In this whirlwind tour of the Chocolate Show 2007, I will give you an overview mostly of Chocolatiers new to me.
My first stop was at Comptoir du Cacao, family owned and based in Gatinais (center France). With my roots in Brittany , I could not help but like the Caramels d'Isigny and Crepes Dentelles blend. Also worth mentioning is their use of rose petals and spices such as Sichuan peppers in other creations.
Unfortunately they are not yet distributed in the US.
Let's jump to the West Coast (of the US) with Theo Chocolates which actually offers 2 lines, one is Theo (vegan and soy free) including Theo Origin Bars and 3400 Phinney with 2 oz Flavored Bars named after their location in Seattle. Colorful packaging is a plus.
Their claim to fame is that they are the only bean to bean maker of organic, fair trade chocolate in the US.
From Philadelphia, John and Kira use only the real thing from fruits to nuts and local sources whenever they can, such as the Honey in their Honey Lavender offering.
The Bay Area sent Charles Chocolates our way. This is the result of Chuck Siegel's love story with Cocoa.
The accent is on freshness and being as eatable as can be. It culminates with the Edible Boxes.
I just realized that he also offers Pate de Fruit, one of my favorite sweets.
Next visit was to Oliver Kita which proves that the Hudson Valley offers more than Foie Gras and Pates.
His 1 year old company combines passion, a sense of color and great creativity. My wife thought of him as a real life Willy Wonka.
Spirituality matters to you, his Tao of Cacao embraces the daily appreciation of chocolate. Mindful tasting for self awareness and joy without regret and offers a Woodstock Buddha and The Virgin Mary.He gets extra points for his fluent French.
I conversed some more en francais with the French Duo of MadMac. We are almost neighbors in New Jersey and they specialize in Macarons and Madeleines.
They came up with an unbreakable box for the fragile macarons so they do not turn to dust on their way to your table.
Know anything more soothing than dipping a Madeleine in a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day?
Joan Coukos of Chocolat Moderne gets her inspiration from places as varied as Italy, Greece and Japan.
The common thread is everything is made with Dark chocolate.
My last tasting was at the Rhum Clement counter, the nec plus ultra. I tried Liqueur Creole last.
I will comment on them more in detail as well as review new offerings by 2 of last year's picks, Donna Toscana and Berkshire Bark in the next two weeks, in chunks so you do not get an indigestion.
Related Stories: Greatest Eats, Best of Chocolate Show 2006 and Chocolate Week, Beyond New York, London and Paris
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