Bruijn: Luxury chocolate gets the royal Indian treatment

With 24k gold sprinkled over these cocoa bites, their inventor, Mandavi Kanchan, 21, a Northwestern grad and young Indian entrepreneur, has relocated from Dubai to Mumbai to match the family nut business with Mumbai's growing taste for luxury. 

What she has come up with is The Bullion Collection, a signature, artisanal chocolate cut from 50 percent pure cocoa but decorated with sprinkles of 24k pure gold and 100 percent pure silver, which appear to have taken their inspiration from mithai, a common Indian dessert. Historically, the royal kitchens of India placed real silver foil on top of mithai because precious metals were considered to have medicinal properties.

You've got to try the cashew nut Taj Mahal, Indië Sesame, Almond Chilli Praliné and Garlic Cashew variety of India-inspired chocolates too.

Named after Cornelis de Bruijn, a famous Dutch traveler, Kanchan's new chocolate concept store has a Dutch name, Belgian chocolate recipes and an Indian inspiration, delivered via precious metal flakes imported from Germany.

Bruijn chocolates, approximately Rs 4,500 per kg and Rs 3,000 per kg for the nuts. Bruijn Noten En Chocolate, F-8A Palladium, 1st floor, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel; tel. +91 (0) 22 4347 3986/87.