Eater Inside

First Denver, Then Dubai: Look Inside the New Inventing Room Dessert Shop

Chef Ian Kleinman’s molecular sweets make a comeback in West Highland and beyond

by Josie Sexton@josiebsexton Oct 30, 2017, 3:22pm MDT

The Wonka-like Inventing Room Dessert Shop is now open at 4433 West 29th Avenue

Chef Ian Kleinman has been busy in 2017, with molecular dinner popups, outrageous donut popups, and a brand new Inventing Room Dessert Shop, which opened over the weekend in SloHi.

But that’s just in Denver. By the end of the year, Kleinman plans to debut five more of his scientific candy stores in Dubai, his first stop in an expansion across the Middle East.

“I really love going over there and checking out new ingredients, working with new people from different cultures,” Kleinman says, adding that his concept works well in the desert, where people want to cool off with cold treats.

The Denver-based chef has made a name for himself through molecular gastronomy. At The Inventing Room Dessert Shop, he makes his own candies, ice creams, and sodas, all with science-experiment twists.

His take on s’mores is a chocolate chip waffle, topped with graham cracker ice cream, whipped burnt marshmallow, and liquid nitrogen-infused whipped cream and chocolate. Kleinman describes the effect of eating it as “explosive Dippin’ Dots.”

A S’mores Waffle at The Inventing Room Dessert Shop

His Gobblepop is the sugar-child of an everlasting gobstopper and a lollipop, paired with pomegranate pop rocks. Butterbeer floats (inspired by his teenage daughters) are topped with nitro whipped cream and chocolate and brown butter bits.

The walls at The Inventing Room are just as whacky and Wonka-like as the recipes, covered in an eclectic mix of Kleinman’s childhood photos, tools from his grandfather’s farm, and welded steampunk artwork — creations by Kleinman and his wife Stacey.

In coming months, the chef will reintroduce a 20-seat, five-course popup dinner in the new space, as well as his outrageous donuts.

Status: The Inventing Room Dessert Shop is now open from noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at 4433 West 29th Avenue, Unit 101.