In the quiet, picturesque landscape of Burlington, Ontario, a small artisanal haven is redefining the relationship between art and appetite. For the Bangladeshi traveller seeking a “homely sanctuary”, Eliya Chocolates has emerged as a must-visit destination that blends North American localism with a distinctly Bangladeshi soul.
The story of Eliya and its chocolates goes back 15 years and thousands of miles away, in the quiet corridors of a cadet college in Bangladesh, where a young Musabbir Chowdhury was discovering that art did not require a silver spoon or even a professional brush.
With nothing more than humble toothbrushes and mesh nets, he learned to spray paint backdrops for college events. It was a lesson in grit and vision that would eventually take him from the lecture halls of Canada’s top colleges to the prestigious kitchens of France, ultimately leading him to trade his academic robes for a chocolatier’s apron.
Today, Musabbir (Or Mousa, to some) is the Executive Chocolatier and co-founder of Eliya Chocolates in Burlington, Ontario. But his journey is far from a straight line; it is a tapestry woven with engineering, marathon running, and a twenty-five-year career in academia.
Before the world of ganache and tempering, Musabbir was a formidable name in international education. An aerospace engineer by training, he earned an MBA from the Ivey Business School and a PhD in Educational Technology. He served as a professor and dean at five different colleges across Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario, and even founded the Productivity and Innovation Lab (PiLab) at Niagara College. He advised C-suite executives and governments, yet beneath the layers of professional accolades, the artist he discovered in Bangladesh remained restless.
“I never stopped being an artist,” Musabbir writes in his portfolio on the Eliya Chocolates website. “I just changed my medium: From oil on canvas to chocolate in bloom”.
At Eliya Chocolates, Musabbir’s diverse background converges in every bonbon. The engineer in him optimises the delicate production process, while the researcher understands the profound psychological impact of flavour. The runner in him (having developed healthy confectionaries for endurance athletes) ensures that indulgence does not come at the cost of wellness.
Despite his global footprint, having studied at Cambridge and Stanford and presented research across the UK and Europe, Musabbir remains deeply tethered to his roots. He often credits that Bangladeshi classroom for his fundamental philosophy: That creativity needs vision more than fancy tools. His memoir, “Plane to Plane”, chronicles these three decades of “risks and rewards,” tracing a path from the delta of Bangladesh to the competitive culinary stages of North America.
For travelers with a penchant for the finer things, Eliya offers guided wine and chocolate pairings. This experience allows guests to “sip, savour, and discover” how high-end wines interact with the complex notes of artisanal cacao. It is an educational odyssey through flavor that has earned the brand recognition on prestigious culinary stages across North America.
The shop’s international acclaim, including placing in the top ranks of the Favchef competition in the US, has made it a point of pride for the Bangladeshi diaspora and a curiosity for culinary tourists. Yet, despite its accolades, the atmosphere remains rooted in the spirit of a “sweeter canvas”, where every visitor is encouraged to find their own moment of happiness.
As Musasbbir often says, “Le chocolat, c’est le bonheur” (“Chocolate is happiness”). And for this former dean turned master chocolatier, the “sweeter canvas” is exactly where he was always meant to be.
