Rochie Rana loves chocolates so much that she has gone and established the country’s first chocolate club! By Purabi Shridhar

Imagine chocolates — all shades of brown and bits of white, redolent aromas from orange to mint, every shape and flavour. Endless chocolates and they’re all yours to bite into!

That’s no longer a chocoholic’s favourite dream; it’s a reality. Rochie Rana, 23, has answered every chocolate lover’s prayers by founding Chocolat, the country’s first chocolate club, now more than six months old and growing strong every day.

No Sleep Lost
The idea germinated because Rochie is an insomniac! “I’m largely an insomniac and as I was tossing and turning I saw this chocolate wrapper lying nearby. And it hit me. I’m obsessed with chocolates and I’ve never come across anyone who doesn’t love chocolates, so I thought why not a chocolate club. By next morning I had the club going.”

The club with no membership fee has 220 members now, the youngest being a three-year old and the oldest, an 80-year-old builder. Every activity of the club is, of course, related to chocolate from samplings, book readings and movie screenings. Rochie organised the first event at the restobar Senso getting together confectioners and chocolate lovers.

It was followed by a week-long Easter chocolate festival at Hotel Nikko Metropolitan where every piece of chocolate was made in-house. A cookery programme (chocolate cakes and soufflés) at Barista was another sell-out. Since then, there has been no looking back with manufacturers, hotels and restaurants and chocolate lovers hounding her for more events.

There have been requests from other states too to open up similar clubs and enquiries from the New York chocolate club for possible tie-ups. “I found out that there are two other clubs in the world, which makes us the third,” says Rochie, the pride evident in her voice.