.jpg)
.jpg)
Chocolate rose: Appealing to eye and palate
Aisha Ahmed, Jordan News
- +
- -
AMMAN — It almost goes without saying that how a restaurant or
bakery’s food tastes is one of its most important elements. A close second is
how their food appeals to the eye. If a dish cannot lure or entice someone,
then it will never be eaten. How it is presented, what shape it is, what colors
are present — it all factor into presentation, which can make or break a
business.
The best way for a chef to infuse their personality into a dish is through presentation. They get to have complete aesthetic control of the food they serve to their customs. Each dish and plate becomes an artwork of its own as the chef explores texture, color, and flavor of the food.
This was the fascination Majd Abu Rmeileh, who in 2021, just before Valentine’s Day, decided to open Chocolate Rose, which gave him the opportunity to serve desserts that focused as much on the visual as the flavorful.
He told Jordan News that he wanted to stand out from the crowd by incorporating art into his work. When a friend, upon receiving flowers, sarcastically complained “if only I could eat them”, something clicked for Abu Rmeileh.
Each petal is made from a sheet of Italian chocolate and individually formed to create a chocolate rose, which embodies the beauty of nature and symbol of love in delicious chocolate. He explained that he wanted Chocolate Rose to embody the Arabic saying, “the key to the heart is through the stomach”.
While an ordinary rose might last a few days or weeks, Abu Rmeileh’s chocolate roses can last up to 11 months in room temperature. His white chocolate carries hints of pineapple and rosemary — part of his efforts to achieve excellence in taste as well as presentation. If customers like what they see but don’t enjoy what they eat, they will never come again, he remarked, adding that if he can satisfy their eye and their palate, they’ll be customers for life.
The edible roses come in a variety of forms and packages to cater to a wide variety of occasions, from acrylic and crystal boxes to special-made roses.
Abu Rmeileh’s satisfaction in his work comes from seeing the smile on his customers’ faces when they see the fruits of his labor, and knowing that whoever receives his chocolate rose will share the same smile.
The importance of the visual art that food can provide has shaped the industry internationally Abu Rmeileh said, contending that no one has achieved it in Jordan to the extend that Chocolate Rose has. By focusing so heavily on the visual, he has been able to astonish his customers in a way that they hadn’t been before.
The business has been pushed to experiment, innovate, and think outside of the box “due to trends and competition”, Abu Rmeileh added. The food industry is constantly changing, and the combinations are infinite, limited only by the imagination. A chef must always have their ear to the ground for feedback, no matter how small, for a competitive edge, he explained.
But Chocolate Rose is not immune to the struggles of the industry at large. “Pricing is the main issue,” he said, explaining that “we only use high-end products, the market is not that open, and we are breaking tradition as much as we can.”
The chef’s passion for food began at a young age, he told Jordan News, and he would spend hours after school at restaurants his father managed across the Middle East. His mother too, had a strong influence on him: “My mother had a sweet tooth. She would spend hours in the kitchen creating new recipes for cakes and other sweets.”اضافة اعلان
The best way for a chef to infuse their personality into a dish is through presentation. They get to have complete aesthetic control of the food they serve to their customs. Each dish and plate becomes an artwork of its own as the chef explores texture, color, and flavor of the food.
This was the fascination Majd Abu Rmeileh, who in 2021, just before Valentine’s Day, decided to open Chocolate Rose, which gave him the opportunity to serve desserts that focused as much on the visual as the flavorful.
He told Jordan News that he wanted to stand out from the crowd by incorporating art into his work. When a friend, upon receiving flowers, sarcastically complained “if only I could eat them”, something clicked for Abu Rmeileh.
Each petal is made from a sheet of Italian chocolate and individually formed to create a chocolate rose, which embodies the beauty of nature and symbol of love in delicious chocolate. He explained that he wanted Chocolate Rose to embody the Arabic saying, “the key to the heart is through the stomach”.
While an ordinary rose might last a few days or weeks, Abu Rmeileh’s chocolate roses can last up to 11 months in room temperature. His white chocolate carries hints of pineapple and rosemary — part of his efforts to achieve excellence in taste as well as presentation. If customers like what they see but don’t enjoy what they eat, they will never come again, he remarked, adding that if he can satisfy their eye and their palate, they’ll be customers for life.
The edible roses come in a variety of forms and packages to cater to a wide variety of occasions, from acrylic and crystal boxes to special-made roses.
Abu Rmeileh’s satisfaction in his work comes from seeing the smile on his customers’ faces when they see the fruits of his labor, and knowing that whoever receives his chocolate rose will share the same smile.
The importance of the visual art that food can provide has shaped the industry internationally Abu Rmeileh said, contending that no one has achieved it in Jordan to the extend that Chocolate Rose has. By focusing so heavily on the visual, he has been able to astonish his customers in a way that they hadn’t been before.
The business has been pushed to experiment, innovate, and think outside of the box “due to trends and competition”, Abu Rmeileh added. The food industry is constantly changing, and the combinations are infinite, limited only by the imagination. A chef must always have their ear to the ground for feedback, no matter how small, for a competitive edge, he explained.
But Chocolate Rose is not immune to the struggles of the industry at large. “Pricing is the main issue,” he said, explaining that “we only use high-end products, the market is not that open, and we are breaking tradition as much as we can.”
The chef’s passion for food began at a young age, he told Jordan News, and he would spend hours after school at restaurants his father managed across the Middle East. His mother too, had a strong influence on him: “My mother had a sweet tooth. She would spend hours in the kitchen creating new recipes for cakes and other sweets.”
Read more Good Food
Jordan News
