Gourmet Saturday : Marie-Antoinette (Bandra)

Mr Jules and I were lucky enough to be invited over to Marie-Antoinette on Saturday to try out a selection of their delectable patisserie items.  Never ones to turn down cake, you couldn't get us there quick enough!  I was also particularly keen to visit Marie-Antoinette after learning that the patisserie was set up by two expat entrepreneurs.

Marie-Antoinette is Mumbai's self proclaimed 'first uniquely French Patisserie'. True to its word, the eaterie is French owned and purveys all-French food items.  The interior is delightful - the charming wrought-iron bistro furniture, toile backdrops, vintage bone china and colourful flower arrangements are reminiscent of many a Parisian boulevard café. 

Les Macarons....

Just like The Breakfast Club and Good Juicery expat businesses that I have written about previously, - it is again young expats who have been brave enough to set up shop in India. At the age of only 23, Severine Bresson and Marc de Vezin were in fact, on a gap year from their economics degrees at the Sorbonne (no less) when they decided to start a business in Mumbai. Spotting a gap in the market for genuine homemade macarons - small, sweet and colourful and definitely appealing to the Indian aesthetic, they decided to bring Paris to Bandra.  It is common knowledge that establishing a business in this country is challenging - even if you are local - so I utterly respect young Severine and Marc's entrepreneurial spirit and courage.

The menu at Marie-Antoinette has since been developed with a French chef to include a plethora of French classics. As well as the all important macarons, you will find 'Financiers' (gold bar shaped cakes made with almond powder); Madeleines (traditional 17th century biscuits); crème brûlées and choux buns.  The less sweet offerings include French Toast (pain perdus), tartines, quiches and the most famous of all French dishes - the Croque Monsieur.  You will also find a selection of cheeses made in the ex-French Union Territory of Pondicherry. And nothing is 'Indianised!' - no chilli where it is not needed, no masala in your tea, and everything has the correct consistency and size.  Here I have found a true authenticity which is usually so lacking in Mumbai's European-style eateries. 

Mr Jules and I tried three items from the extensive menu: a colourful plate of individually flavoured macarons (including the new 'cheese and cinnamon flavour - don't knock it until you've tried it!), the springy Financier sponges and the crème brûlées (and all washed down with some excellent cappuccinos). 

Interior of Marie-Antoinette - find locals and expats enjoying French delights here

Now, macarons are all the rage in Mumbai at the moment - mostly due to the overwhelming success of Pooja Dhingra's 'Le15' patisserie - with its perfectly smooth, elegant macarons and distinctly Parisian packaging.  But I have to say, I found the selection at Marie-Antoinette to be a little more authentic  - 'rustique' even.  Each mouthful contains texture as well as an explosion of flavour - banana and chocolate, rose, coffee, salted caramel and of course the new cheese and cinnamon flavour - in which the sweetness is pared down by the cream cheese - I loved it! Not being much of a baker myself, I was told that it is the addition of the correct amount of almond powder that creates the right texture and crunch on the outer casing, hence the more 'rustique' appearance. There are currently nine flavours and colours and I think we tried most of them!  

Multi-coloured gorgeousness

The Financier cakes (which are eggless) really transported me back to lovely weekends in Paris - a dense moist cake that goes so well with coffee and the crème brûlées were the best I've had in Mumbai (and I've tried a lot - it's my favourite dessert). A triumph!

Financier Cake

For a corner of Paris right here in Bandra, you need to get yourself along to Marie-Antoinette.  There is a charming garden out front (complete with child-friendly astro turf!) and the vibe is very relaxed. Needless to say...the French delicacies are ...delicious! 

Bon Appétit!

...and again!

View from the mezzanine seating area

whoops...can't get enough!

Upstairs, Tasneem demonstrates her macaron making skills.....and it doesn't look easy!

Nutella flavoured macarons in progress

Soft, squidy insides

French style furnishings

Beautiful gift packaging

Chocolate chip Financier cakes

Tea and coffee is served in 'proper' bone China at Marie-Antoinette.

