Indo-Belgian Chocolate Waffle Festival

As you walk into Waf O’Bel, your senses are immediately hit with the exhilarating wafts of chocolate. This combined with the toasty warm aroma of the waffles sizzling away in the iron makes you grin like a happy child (I was actually grinning like the Cheshire cat. At my subtle best)

Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddok and other beloved characters greet you from the walls of this charming place. You can even go along on an adventure with Tintin or Asterix as you indulge in your waffles.

The Chocolate Waffle festival is the magical brain child of Waf O’Bel founder and chef Christophe from Belgium and L Nitin Chordia, India’s 1st and only certified chocolate taster and founder of Cocotrait ; a company that is focused on representing and promoting Indian chocolates across the globe.

The recipes developed for the festival is the FIRST such attempt in the WORLD.

Furthermore,no where else, have recipes ever been formulated that include quality chocolate products from India inside the Belgian waffle batter.

Chef Christophe, with his passion and dedication to creating authentic Belgian waffles in India uses only the best equipment (more importantly, only the Right kind of equipment), the best ingredients and personally trains the whole team on using the best techniques.

Pair this with Nitin Chordia’s passion for chocolate and years of study and experimentation with it. Mix it up along with a wish to promote Indian origin chocolates in a unique and fun way and thus you have a recipe for success.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Mr.Chordia and getting a first hand account on the thought and process behind these wonderful creations.

Keeping the summer season in mind they decided change up the waffle batter recipe to make it lighter. In fact, the removal of butter and the addition of pure chocolate products into to the batter is a stroke of genius. Not only is a perfect chocolate flavour obtained , moreover the natural cocoa butter (and other ingredients used like cocoa nibs, almonds, coffee beans and peanut butter) in the chocolate adds to the texture of the waffle.

Using this as a base, five distinct varieties of Waffles were created.

Creating magic with flavour

The various elements of Indian origin chocolate that have been used are:

• Pure Roasted Cocoa nibs
• Non Alkalised Cocoa powder
• Chocolate chips and Dark Chocolate.

One of the key feature points of these creations is that there is next to no sugar added in the batter and all the sweetness comes from the chocolate used itself. If you are some one (like me) who loves tasting the rich flavour that can only come from good quality chocolate you will have a fantastic experience. Every component added to the dish is given a chance to shine.

Another key feature as to why these waffles are so unique is because of the waffle iron that is used. You can ask any South Indian grandmother and they will say that cast iron is the best for their dosa tawa. Likewise, for a true Belgian waffle, a cast iron machine is a must. The cook time is 6 minutes per Waffle and the even heat transfer ensures a beautifully crisp exterior and a gooey chocolate interior.

Made expertly by Chef Shiny Sundharam, these are plated and served to perfection.

I leave you now with the pictures and descriptions of the stars of the show. No amount of words can do justice to their awesomeness. Go ahead. Resist. I dare you.

Wonderful Waffles

Classic Fudgy Waffle

Brussels Waffle made with semi sweet chocolate chip batter baked in
signature Belgian waffle iron and topped with in-house Cocoa infused
cream and drizzled with dark chocolate!

Nib & Chips Waffle

Crisp waffle with chocolate chips and Indian Cocoa Nibs baked in signature
Belgian waffle iron topped with in-house Cocoa infused cream and dollops of chocolate sauce!

Nib & Coffee Waffle

Crisp waffle with chocolate chips and Indian Arabica coffee baked in
signature Belgian waffle iron topped with dollops of chocolate sauce! (My personal favourite! OMG the aroma of that coffee!)

Cocoa Nibs & Almond (left)  and Peanut Choco Waffles (right)

Almond Waffle – Crisp waffle with American almonds and Indian Cocoa Nibs baked in signature
Belgian waffle iron topped with in-house Cocoa infused cream and
drizzled with dark chocolate! (The nuts are inside!)

Peanut Waffle – Crisp waffle with peanut butter and chocolate chips baked in signature
Belgian waffle iron topped with in-house Cocoa infused
cream! (Gooey peanut butter inside a chocolate waffle? Dreams do come true!)

You wont be able to resist. Don’t worry, just head out to :

Waf O’Bel

5/33, 13th Avenue, Harrington Road,

Chetpet, Chennai,

Tamil Nadu 600031

Phone: 044 6555 0028

L Nitin Chordia

+919600064846

The festival runs until the end of May 2017.

2pm – 11pm