Posted by Emily Stone, March 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
The staff at the Vancouver Four Seasons have been known stock VIP suites with chocolate-coated vanilla and smoked Hawaiian sea salt caramels and Earl Grey and blue cornflower bon bons from favorite local chocolatier Thomas Haas (the hotel's former pastry chef). Guests can also call down to the concierge to arrange an "Urban Bites" culinary tour of the Canadian city, which leads through the dim sum parlors of Chinatown and the local produce markets on Granville Island before making a final stop at Haas's headquarters in North Vancouver. Alternatively, industrious chocolate fiends can their own way around Vancouver, where the mild Pacific Coastal climate is incredibly inviting to chocolatiers.
A few places to consider:
Continue reading »
Posted by Emily Stone, February 13, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Cosmic Chocolate's Carly Baumann knows how to groove with the best of them. Her lips—and her chocolates—are always sparkling, and her candymaking goal, in her own words, is to "create luscious bites of elation and share with you our feelings of desire, expectancy, and satisfaction." So, no, Baumann didn't just pour melted chocolate into heart-shape molds, pop them out, and tie them up with red ribbons this Valentine's Day. Instead, she developed the Cosmic Bliss Heart Collection, whose flavors—Espresso Cognac, Lemon Basil, Black Current Violet, "Gianduya," Peanut Butter Honey, Passion Fruit, Red Hot Cinnamon, Sea Salt Caramel, and Strawberry Champagne—anticipate the full range of libidinous urges. The entire nine-piece collection costs $20.
And in case you want to experiment elsewhere, here are some bursting heart alternatives:
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, February 6, 2008 at 7:00 AM
Chocolate malt balls from Jacques Torres
Valentine's Day is fast approaching and you've got to deliver the goods. You cannot go wrong ordering from any chocolatier I mention below—each one on my list represents fair value when it comes to chocolate. Good chocolate is made with high-quality expensive ingredients by people with know-how and experience. When it comes to chocolate, you don't always get what you pay for, but with these particular makers that is indeed the case.
This isn't the first time I have tried to come to your aid chocolatewise. Holiday time in 2006 I tried to get people to give chocolate every day of the 12 days of Christmas by renaming the holiday Chocomas—alas, nobody embraced this idea.
The picks from my 2006 chocolate gift guide are still good to go. So are the inside-out peanut butter cups, ultimate nougat bars, nut clusters, and butter crunch from 2007's Serious Eats Sweets Gift Guide. And if your significant other is a brownie lover, let me remind you about Mari's. But after the jump I'll turn you on to my latest and greatest chocolate discoveries.
Continue reading »
Posted by Cybele May, September 24, 2007 at 10:45 AM
One of the fascinating things about the candy industry is that it's rather like fashion. The are the couture confectioners and the mass marketers. The coutures start the trends, create the flavor combinations, and drive the interest in the market by being daring, and, of course, the huge factories take what's up-and-coming and turn out the lowest-common-denominator versions.
The difference, however, is that although people may be interested in trying new things, for the most part they eat the same thing they've eaten since childhood, the same things their grandparents may have eaten. If you look at the top ten candy bars, every one of them has been around for 40 years or more.
I sat in on a session at the All Candy Expo on capitalizing on the hottest premium chocolate trends. Joan Steur was the moderator and the panelists were Michael Antonorsi of Chuao Chocolatier, Jean Thompson of Seattle Chocolates and Jaques Dahan of Michel Cluizel. Each were asked to list their three top three key trends.
Continue reading »
