How a Family-Run Mini-Factory in Almaty Ships Chocolate to Belgium and Switzerland

Nurlan and Zhaniya Orynbayev are Kazakhstani chocolatiers known for creating distinctive desserts inspired by national traditions. Their creations include sweet yurts, chocolate mountain landscapes, a chocolate version of the Kazakhstan Hotel filled with zhent (a traditional dessert made from roasted millet, butter, and honey), chocolate with kurt, and other culinary experiments. Nurlan is also a musician and a member of the Kazakhstani hip-hop group Dayinball. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, the couple spoke about how the chocolate version of one of Almaty’s main landmarks was created, what sweets Kazakh consumers prefer, how to choose high-quality kurt, and how the global cocoa bean shortage has affected their business. TCA: Nurlan, you are sometimes called the “Kazakh Willy Wonka.” It seems you were among the first chocolatiers in Kazakhstan. How do you feel about that? Nurlan: In fact, my wife Zhaniya was the one who started our chocolate business. She was the first to learn confectionery techniques and how to work with chocolate, and then she taught me. I simply began posting videos of the process on social media, and they became popular. Now the brand is often associated with me, but the real mastermind behind the project is Zhaniya. She develops all the ideas and recipes. Our coffee shops, our confectionery line, the brand image, and at least 60% of our products are thanks to her. TCA: So is Zhaniya the driving force behind your chocolate mini-factory? Nurlan: You could say that. She has a deep understanding not only of confectionery but of gastronomy in general. She can taste a dish and almost break it down into its components, what has been added and which ingredients work well together. I did not have that kind of intuition. I had never worked with food or desserts before. But gradually I became more involved and began to understand the process better. TCA: Zhaniya, you are said to have come up with the chocolate shaped like the Kazakhstan Hotel. Tell us about it. Zhaniya: Yes, that was my idea. It is a chocolate structure weighing about 130 grams, made in the shape of the famous hotel. We produce it in both milk and dark chocolate. We experimented with fillings for a long time, but eventually settled on zhent, a traditional Kazakh dessert made from roasted and ground millet with butter and sugar. Customers really like it. TCA: You used to make this dessert only for Nauryz, but now you produce it year-round? Zhaniya: Yes, and it happened almost by accident. Once, a restaurant critic connected with the World’s Best Restaurants ranking visited us. We treated her to various chocolates, but she liked the chocolate with zhent the most. She wanted to buy more, but we had run out. We did not want to disappoint her, so we urgently decided to make a new batch and began searching for good talkan, one of the ingredients in zhent. We found it and quickly prepared everything. The process was quite chaotic. Our daughter...