Photo: Contributed
By Michael Lamont
When David Mullner and Celine Nativel immigrated to Canada with their family four years ago, their resumes looked very different. Nativel, who was previously a psychologist for the hospital, and Mullner, who operated his own physiotherapy clinic, traded in their white coats for chef’s jackets when they became chocolatiers.
“When we arrived here we couldn’t find chocolate that we really loved … so we started first to make chocolate for ourselves and finally we made people try it,” Nativel said.
“They were amazed because they didn’t know this taste … it was so flavourful, and in Canada they are used to sweeter chocolate. So when people tried our chocolate they said we had to open a store and it snowballed, and that’s what we did.”
Since September 2018, Mullner and Nativel have been creating low sugar, vegan chocolates under their business named Maison Mulnati—maison meaning house/home (or “homemade”) and Mulnati by cleverly blending the couple’s last names.
However, this year Maison Mulnati has been working on moving to a new home, right in the heart of downtown Penticton, at 221 Main St. next to Castanet’s Penticton office.
The couple previously shared the business’ challenges associated with its old location off Eckhardt and Highway 97. The space allowed for a newly equipped commercial kitchen, necessary to produce and preserve their chocolate confections, but lacked the walk-in traffic necessary for this style of business.
“We thought that we would be busy and work like crazy when we opened but … that was not the case,” Nativel said. “People always support [businesses] in the beginning because it’s exciting to be a part of this flow and to do things, but once you are open it is really difficult, especially a location with not a lot of walk-in traffic.”
Faced with pandemic precautions and a complete halt in walk-in business, Mullner and Nativel developed a temporary Saturday ‘Breakfast Delivery’ program consisting of vegan pastries and chocolate. Orders allowed you to enjoy a mixed selection of pastries every Saturday, ready for pickup between 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. or delivered from 10 a.m.
To accommodate the change in location, the successful breakfast program was halted this January and delivery will not be offered for this program moving forward. However, a selection of pastries and chocolate will be available to curate your own selection of breakfast items any day of the week.
Faced with renovating a new space, the business was also noticeably absent from this year’s 8th Annual OneWorld Multicultural Festival, an event hosted by SOICS, which helped Maison Mulnati get its start.
“I think it was an ad in a newspaper talking about free english courses and David really needed those courses,” Nativel said with a chuckle. “So we went to SOICS, and we discovered the other services … we met different people and [eventually] they asked us [to participate in] the OneWorld Festival.”
The SOICS staff who was familiar with French cuisine knew that French dishes and pastries were popular in Canada, so they presented the idea to participate in the annual event.
“When they asked us if we could cook, we thought: Why not? Let’s give it a try. And we made our chocolate for the OneWorld Festival, and that was the kick I think to make us open this store because the people who tried it … were asking where the store is.”
Although originally from France, Nativel shares that Maison Mulnati’s chocolate recipes and techniques were created in Canada. The recipes reflect the couple’s passion for chocolate—a passion that is highlighted by the use of local, organic, quality ingredients, including Okanagan fruits and nuts when available.
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