The ABC of ice cream

Writer’s Cafe’s new branch houses a school of creamery and scores high on inclusive employment

Chef Bhupesh Pitchaimani pours vanilla essence into a mixture of sugar, milk and cream in a measuring cup with the precision of a chemical scientist, removing drops to knock 0.02 grams off the scale. The School of Creamery in the newly opened Writer’s Cafe in Taramani is his personal laboratory.

After a successful year at Gopalapuram, Writer’s Cafe opened a branch near Ascendas IT Park, perhaps with an eye on the young IT crowd of the city. While most of the menu has remained the same — with Chef Silke Stradler on board yet again — there are two key changes. Firstly, 24 different types of ice cream have been introduced, all prepared in the School of Creamery on the first floor. Secondly, owner Anand Mahadevan has hired 12 people from the neighbouring Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu (SPASTN) as staff, in addition to burn survivors.

Pitchaimani has taken the differently-abled students under his wing. For four hours every day, he trains them in the art of patisserie: ice creams, chocolates, cakes, brownies and tarts. The ice cream section features 16 trays with flavours such as Manhattan cheesecake, red velvet cheesecake, tiramisu and stracciatella, as well as fruit flavours such as mango, chiku and jackfruit. Each scoop is priced at Rs. 45 and can be had in ice cream cones, peppered with colourful sprinkles with chocolate chips. Even the décor is different, the untinted floor-to-ceiling glass walls lending an airy and spacious look.

The creamery school has three kinds of ice cream making machines, blast chillers and freezers which can cool down to minus 40 degrees. Only Pitchaimani handles them, leaving his students to slice the fruits — hand-selected by him — and prepare the mixture.

After completing a batch, K Asma writes the recipe down in a small notepad. It’s important to take notes as Pitchaimani is still streamlining the recipes. “Once Chef Bhupesh has fixed the menus and the recipes, we will open the school for the public. Anybody can come here to learn how to make desserts. But that should take about three more months,” reveals Karan Manavalan, branch manager.

In the adjoining room, the scent of freshly baked bread hangs low. Sous chef Kanna prepares desserts like ebony cakes and fig crumble tarts, occasionally popping in to the other room to ask Pitchaimani for instructions.

Teaching isn’t something new for Pitchaimani. “You need to understand that these students come from different backgrounds, they are all doing this for the first time. So you need to be patient with them.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Silke. “You have to be sensitive to their needs. We pay individual attention to every staff member and give them roles we think they will be able to handle,” she says, adding, “The language gap is not an issue; they watch me and follow. In fact, they keep asking me for more work!”

SPASTN member Pradeep Kumar, all of 17, takes a plate of spaghetti from the kitchen counter to hand to the customer. Like him, most of the staff members from SPASTN work at the front desk, greeting people in, or as waiters and busboys. He loves his new job: “ Supera irukku ”, he announces, “One day, I will be a restaurant manager.”

Owner Anand Mahadevan has hired 12 people from the neighbouring Spastics Society of India as staff