Keeping it homemade from the scratch, Melanie Gabriel has been baking succulent confectionary for her gracious patrons for a decade now. Asrashaheen.in takes a peek at her labour of love, her home bakery, The Chocolate Haven, which continues to be one of the most trusted bakers in town.
Right in the middle of her wedding cake cutting ceremony on D-day, a bride takes a moment out of the revelry to make a phone call to the baker, Melanie Gabriel, to specially thank her for baking “the most beautiful cake she had ever eaten and seen”. If Melanie were to pen down her confectionary diary, it would be wafting with many more such aromatic snippets of happy and gracious patrons. Asrashaheen.in chats up with the baker to get a taste of her confectionary wonders.
Melanie’s customers never miss a chance to express their gratitude in return for receiving some of the most delightful home bakes, oozing with the succulent flavours of handmade and customized goodness. When they go to pick their orders from her home bakery, The Chocolate Haven, it’s either a bunch of flowers or little tokens of appreciation that often accompanies the payment. And if there’s anything Melanie deeply cherishes about her baking business, it’s this very gratifying and personalised connect she shares with her patrons. “I never had a bad moment. I feel really blessed to have earned smiles and friends,” she says. Melanie values her customer loyalty so much so that she has refrained from lapping up and capitalising on several marketable opportunities of franchising that came her way.
Wholesome flavours homemade from the scratch
Fondly called “the Chocolate Aunty”, Melanie singlehandedly bakes some of the most luscious cakes, brownies and cupcakes for varied occasions, including birthdays, half birthdays, bachelorettes, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers and festivities. She has an eggless variety for vegetarians as well. If you are a chocoholic, look no further. Specializing in chocolate cake, double chocolate chip cake and chocolate fudge cake, The Chocolate Haven also offers rich fruit cake, hazelnut and butterscotch and mocha. Melanie also custom makes your choice of mixed flavours just the way you would like it to be. Keeping it homemade from the scratch and sticking to the wholesomeness of flavours, the baker refrains from any kind of superficiality in her confectionary.
One of the most trusted home bakers in town
Melanie has earned the reputation of being one of the most sought-after bakers in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad (Telangana) with her sheer labour of love ever since she started her home boulangeriea decade ago. Her illustrious list of customers shines with the names of Indian tennis celebrity, Sania Mirza, Indian cricketer and Captain of women’s national cricket team, Mithali Raj and Indian film producer and former actress Charmme to mention a few.
A business that began by word of mouth among her children’s friends circles has spread far and wide today with the sweetness of her confectionary reaching across India and even abroad as the city-dwellers carry along these exquisite goodies for their loved ones when they travel. In fact, The Chocolate Haven was one of the busiest confectioneries during lockdown, with her customers continuing to place orders during the period, mostly because they trusted their home baker as a safer option than buying from the market.
With absolutely no professional training in confectionary skills, baking came to naturally Melanie. Her only hands-on learning was as a child, being a helping hand to her mother and keenly watching her bake. When Melanie quit her full-time job as a chief executive of the service provider at Proctor and Gamble to be a full-time mom of three, she would bake cakes for her kids’ birthdays, which they and their friends thoroughly enjoyed. “When my children grew up, I felt the need to better utilize the time I now had for myself. That’s when I started taking up baking orders and The Chocolate Haven came into being,” she says and adds, “This wouldn’t have been possible without my children, who not only had complete confidence in the baking skills of their ‘supermom’ but also constantly encouraged me in my confectionery venture.”
Fondant toppings to craft them all – fanciful to weirdest of ideas
Giving shape to the fanciful imagination of cake lovers, Melanie painstakingly adorns her bakes with some of the most enticing and awe-inspiring fondant toppings. Tea kettles, castles, Champaign bottles, dining tables, wedding beds, footballs and cameras… You name it and she whips it up for you. And if you thought a confectioner has only sweet ideas to mould, think again! Melanie has catered to some of the weirdest of requests ever. An Indian-style toilet pilled with scrap is just one of the craziest themed cakes she has crafted. What’s even more interesting is that she has also moulded some very erotic, bold and adult-themed cakes for bachelorettes. It’s quite amazing to note that many of her women clients trust her to shape up their sassiest and naughtiest of imagination, which they share with her without any inhibitions.
Let the celebrations begin
With Xmas round the corner, The Chocolate Haven is all geared up to serve its patrons for the Yule season. This time around, the sweetness in Melanie’s bakes is going to be all the more special! She is also super excited to prep up for baking for her son’s wedding. A 4-tier Christmas cake with almond fondant, cupcakes and brownies is on the cards.
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