Looking for a unique festive gift? This Chennai bakery has you covered!

With the festive season just around the corner, a good gifting option is always welcome. When we heard that Chef Mansi Sanghi of The Ground Flour had launched a new Focaccia Cheese Board for the season, we knew we had to try it for ourselves.

This small business has us reaching for its newly launched edible cheese board and more...

Launched last month for Rakhi and the beginning of the festive season, the Focaccia Cheese Board brings together freshly baked focaccia, cheeses, dips and an assortment of condiments in one generous spread. At first glance, it looks like an elaborate grazing board, but there is a delicious twist, the board itself is edible, with the soft focaccia acting as the base. Stuffed with bell peppers, olives, garlic and fresh herbs and scattered with feta, it is topped with cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, olives, parsley and cheddar cubes tossed in an in-house cumin and peri-peri spice mix.

We started picking and pairing almost immediately. The spinach and basil pesto brought a fresh, herby note, while the peri-peri hummus had a gentle heat. The truffle cream cheese was a standout, light and fluffy with a rich, savoury flavour. Garlic spring onion sour cream added another creamy layer, while the chilli oil became our go-to whenever the cheese and dips started feeling too rich. Little pipettes of vanilla and truffle-infused honey brought a fragrant sweetness that worked beautifully with the sharper cheeses.

The best part was the freedom to build every bite differently. A piece of cheddar with honey and sweet granola brought a lovely sweet-salty crunch, while the spring onion crackers gave the softer cheeses and dips some much-needed crispness. The board turns eating into a little experiment, with everyone building their own combinations and comparing favourites. It is easy to imagine this becoming the centre of a festive gathering.

The cheese board may be the newest addition, but the rest of the spread came from The Ground Flour's existing favourites. The Korean cream cheese buns, served in bite-sized portions, were wonderfully soft, with a lightly sweet cream cheese filling, a pronounced garlic flavour and a little heat from the garlic chilli oil. Made with red rice, flaxseed, oats and Sharbati whole wheat flour, the bread contains no refined flour, butter or sugar.

The Lemon Meringue Bars were exceptional. Their thick, buttery shortcrust held bright homemade lemon curd and vanilla Chantilly cream, finished with lemon zest for a burst of freshness. The Dark Chocolate Tart was richer, with an almond-flour and cocoa shortcrust, dense chocolate cake, homemade almond Nutella and dark chocolate ganache, finished with granola for crunch.

What makes The Ground Flour stand apart is the care behind its small-batch approach. Everything is made fresh to order in its professional cloud kitchen, with no frozen stock, and orders are planned around freshness rather than speed. The small business has a Diwali range of Ramayana-themed chocolates coming up soon, but for now, the Focaccia Cheese Board makes a strong case for itself as a festive gift or a centrepiece for your next gathering.

INR 150 onwards. Available online.

Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com

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