"Nine out of ten people like chocolate... The tenth person is lying...," said the celebrated artist and chocoholic John G. Tullius. And chocolatier Chetan Jaikishan surely knows what the artist was talking about.

'Paraphernalia' the celebrated designer store at Peddar road was buzzing with excitement last Thursday, as yet another entrepreneur from the Jaikishan fold took a bow for his latest collection. However unlike his mother Pallavi Jaikishan, Chetan does not have a penchant for clothes, his area of expertise lies in chocolate. Launching a brand new range of flavours this festive season, Chetan Jaikishan the dashing CEO of Express Foods, proudly showed off the 'Napoleon' brand of chocolates to a very appreciative audience.

A self-confessed chocolate addict, his foray into the world of chocolates came from his passion for Belgium's Premium chocolates. Hauling back boxes full of these sinful goodies with each trip he made abroad, Chetan hoped for a time when coveted brands of chocolate would be made available locally too. When the government opened up the import of chocolates, this enterprising chocolatier found an opportunity to introduce Belgian chocolates to India.

Initially, the idea was to import the finished product directly from Belgium. So Chetan met with some of the world's most famous chocolatiers to explore the possibilities of importing their brands. However, during the course of these discussions, he discovered that almost all Belgian chocolatiers altered their products meant for export, in order to give them a longer shelf life and this changed the very nature of the chocolates - they were not as fresh as those sold in their stores in Belgium. Determined to give discerning Indian consumers the freshness and quality of the original chocolates, Chetan decided to import all the raw materials and machinery from Belgium and make the chocolates fresh in India.

And that's why Jacques Vergote, a renowned Belgian chocolatier was roped in to provide the technology and the benefit of his experience of over 30 years in the industry and 'Napoleon Chocolatier' was born. With the intention of indulging the Indian consumer with an experience similar to that of the chocolate boutiques abroad, Chetan offers his clients fresh batches of sin, which comes in some 30-odd flavours. Absolutely delightful, the chocolates give you a taste of heaven. Having gained much popularity by word of mouth, Chetan has customers from Delhi and Calcutta placing orders for special occasions like weddings and births, etc.

Boasting of a variety of different flavours and moulds, 'Napoleon Chocolatier' comes in different packages that can be customised to your need. Everything from the shape of the boxes to the packaging and the decoration can be customised. Interestingly, this brand also has some unique varieties where messages are printed on chocolates for special occasions. One can also get personalised chocolates with names, corporate logos etc, printed. Coming in various ranges, these little pieces of ecstacy can be purchased for anywhere between Rs. 50 for a gift pack, to Rs. 4,000 for a platter!

('Napoleon Chocolatier' is available at 'Paraphernalia,' Pedder Road. Tel: 494 5302)