The brownie point

Think good brownie in India, and 'Brownie Queen' Kainaz Messman Harchandrai's name wafts up above her peers for graciously fighting stereotypes, writes Madhulika Dash

Walnut brownie

Red velvet pastry

Circa 2004. A quaint-looking patisserie opens its doors to the food-loving city of Mumbai. Located on the curb of Colaba Causeway, the standalone eatery with its wooden façade stands out not only for its interesting title but also the sweet vanilla aroma that weaves and wafts through its door as curious passersby walk in for a look and walk out with a box of what the Maximum City would soon call “the ultimate address for a great brownie (and more).” Inside this colonial-style bakery shop is a family backing a genial, smiling, warm lady who attends to each of the walk-ins like one would to a guest visiting home. The patisserie, Theobroma; the lady, a gifted and trained pastry expert, Kainaz Messman Harchandrai.

Fast forward to 2021 and Bengaluru witnesses the replay of the same scene as Kainaz’s brand, synonymous with the finest array of brownies, French-style croissant, sourdough bread and Mumbai’s Club food (their egg Kejriwal is one of the best in town) opens its 81st outlet, albeit with a few changes. Kainaz, now a mother and married, runs a company that trains and employs more than a few hundred people, has garnered investors willingly, and has “wised up” as an entrepreneur. What however remains unchanged is that trademark affection, warmth, and smile on her face as it was on the day she made her debut as a restaurateur. She remains the hands-on Kainaz Messman who could brighten your day with her brownies and as that friendly aid, help you pick the day’s best — a quality that this seasoned baker and pastry chef attributes to her genes. “I hail from a family that believes in feeding people. It is our constant source of joy and is the only way we know how to prosper in life,” says Kainaz, whose mother Kamal Messman, an excellent culinary hand herself, has been a huge inspiration. In fact, it was while interning as her mother’s sous chef that Kainaz found her calling to “treat people with food.” There is something balmy about watching people devour your creation, says the mentor who had since then trained many to knead their own magic into desserts and more. But who really is Kainaz — a name synonymous with mindset breakers and one that needs little introduction today — the author and mastermind behind Theobroma.

Born into a food-loving Parsee family, Kainaz’s early years of life were idyllic replete with food, family gatherings and watching her mom work magic every time she picked up a tune and a pan to match it. Her first-hand experience working in her mother’s catering kitchen along with sister Tina Wykes, helped her learn the ropes of making great food, especially brownies and the Messman family’s legacy dish — the Chocolate Orange Pot generously filled with orange zest-infused chocolate mousse. That and a Rotary youth exchange programme to Albi in South France turned the hobby cook in the then 16-year-old towards pastry. The next few years looked like a dream run as the IHM graduate cracked OCLD (Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development) and joined The Oberoi Group, and began working in a male-dominated kitchen. Among the few women to walk into the still male-dominated space, the going was hard. “You were expected to do all the heavy picking and hours of bending down on tables to work and you did it not because you had to prove a point, but it was a part of the role you had willingly embraced and worked towards,” recalls the chocolatier who suffered a back injury and was asked to avoid all things that were part of being a pastry chef.

Little did Kainaz, who took a break to recuperate and rework her life around the condition, knew then that it would one day inspire her to design a kitchen that had the right ergonomics for a pastry chef — someone who is as tall as her too. “Our central kitchen in Chembur is a state-of-the-art facility for chefs, especially those who work in patisserie. Aside from having break rooms, the cold section has been designed in a manner that aids working from high tables to levers that do the heavy lifting and weighing, anti-skid flooring and even the temperature control in the section that is done according to not only the number of people working but also hours spent there. So, when you move from one room to another there is no sudden rise or drop in temperature.”

Over the years, Kainaz’s brownies have earned her more brownie points and the uncontested crown of “Brownie Queen,” but she did suffer the usual ups and downs of being a restaurateur — from losing money to working on her skills to be taken seriously to facing plagiarism, and even facing the standard crisis of food business — from attrition to quality produce to the recent lockdown. It was a good thing that I always was a hands-on restaurateur who would get down to the basic work easily, says Kainaz. “I stopped being too harsh on myself and instead hired people who had the expertise in the work and left the work to them.” The “letting go” was easier said than done, but, she adds, “it was the only way we could grow.”