11 June,2011 08:57 AM IST | | Sonal Ved
At the two-month-old patisserie and furniture store on Malabar Hill, patrons are encouraged to scoop cookie dough out of glass jars, tuck into dessert sprinkled with hand-harvested sea salt from France, and shop for Italian pasta sitting beside bottles of olive oil from Spain
Country of Origin gets its name from the fact that several of its products are sourced from different countries, says proprietor Kiran Salaskar. "We wanted to deliver authentic gourmet ingredients from the country of their origin," explains the 36-year-old entrepreneur and foodie. He's not kidding. Spices from Turkey, pasta from Italy, olive oil from Spain, honey from India, and fleur de sel or hand-harvested sea salt from France are among the products that occupy the store shelves. The p ufffdtisserie boasts an impressive range of cookies, muffins, and brownies including Double Chocolate, Espresso and Bourbon. Bread lovers have crusty French baguettes and
cotton-soft dinner rolls to choose from.
Chocolate Voyage. Pics/ Prathik Panchamiau00a0
The "jar cakes" that aren't cakes, but dessert made of layers of cookie dough, fresh cream and caramel sauce, stuffed inside Italian glass jars caught our attention. Portions are large enough to feed the average family of four, "almost like a cake version of the family ice-cream pack," offers Salaskar.
Who stole the cookies?
Similar to stories of the origin of cheese, ice cream, and sushi, jar cakes too "happened by accident". "We got the jars initially to fill them up with cookies. One day, I just crumbled some dough and topped it with cream and caramel, and that was it," says Salaskar, explaining how the dessert came into being. Aside from cookie cakes, they also do bottled versions of the classic Red Velvet Cake: slices of dense, deep-red sponge layered with rich cream cheese.
Bitter-sweet truths
Worth trying are their authentic petite pastries, their Sea-salted Caramel and Chocolate Mousse, which comes in a plastic cup and has a shortcrust base topped with chocolate ganache and caramel. The hint of fleur de sel in the dessert changes the light golden caramel crust into a rich rustic brown, and gives it a delicious, slightly salty kick. Another hit is the White Chocolate and Vanilla muffin that is worthy of pride of place on every breakfast table. Eat it warm to enjoy the muffin's delicate taste that is both soft and moist.
The Baked Vanilla and Honey Yoghurt and the Lemon Square are avoidable. While both desserts would score full points on taste, the base for each is too hard to cut through.u00a0Lovers of chocolate should not leave without trying the Chocolate Voyage and the Chocolate Mousse Cake, both for the quality of chocolate and richness of flavour.
Sweet talk
Prices start at Rs 30 for breads; Rs 50 for brownies; Rs 70 for pastries, cookies and muffins; Rs 150 for jams and preserves; Rs 700 for Jar cakes
At: Maneesha Building, 69 A Nepean Sea Road, opposite Petit Hall.
Call: 23642221
