nikki take a serious course in chocolates before coming back to India and launching her store. “I went to a food exhibition in Dubai where people from all over the world come to showcase their food. Then I took training to become a chocolatier in Italy. I also travelled extensively through Italy and France picking up tricks of the trade, speaking to chocolate vendors. Unfortunately, that left little time for sightseeing,” she rues, adding, “Maybe next time I have some time on my hands, I can go back and actually take in some sights this time. France and Italy are such beautiful countries and I want to take them in like a tourist next time, visit Rome and do all those things that I didn’t get to do last time,” she reveals.

Tags: london school of economics, nikki thakker