The perfectly executed creme brûlées

I love the toile backdrops to the outside seating...ooh la la!

Paris-en-Bandra !

Marie-Antoinette
Sherley Rajan Road
Nr Rizvi College
Bandra West

Open Tuesday to Sunday 9.30 am to 11.00 pm
www.facebook.com/marieantoinetteahouse

Sample prices:

Macarons 6 for Rs 275, 12 for Rs 550 and 24 for Rs 1,100.
Salads start at Rs 210
Croque Monsieur Rs 199
Cheese Plate Rs 380
Cappuccino Rs 99

The Good Juicery : Story of an Expat Entrepreneur

A couple of weekends back, Mr Jules and I attended the Bandra Wine Festival - where after sampling a few glasses of Indian wine in the midday sun, became rather in need of something more refreshing to drink (say no more!)  That's when I came upon the brightly coloured 'Good Juicery' stall and a lady called Michelle Bauer - who is responsible for creating and launching this new brand in India.  I was very impressed by the drink - particularly the apple flavour. And as natural sparkling fruit drinks are not so widely available in India, I ended up buying a cart load of the stuff to store in our fridge. Mr Jules even wanted some to put in his office fridge to wheel out for special guests.

Cold, refreshing deliciousness!

Being a fellow expat, I was interested to know more about Michelle and how she came about starting her business (which I think follows on nicely from my last post about another inspirational expat woman getting involved in a Mumbai NGO project). So I questioned her for her story:

Michelle, aged only 31, is originally from Cape Town, South Africa and now lives permanently in Pune. She has a background in retail advertising and marketing, working in both South Africa and Dubai before moving to India in 2011.

Michelle Bauer

When Michelle first moved to India, she noticed that, despite the vibrant social and dining-out scene (and the heat!), there were very few non-alcoholic, premium, healthy beverage options on offer. Her friends, neighbours and co-workers all enjoyed active, social lifestyles, yet there did not appear to be many options available to suit this way of living.

At the time, Michelle was not sure she would be able to find work (they moved to India when her husband opened an office of his company here), so she started looking into the idea of making her own beverages – taking the idea of a sparkling fruit juices from the huge variety available in South Africa. Although she did find work in a marketing role quite quickly, the seed for the project had been sown, and Michelle continued to work on it in the evenings. A friend, who works in the food industry, came on board to help develop the recipes and as a partner in the company. It was very important to them that their juices appealed to a local audience, so they used friends and neighbours (essentially the target audience) as a sounding board for everything, from flavour and taste, to packaging ideas and logo.

Love the branding!

From the time Michelle started exploring the idea, to the launch itself, took 2.5 years – as there were a fair few things to figure out! Not in the least the FSSAI regulations, how the juices could be made to strict specifications without compromising on quality, and finding someone who was willing to make the product in small batches. India is not set up for small scale production – everyone wants to appeal to the mass market…the initial quotation from a contract manufacturer for three variants was 900,000!

Although a range of flavours were shortlisted, the final three were ultimately chosen after deliberating with friends, neighbours, and even strangers in the supermarket!  The team wanted to launch with a good range that offered something for everyone. The Sparkling Pink Guava flavour uses guava pulp sourced locally and offers consumers a new take on a well-loved favourite. Sparkling Passion Fruit, sourced from Europe, is a more exotic offering not widely available in India, whereas Sparkling Apple is a classic, crisp taste, which is is popular with a younger audience. The company is often asked what flavours will be coming next (they even receive emails with suggestions from strangers!).

Over the next 12 months The Good Juicery products should be made available in Goa, Bangalore and Ahmedabad in addition to Pune and Mumbai - and based on the positive feedback from customers the company hopes to launch new flavours.

Good luck to Michelle and well done to a fellow expat woman for being brave enough to launch a new business in foreign lands from scratch! I am certainly impressed and inspired. Mumbai readers can buy this delicious product at Nature's Basket and other stockists as noted on the website. Each can of drink contains two portions of fruit with no artificial flavours, preservatives or colouring. The Good Juicery plants one tree for every 1,000 cans of drink sold as they have a solid 'green' policy.