When it comes to biscuit pudding in Colombo, a name that constantly comes to mind is Bellissima. Yes, the artisan biscuit pudding brand, which has evolved over the years, and has become one of the most popular go to dessert options among trendy local city cafés, is turning 5, ending another successful year in style.
So what’s special about Bellissima? According to Dush Ratnayake, who is the creator and owner of this infamous delicacy, the main secret for the popularity of the biscuit pudding is simply being made with nothing but the best local ingredients, carefully balanced, to bring out the best combination of all this dessert’s different attributes. After all, it is worth to mention that chocolate biscuit pudding is a fusion Sri Lankan dish which originated during the British Colonial era and Bellissima being a truly Sri Lankan brand that understands the soul of this dessert has surely given it a new identity with improved variations and flavours.
Dush; a foodie who learnt to cook through experimentation with a great taste bud for flavours since the age of 7, and who later turned himself into a self-made culinary artist in the industry, started experimenting on biscuit pudding, only 5 years ago, just to satisfy the cravings of his younger brother, who woke up one morning demanding for home-made biscuit pudding.
“And so the biscuit pudding continued to evolve from there once we decided to commercialise it, and we took our family’s and friends’ preferences as initial market indicators to pick from the random sets of flavours I developed. The one we decided to start with of course was the Chocolate Arrack Biscuit Pudding” says Dush Ratnayake who has ever since not stopped bringing new additions to the range.
Today, Bellissima has 7 flavours popular among the local as well as international clients alike, out of which 3 are alcoholic, namely the Arrack Chocolate, Orange and Arrack Chocolate, and Baileys biscuit pudding. The Classic Chocolate, White Chocolate Raspberry, Mint Chocolate and the Salted Caramel are also being loved by kids alike. Almost all these flavours are widely available at many of the cafes in Colombo, including recently De Vos Café and Dilmah’s café Brew 1867 to name a few. Chef Dush also went one step further to introduce exclusive flavours on request such as the Matcha biscuit pudding, exclusively available at Ramen Misoya as well as the Chocolate Biscuit Pudding Ice-Cream and few new Bellissima Gelato flavours exclusively sold at Roots Gelato outlets.
“While we have come a long way there’s an even longer way to go, and taller mountains to climb. Customers can definitely expect new flavours and a few are already in the pipeline for 2019” stated the passionate chef whose sole motive is to put Sri Lanka on the world culinary map with Bellissima. To discover more about what’s experimenting at the Bellissima kitchen, simply like www.facebook.com/BellissimaDesserts or follow on Instagram either @bellissima_sl or @dushratnayake. Alternatively, you can always WhatsApp to 0766267777.