Mirzam Chocolate Makers

In 2017, TSDA was appointed by Mirzam Chocolate as the project manager for their inaugural Mirzam Café and Truffle Bar. Our overarching role consisted of meeting with the Mirzam stakeholders to develop a deeper understanding of their vision for the cafe and distilling all information into a clear and concise brief for contractors and suppliers.

Jack worked closely with the leadership of Mirzam to research, direct and manage the creation and execution process for the cafe, including meeting with material suppliers and culinary partners to ensure that the project was in line with the owners’ vision. Jack also contributed to the menu development by suggesting interesting recipes and presentations, sourcing the far-out ingredients and testing them in the kitchen with the Mirzam team.

This project was an opportunity to bring a physical cafe counter design to life: find the materials, manage the builder, test the recipes, and ensure the customer journey flows. This was a hands-on project on ingenuity and resourcefulness: finding quick and easy solutions for the space, identifying materials that could be recycled and re-used, and hiring craftspeople who could work on the project in line with the client’s budget.

This approach was a significant element of Mirzam’s sustainability strategy as a company—to buy and re-use second hand wherever they can and be as resourceful as possible. With no designer on board and a minimal budget, the project was realised through sheer determination, skilful resourcefulness and hands-on management.