A common love for food inspired mother-daughter duo Samatha and Shravya Reddy to start their own venture, House of Gables, which retails convenience gourmet food, more specifically, their version of dessert in a jar – only it is not fully cooked. Explaining the concept, Samatha says, “We wanted to start off with a single product, just to test the waters. That is why we came up with a pre-prepared and packaged dessert, in a way that is easy-to-make. Plus, chocolate is a safe bet to start out with, which is why our first product, the Molten Surprise is a chocolate dessert.”
Molten magic
Started in October 2016, House of Gables’ hottest product is the Molten Surprise, a ready-made box of chocolate indulgence which they retailed out of Amma Naana, The Old Madras Baking Company and select outlets of Sunny Bee. The actual recipe is a family favourite that was tweaked and perfected over time by Samatha, who says, “The Molten Surprise is basically a chocolate dessert batter that is vegetarian, dairy-free and has no preservatives.” The batter in itself is versatile and when microwaved for 30 seconds, can be used as a hot chocolate fudge sauce over ice cream. Cook for about a minute and it turns into a rich, chocolate dessert. Add a pinch of any rising agents and pour it into cupcake moulds and you have moist cupcakes waiting to be frosted. Samatha adds, “We are working on developing other flavours of instant desserts, and will soon come up with marinades and stir fry sauces too, hoping to make life easier for harried millenials, clueless bachelors and multitasking mothers.”
Gable gamble
Ask them what the name of their company is inspired from, and Shravya, who is a fifth-generation entrepreneur in the family, enthuses, “Our holiday home in Ooty was called Gables. The place is special because that is where our culinary journey began. My mum used to entertain a lot and every time she did, she would cook up a storm. We had our own kitchen garden where we grew organic vegetables and herbs that she would use to cook with. As for me, I baked my first cake there when I was 10. So naming it after Gables seemed natural.”
Priced at Rs 140 a jar. Bulk orders undertaken. Details: 9176773389/ FB: @houseofgablesindia