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A Tale of Old Hyderabad
World Of Ofen/Delectable
Delicatessen
Radhika Rajamani
Ofen is a patisserie with a
difference. It opens up a whole new world of cakes, bakes, breads and pastries
particularly from Switzerland and Germany (with a bit from Austria thrown in) to
the local populace. The first anniversary of this state-of-the-art bakery,
confectionery and delicatessen falls on June 10. The primary highlight of Ofen
is the Swiss military baking wagon (it’s the only one of its kind used in Asia).
Tucked away on Road No. 10, opposite Kalakriti Art Gallery, this bakery is
housed in a specially constructed premises to suit the requirements. The yummy
goodies it offers give you a whiff of Europe – from the famous Black Forest,
apple strudel, gingerbread, marzipan to innumerable other varieties like
Shepherds pie, handmade pastas, cheesecakes and so on. For those bred on a diet
of fairy tales and sound of music Ofen is a must-visit one. And for the
uninitiated it’s a chance of knowing the world of confectionery.
“We had thought of starting a state-of-the-art bakery in Hyderabad for many
years. Things fell into place last year. Hyderabad is a happening city. So the
time was right to start it. My husband Bosco (a software engineer) met Martin
Zbeinder, one of the master bakers on one of his trips abroad. Martin had
started bakeries in many cities of the world. By a stroke of luck we could
purchase the Swiss military baking wagon and use it here,” says Mukti Bosco,
Managing Director.
To start a bakery was a passion and it was a dream which finally materialised in
June last year. “My husband worked in a bakery while doing his masters in Pune
and this interest developed into a hobby and later a passion. I was also
involved in this dream to start a bakery. It was a way also to generate
employment and a unique concept too,” adds Mukti who also juggles her work with
an NGO and the bakery.
After a market survey and with the help of consultant Martin, Ofen opened.
“Martin designed the kitchen, installed the equipment, trained the staff further
and helped in designing the menu.
The clean atmosphere and the smell of cakes and breads wafting through the air
coupled with the attractive display of eats are striking. A bread rack stacks
loaves of various varieties mainly natural – ragi, oatmeal, brown, multi-grain,
rye, onion, panacicinese (Italian finger bread) sesame, nutzopf (loaf with nuts
introduced by another master baker Stefan Wit who is at Ofen now), French
baguettes, croissants and many more – this is one of the USP’s of Ofen. “We
realised that people want breads without milk, sugar and eggs. Since people are
now travelling all over they were missing the breads and pastries they got
abroad. Only a bit of jaggery is used in the ragi bread. No preservatives, no
colour and no gluten is used in the bread. For about 450 gms of bread one and a
half teaspoon of refined oil is used.
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I usually ran into the house to tell my English governess
We use as much of local ingredients as
possible,” says Mukti. Research is ongoing to bring out different varieties of
bread. Certain loaf varieties like carrot and thyme, veg loaf, chicken loaf etc.
are made on order.
The Swiss military baking wagon is a must-see. At Ofen “it is jacked up – since
the four wheels would get spoilt. It is still mobile. It’s a complete baking
unit. It has a water filtration unit, water heating unit, humidifier, a
planetary dough mixer (which can mix from one kilo to 500 kilos of dough) and a
six-feet oven (with three decks). It has an inbuilt generator too. It is a
multi-fuel one. We are using charcoal but crude oil and wood can be used. This
wagon used to travel with the Swiss army (with trainees and regular recruits)
though it never went to war,” informs Mukti.
The see-through and spick-and-span kitchen with impressive, mind-boggling
equipment gives the visitor an idea of the whole process of cooking and baking.
Utmost emphasis is laid on hygiene here. “No pre-mixes are used at Ofen.
Everything is made from scratch,” vouches Mukti.
Ofen, open from 8 am to 11 pm, is delectably European and offers a range of food
besides cakes, breads and pastries from mouth-watering pancakes and waffles with
maple syrup and honey (for breakfast), salads, sandwiches, quiches, shepherds
pie to handmade pasta and barbeque and rotisserie chicken to milkshakes, cheese
cakes, fruit tarts, desserts like tiramisu and so on. The cheese cakes are made
of mascarpone cheese at Ofen. Seasonal fruits are used in cheese cakes and other
items. “For instance we serve chikoo cheese cake and the chikoos are organically
grown in Ahmedabad. The only things which are ‘imported’ are the berries,” says
Mukti. Sugarless pastries available here made of wheat flour and stevia (herbal
substitute) are a hit with the diabetics. All the items on the counter keep
changing. Of course items can also be made to order.
For the health conscious Ofen also provides the calorific value on request. At
Ofen efforts are made to fly down European master bakers and sometimes even food
technologists for short stints for sharing of expertise on baking. This also
helps in the ongoing research on new items.
Ofen also undertakes catering for parties (indoor and outdoor) and specialises
in birthday cakes and wedding cakes. “We have packages where the choice of items
not on the counter are given to the clients and at discounted price. We serviced
the travellers of Lufthansa and KLM for six months till they set up their
infrastructure in Hyderabad,” says Mukti. Their clientele ranges from corporates
to private individuals.
As part of the first anniversary celebrations a new range of items in the food
and bakery will be brought out. “We have been asked by customers to have an
outlet in the same premises serving cold cuts and cheese. That’s on the anvil.
So also enquiries have been made to open more outlets in the twin cities, Delhi
and Chennai. These are being worked out,” says Mukti.
Walk in at any time of the day into Ofen and you can be sure of tasting
delectably European fare and enjoy the ‘bistro’ ambience. If you dont feel like
stepping out you can place your orders on 23372205 / 23372235.
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