Kainaz Messman is the brain, sweat and passion behind Theobroma. From helping her mother out in her catering business when she was a little girl to building a patisserie empire of her own, Kainaz has indeed come a long way. She believes her experiences have only made her a strong entrepreneur. In a freewheeling chat with us, Kainaz reveals how it all started, where it’s headed and everything in between.

How did it all start?

I was a chef with the Oberoi group of hotels. But before I even thought of becoming a chef, my mother had her own home catering business, and I’d help her out after school. My mother was one of the first people to bake a brownie in the city, and this was back in the ‘80s when people hadn’t even heard of brownies. It wasn’t the age of the internet and the only connection we had to these things were the few books that my mother had. And every Sunday, she’d make new things for us despite being very busy, like gazpacho and jambalaya. When I decided to become a pastry chef during my visit to France as a youth exchange student, it was easier for me than for my batch mates. More so because I was already exposed to a variety of food thanks to my mum. It was easy for me to grasp techniques and French culinary terms. Eventually, I joined the Oberoi hotels as a pastry chef but since my family was entrepreneurial, they pushed me to start my own business and that’s how my mom and I started Theobroma.

You said in an interview once that when you start something of your own, you should do it for the right reasons. What were those reasons for you?

Simply put, I loved what I did! It is a privilege to be able to choose what you want to do in life. Many people don’t get to choose, they have to work out of necessity to support their families and to make ends meet. People like us, who come from privileged backgrounds, are fortunate enough to choose what we want to do. However, we have to be very clear that this is where we’re meant to be. And it’s a passion that you have to cultivate for the rest of your life. Owning your own business has lots of advantages but it’s also a responsibility. And people shouldn’t think for a second that since you’re the owner, you can sit back and take it easy. On the contrary you will work harder and longer hours, and do things you never thought you’d do. I didn’t want to clean drains or my shop bathroom but I had to as I couldn’t afford staff at that point in time. When it’s your own business, despite your passion for cooking, you can’t limit yourself to only one aspect. For years, I had to be a waiter, a cleaner, cashier – whatever the business demanded. People look at us in the media, at social events, accepting awards – sorry, but that’s only the glamorous part of it. The hard truth is the unglamorous part that happens on a daily basis when you’re not at an awards function or sipping on a glass of champagne.

The hard truth is the unglamorous part that happens on a daily basis when you’re not at an awards function or sipping on a glass of champagne.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your job?

At different phases, there were different challenges and at that point they seemed like the toughest thing. But now when I look back I feel like I’m much stronger and better because of them. Sometimes everyday felt like a great challenge. I remember when we started out, the oven’s glass broke on the second day of operation. That felt like the worst day. Four days before Diwali, the BMC broke my kitchen and the shop was empty. That felt like the greateset challenge. We take one step at a time. We overcame terrible days because we’ve stuck together as a family and ploughed on. But the upside is that there are wonderful days. Like, when a little boy or an old lady comes up and tells you “I love Theobroma”, or a mum and a child enjoying a piece of cake; those are the best days.

How was it to open in Delhi? And what was the biggest difference in the two cities for you?

Very challenging. There were many factors – new city, new people, different ingredients, weather. Even though we did enough market research, there still is a difference. And we were in no way prepared for the unprecedented demand that our shop had. And the biggest differences in the two cities were flour and sugar for me.

You have shops in Mumbai and Delhi. Have you thought of opening in a tier two city?

Yes, most definitely. Again, we take one step at a time. When we were just in Mumbai, we used to courier all our products all over the country. The one place that the most number of orders came from was Delhi. That’s why we felt that we owe it to our customers over there. I believe we must do the metros first because there’s a lot of demand from Kolkata and Bangalore as well. We’d also like to open two more shops in Delhi. There’s so much to do and we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew. So, we’ll take it as it comes.

There was a time when brownies weren’t as big as they are now. Similarly, molecular gastronomy is a big trend these days. Do you see any product or any trend in desserts happen in the future?

I think desserts are becoming less sweeter worldwide and becoming more local. Also, personally, I am not fond of the current trend of molecular gastronomy. It’s just not me. I love classics and I believe they should be executed well. And that’s where the soul of desserts lie. For example, no matter where you go in the world, no matter how fancy a dessert you have, most people will give anything for a piece of their grandma’s cake. It’s comfort food. And Theobroma wants to be that and not extra fancy. We just want to make good desserts.

For example, no matter where you go in the world, no matter how fancy a dessert you have, most people will  give anything for a piece of their grandma’s cake.

Are you planning to introduce any kind of healthy desserts bearing in mind that many people are becoming more health conscious these days?

No. I think everybody should be healthy. But your life philosophy should be that everything should be had in moderation. Why deny yourself of the pleasure of eating a good chocolate cake? Don’t eat it everyday, but every once in a while.

What is the processes of introducing a new dish or dessert?

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scene. 90% of the trials don’t even make it to the front. I have a few ingredients I like to work with and create different combinations. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. We like to take popular combinations so more people can enjoy it. I know that Indians love nuts, so I’ll always try and make something with nuts in chocolate or make a classic cheesecake with a local fruit. Now we’re in the mango season and we’ll celebrate it in every way – be it with our tarts, cheesecakes, mousse or pastry. And sometimes we fall flat on our face and sometimes we don’t. Invention is important but we also have to retain the soul of the food. I work together with my chefs, we discuss, we debate and we send these trials to some of our old customers for feedback. If it all works out, we introduce it in the shop.

As a woman what are the challenges you have faced in this business?

I think women in the kitchen are still a minority, not only in India but worldwide. Mostly because the kitchen is a more physically demanding place, there are longer hours and it’s emotionally high strung (and things are heavy in the kitchen!). Of course, then you have to prove yourself. But it’s definitely getting better compared to the era I started out. Women are more acceptable and taken more seriously in the kitchen now. The challenges women face are the same as they’d face anywhere else. Time and again we’re are subject to mental, emotional and physical harassment but it’s gotten a lot better because organizations are waking up to it. At least my organization is taking care so these kind of instances don’t happen or if it did, we make sure prompt and strict action is taken so the person wouldn’t even dare to enter the shop again.

France has had a very big influence in your life. How is the dessert culture in France different from India? Can it be brought to India?

Very different. Dessert is a part of everyday life there. Most French people have sweet breakfast be it jam, butter and toast or yoghurt with honey and fruit. Sometimes for dessert, they just have a fruit like, a fresh peach plucked from their garden or from the farmers’ market. They don’t gorge on it or wait for an occasion to have dessert. They have everything but in moderation.

Theobroma is not your high-end patisserie, it’s your everyday go-to-place; be it for a loaf of bread, or a croissant, or a pastry. The idea is wherever there’s a Theobroma, you can go down in your pyjamas and pick out something. That’s also how the French relate to baking and pastry in their life. I’d love to imbibe that culture in here. I want people to come to Theobroma because it’s their neighbourhood go to place and not just for a treat.

Lastly, how is technology helping your business?

It is helping us reach a wider audience and it’s helping us get more honest feedback. Because people might hesitate to talk to you in person, but when they write a review on Zomato, they are more candid and that helps. It makes you wake up and forces you to look at someone’s perspective. We may not agree with them and sometimes people are unfair or biased, but most often, the feedback is genuine. Only if you listen to your customers, business will thrive. You can’t do whatever you want. You are in this industry for your customers.