What a lucky guy, most people would think, especially all the chocoholics.
That fortunate fellow is Bangalore native Santosh Tiptur, executive pastry chef at one of D.C.’s most unique — possibly most delectable — restaurants, Co Co. Sala. Translation: a chocolate-based eatery where chocolate appears in almost every dish on the menu, and is the star player in the kitchen’s line of over-the-top chocolate bonbons.
Of course, the obvious question is: Well, chef, do you like chocolate?
Dressed in a black chef’s coat and wearing a snug-fitting baseball cap, Tiptur just beams his answer. Probably the better question is this: How did this all come about?
As a chocoholic himself who may even tire of eating chocolate all day, Tiptur traces his chocolate intensity back to his youth, giving his mother credit for sparking his interest early on.
“As president of the Lion’s Club International (in Bangalore),” he says, “she was teaching Indian cooking. She used to send me out to buy the ingredients, and she saw that I was very interested and I got so involved. That’s how it all began,” adding that he started working at a bakery making English-style and Indian breads.
Instead of becoming a pilot, Tiptur decided instead to attend the University of Agriculture Sciences in Bangalore to study bakery and confectionary technology, where he met a professor who had worked in America and talked to him about Western ingredients.
“He was my inspiration,” he says. After graduation, Tiptur joined the Taj Group of hotels, and studied bakery and confectionery technology at the Hotel Taj Bengal Five Star Deluxe Property in Calcutta.
“I worked with a meticulous Swiss chef,” he says, “and the way he explained pastries was very inspiring.”
Tiptur also spent about eight years in the hotel’s kitchens as its baker and pastry chef. To further enhance his baking skills, Tiptur has studied at some of the world’s finest culinary institutes, including the Culinary Institute of America’s Baking and Pastry Continuing Education and the International School of Confectionery Arts Chocolate Decoration Course and Sugar Decoration Course, both in Washington, D.C.
While he has baked in many fine hotel kitchens, Tiptur has also tapped into his inner wanderlust by signing on to cruise lines to see the world.
“I have been around the world 12 years, and worked with so many different celebrity chefs on cruise lines,” he says.
But his life took a different course after a chance meeting with the future owners of Co Co. Sala at a pastry competition while he was the executive pastry chef at The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Puerto Rico. As it turns out, both they and Tiptur had visions of a chocolate restaurant in Washington, and after some months, he agreed to join them in this project.
And what a challenge it has been, he says, though obviously one with many satisfying taste-tests along the way.
“Learning to infuse chocolate into savory dishes (was hard) so I had to do lots of tests … I tried so many versions of sauces, salad dressings. And I had to choose the right chocolate,” he says, explaining that each chocolate has its own individual nuance and flavor profile, which maybe most chocolate lovers don’t appreciate.
He adds, “I have gotten so infatuated with chocolate … chocolate can do so many things, though it can be messy. … I love working with lots of chocolate. … Chocolate is always on my mind, even at home.”
Finally, it’s providential these people connected. Listening to Tiptur speak so eloquently about his creations stirs the palate. Working with 16 different types of all-natural chocolates, he describes the brunch-time warm chocolate fritters served with a brown butter caramel sauce. Or what about his “Aztec experience” on the menu, a 3-course extravaganza, starring a main-course hot chocolate soufflé with a fiery chocolate center?
Asked how his mother feels about her son’s chocolate fantasy?
“My mom was visiting us here,” he says, “and she was in tears, seeing this place and me in action. She loves everything.”
Q&A with Chef Santosh Tiptur
What is your comfort food?
A plain grilled-cheese sandwich. I am a vegetarian and was raised in a non-meat-eating family. I do keep eating chocolate all day, even if I don’t want to. I have to.
What is your inspiration?
It comes from my mom, and then from the Swiss chef. … I just create the best I can.
Do you cook at home?
I hardly cook at home. I love to cook Italian, and my wife is a great cook.
What’s in your fridge?
Vegetables, milk, butter, cheese, fresh herbs … nothing fancy.
How do you describe your cooking style?
I cook from the heart. It all comes from the heart. I had to build a culinary team and had to find people who are really passionate to learn and want to cook from the heart.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Four Cheese Mac with Smoked Bacon and Chives
Serves 6
6 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 gratings whole nutmeg
1 cup half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce
4 oz. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 oz. dried orechiette pasta
1 tsp minced garlic
1⁄4 cup grated sweet onion
4 oz. crisp-cooked applewood-smoked bacon, chopped, plus extra for garnish
2 oz. grated cheddar cheese
2 oz. grated fontina cheese
2 oz. grated Gruyere cheese
1 Tbsp fresh bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Creole or Cajun Seasoning
1 Tbsp chopped chives
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a heavy medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add the flour and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, and whisk in the half-and-half little by little. Cook until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, hot sauce, and the grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and the béchamel sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.
Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salt to taste, and while stirring, add the pasta. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to a medium, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the pasta is very al dente (slightly undercooked). Drain, and return the pasta to the pot with 2 tablespoons butter, tossing to coat.
In a small pan heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until melted. Add the garlic, and sauté until translucent, and then add the onions and cook until slightly brown. Add the chopped crispy bacon, and cook for few minutes, seasoning with Creole seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add the béchamel sauce and stir until well combined. Pour the bacon and béchamel sauce over the cooked pasta, and toss until well combined. Sprinkle the cheeses and breadcrumbs over the pasta, and stir to combine well; spoon the pasta into a 1 1⁄2-quart baking dish.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Garnish with chopped bacon and chopped chives. Serve with Chocolate-Covered Bacon (see recipe below).
Crispy Chocolate-Covered Bacon
12 strips crisp-cooked bacon
1 tsp sea salt (Fleur De Sel)
8 oz. melted, tempered dark covertures chocolate
Using a candy-dipping fork, carefully dip the crispy bacon strips into the tempered chocolate. Sprinkle with the sea salt, and let the bacon set for 30 minutes; it’s ready to serve.
(Restaurant Information: Co Co. Sala Chocolate Lounge & Boutique, 929 F St., NW, Washington; 202-347-4265; Hours: 5 p.m. to midnight (last seating at 9 p.m.) Monday-Wednesday; 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (last seating at 10 p.m.) Thursday; 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday-Saturday; Brunch — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last seating 4:30 p.m.) Sunday)
