At the far end of the ground floor of Palladium mall at Lower Parel—and the first stop if you are coming in from the St. Regis side—is Provenance, a charming new space that opened its doors on July 12. Is it a café? Is it a gourmet store? “Let’s just say it’s a gifting boutique that has great coffee!” declares Geselle D’Cunha of Burgundy Hospitality.

Burgundy, founded by Samir Gadhok and Avani Raheja in 2012, is an established player in the specialty chocolate and confectionery business, with ROYCE, a Japanese premium chocolate brand; Papabubble, handcrafted gourmet candy from Barcelona; and Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese lifestyle fashion brand. They currently own and operate 14 retail stores under these brands across six cities in India and Provenance is the 15th store in the portfolio.

“Provenance is six years in the making,” says Samir. “While on our travels, Avani and I would often stumble across beautiful products that we would have loved to introduce in India. However, there was no place here to showcase small-batch, heritage and boutique brands, either local or foreign, in a respectful and compelling way.”

The cosy 17-seater coffeehouse and gift boutique, designed by Zameer Basrai of The Busride Design Studio, offers a contemporary setting that skilfully evokes images of old institutions and homes. Settle down with a coffee or walk around the room to marvel at Mediterranean-inspired ‘cabinets of curiosities’ that showcase the global brands that Provenance offers. The in-store gift stylists are trained to custom-make and personalise gifts for any occasion. Take inspiration from the hampers that are showcased in the store and craft your own.

Choose from chocolate dragees in six variants (Rs 995 – Rs 1895 per jar) sourced from Pireaus in Greece; teas from TWG (Rs 3,500 - Rs 6,000); coffee from Koinonia Coffee Roasters; artisanal chocolate from New Zealand; gluten-free granolas and other items from Sustenance Artisanal Food (`450-850) and chocolates and confectionery from Maxim's De Paris (Rs 595- Rs 2695), among other things. Or try the locally sourced preserves (Rs 95 – Rs 395)—lavender honey; sun-dried tomato; pesto and grape-ginger jam. We particularly loved the spicy fig chutney.

Add the finishing touches to your gift with exclusive greeting cards, official cartoons from The New Yorker magazine, and wrapping paper sourced from Italy. You can even emboss items with your personal message or initials.

Then, as your hampers are being readied, settle down with croissants and pain au chocolat, rolled in Brittany and baked in Mumbai (Rs 115), or relish Tier Nom’s delicious cakes; the rose petal and pistachio is beautifully delicate on the tongue. Savour black, green and floral teas (Rs 185 each), including the Vanilla Bourbon from South Africa that is theine-free and suitable for children; or a variety of coffees from Espresso (Rs 140) to Mocha (Rs 230).

Everything about the store spells luxury and good taste. They even have a special Mirage coffee machine custom-made by Kees Van Der Westen in the Netherlands, which cost a jaw-dropping `12 lakh; we are told it’s the only one of its kind in the country.

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