There is something magical in meeting individuals who find their calling at an early age. While most of us experiment with different paths, these folks are the ones sprinting down the finish line, checking off their bucket lists and inspiring everyone around them, or as we like to say #radiching. We were lucky to be introduced to a chocolate maven and Founder of Tache Artisan Chocolate, Aditi Malhotra, who was not only listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 but was also the winner of Zagat’s 30 Under 30 Award. If you like spices and chocolate, then this story is for you. #Foodies

Aditi Malhotra grew up in a family surrounded by hospitality and food. Her grandfather actually opened up a restaurant back in the 70’s in New York. When she wasn’t doing her homework, Aditi was waitressing and hosting guests at her family’s business. “My father always used to say you need to know both the front of the house as well as the back of the house in order to be successful.” As a result, she enrolled in Gilon Hospitality School in Switzerland (obviously).

“I remember peeling 10,000 pickles and my finger got locked for the next two days. That was when I knew I wanted to be involved with food for the rest of my life.”

“During college, I moved home 6 months shy of graduating and decided to finish my degree in NYC. However, little did I know that all of my credits wouldn’t transfer over and I would have to enroll at the French Culinary Institute. This is where I learnt how to be disciplined and cook food for thousands of people at a time.”

The Early Seeds

Opportunities come knocking in the weirdest forms. It is important to be able to recognize when one is at your doorstep dressed up as an older man with a white beard (not Santa Claus). “My father owned a couple of bakeries in the city and his business partner wanted to open a chocolate shop in NYC and was looking for a partner. My father turned down the deal, but I decided to step in and became 25% owner alongside Christian Vautier.” For those who don’t know, Christian is a renowned chocolatier.

Aditi traveled to Chennai, India to learn the inner workings of a chocolatier and how to best utilize the equipment. For the curious souls, we got a brief 101 on this industry and its lingo:

Trailing: A word associated to a cooking interview in which your skills and hand usage are judged.

Blooming: A word associated to the white layer that forms on top of chocolate (no, it’s not fungus). This occurs when sugar and cocoa butter fat rises, typically due to storing chocolate in the fridge. It is advised to store your chocolate in a cool dry place or on your kitchen counter (if you have great self-control).

Tempering machine: Looks like a big chocolate fountain that sets your chocolate to the right temperature for molding and dipping without the chocolate losing its shine.

Chocolate: A sweet, brown food prepared from cacao seeds. It’s seasoned production controls the livelihood of the farmers producing it, which is why fair trade is extremely important. Mostly craved during Valentine's Day and Christmas. Loved by all, except dogs.

Going into business as the only American with two elder gentlemen, everything was under Aditi’s name when it came to legal paperwork. The team decided to call the store Christian Vautier Concept and opened their doors in 2012. “Christian had a shop in Japan under the same name, so we wanted to leverage its brand equity.” However, after 3 months of business, the partners were disappointed by the ROI and wanted to pull out. “I could either declare bankruptcy because we were $400K in debt or I could take over the debt, change the name overnight, rebrand the store and launch a new concept. I decided to go with the latter.”

The Name

Tache is known as smudge in french. Always being in the kitchen, Aditi relates her brand to the cute chocolate smudges on her apron and feels that life is best lived outside of the edges.

The Marketing

After switching the store concept and brand, Tache is now Aditi’s baby and she is finally out of debt as of last year (congrats!). All of her PR and marketing is done in-house and she partners with a lot of fashion brands, artists, and designers for in-store events to increase foot traffic.

Aditi also decided to kick up the menu a couple of gears by taking inspiration from her worldly travels and Indian heritage. Today, Tache is known as a chocolate store that blends unconventional spices with shades of chocolate. Her favorite ingredient? Thai Truffle. Tache is now transitioning into a culinary academy for customers where you can indulge in chocolate making classes and take home all of your creations. Priced between $8 to $72 for a bag, Aditi caters to all demographics.

The Advice

Don’t be scared to do what you love
Try to find a mentor to seek advice from
Find a niche and make it your own

When asked the best way to acquire new customers, Aditi thoroughly endorses sampling. Interested in trying the unique Tache creations? RSVP to our upcoming Beauty Sleep event where you can try one, two or three (don’t worry, we won’t tell).

Photo courtesy of Tache.