Ether X Goya: A Decadent Collab in a Limited-Edition Macaron Box
In a deliciously fun social media campaign, we invited our community to contribute strange-but-delicious flavour pairings, where the winning flavours will be brought to life by chef Prateek Bakhtiani, the genius behind Ether Atelier.
The flavours in this box are inspired (as so many things are!) by our community online. “What began as a fun Instagram community post turned into a realisation that so many people were intrigued by the idea of alcohol-infused desserts,” explains chef Prateek of Ether Atelier Chocolat. “So, what I did was take five iconic, archetypal wine varietals: Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Rosé, Chardonnay, and Champagne—which, for the nerds among you, I know Champagne and Chardonnay are the same grape, don’t f-cking come at me! — But I took those five and paired them with a chocolate that I thought would work best with each varietal and turned them into macarons.”
The edit features macarons in the flavours Mulled Carbernet & Dominican Dark, Pinot Noir & Peruvian Dark, Grenache Rose & Madagascar Dark, Chardonnay & Ghana Milk, and Champagne & White & Strawberry.
What we especially loved about this box was that it showcases our audience’s cheeky flavour choices alongside chef Prateek’s flex as a sommelier — in addition to his celebrated skill as a pâtissier and chocolatier. “It's still surprising to me that not a lot of people know because I definitely don't hide it. I do tell everybody because I'm just such a painful wine snob,” he laughs.
He believes his understanding of wines helps drown out the noise, and focus on what really matters. “I think the biggest takeaway from my knowledge of wine — both in and outside the kitchen — is really the first thing we are taught as sommeliers and wine students: What is inside the bottle? You can wax poetic about what's inside, but at the end of the day, a wine is only as good as what someone is willing to pay for it. It has to be good, drinkable, and well-marketed—it’s a rounded thing. That’s something I keep very close to my heart when developing everything at Ether, from the recipe to how that story is told to how it’s packaged—everything.”
Ether’s strong visual language is one that has become definitive of their identity; it is one chef Prateek describes as essentialist, over minimalist, a testament to the synergy between flavour and storytelling. “I pride myself on craftsmanship, attention to detail, and the finesse of my work and that of my team here at Ether. If that’s what I want people to buy into, then the visuals—the photography, the packaging—should tell that story in a way where there's nothing to hide.”
As one of India’s foremost chocolatiers, Prateek is driven by a passion to carve a space chocolate craftsmanship in the Indian market. “With chocolaterie being such an under-understood craft in India, my big goal in the short term is simply to get a seat at the table for chocolaterie as a craft. I want to create enough of a market for younger perspectives in pastry and modern European pastry to exist and thrive in the Indian market.”
