The heady aroma of hot waffles, brownies and chocolate cakes floats around in Taj Coromandel. A chocolatier is tempering warm, gooey chocolate, while a waffle maker prepares batter for the first set of waffles for the evening. Inside the room, a ramp show is in progress. Models in black gowns sashay down, with minimal adornments. But, you can’t miss the sparkle of diamonds.
The glitterati of Chennai is here. They greet each other warmly and catch up over beer, glistening in the yellow lights of the chandelier. Suhasini Mani Ratnam walks in, followed by officials of the Belgium Embassy and a few journalists.
At the King’s Day celebrations of Belgium, organised by the Belgium Embassy of Chennai, the four ingredients that define Belgian culture — waffles, chocolates, beer and diamonds — are present.
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Christophe Bonello of Waf O’Bel supervises his junior as she prepares the batter for their famed crispy waffles. “Try our waffles with chocolate sauce. You won’t regret it,” she says. The offer is hard to resist, and I yield. The waffles, filled with chocolate cream and topped with vanilla ice cream, is incomparable to the waffles I’ve tasted till now.
Feeling a little tipsy after all that sugar rush, I roll my way to the counter of L Nitin Chordia of Cocoatrait, a Chennai brand of fine chocolates. It was during a backpacking trip to Belgium that Nitin cracked the mystery of the country’s mouth-watering chocolates. “They are famous for their fillings. The proportion of chocolate to milk is around 65 to 35 per cent.”
At the counter, they have displayed four flavours of fillings — hazelnut, coffee, mango pistachio and masala chai, which comes with a strong hint of cardamom, pepper and ginger, leaving a warm sensation in your throat.
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The gathering consisted of Belgians who have made Chennai their home; a few are involved in the city’s civic scene too. Meet Virginie Vlaminck, a street photographer. She is quite a star in her colony because she heads the beach clean-up drives here. She drives the movement called Namma Beach Namma Chennai that organises rallies, awareness drives and programmes educating children about cleanliness. “Five years ago, I was walking in the neighbourhood. I stumbled on garbage and rubbish,” she says. Since then, it has been a fight involving the collective efforts of local schools, concerned citizens and youngsters, says Virginie.
Lydie Vranken has been running Lydie’s restaurant for the last nine years. She recalls the moment when she decided to live in Chennai. “I was staying here when there was a wedding. They asked us to vacate the room and move to Taj Fisherman’s Cove. On my way, I saw a patch of land between Mayajaal and MGM. And, I fell in love with it. I decided to set up a company, bought the land and the rest is history.” Her restaurant serves fine global and South Indian food.
Lydie showcased a sample of her menu at Taj. It included chocolate velvet pots, filled with a layer of dark chocolate with vanilla cream on top; chocolate cake with chilly butter topping; and sugar waffles.“All these are typical recipes from Belgium. They have been passed on to me by my mother.” So, what is the best thing about her waffles? She gives a hearty laugh and whispers, “They are very sugary!”