I have deeply loved and admired chocolate my entire life, an appreciation I learned from my mother who ate only dark chocolate long before that was popular.  I am one of those people who will always order the chocolate dessert on the menu, often after questioning the waiter about the density and intensity of the dessert in question.  I prefer my desserts pure and think the whole raspberry puree thing is overdone.  I will admit to sometimes asking to see the dessert menu before ordering my entrée, so I can plan for the space I will need to reserve.  When I see a dessert called Chocolate Oblivion or Amy’s Deep Dark Fudge Cake, my soul salivates in anticipation.  There is no finer experience than the taste of a decadent chocolate dessert that exceeds your expectations.

There is good chocolate and really good chocolate, and in a pinch I’ll eat most any chocolate, but my preference is usually for dark chocolate…unless of course we’re sitting around a fire pit with some marshmallows…there’s nothing like a Hershey’s bar sandwiched between a gooey marshmallow and two graham crackers.  That situation aside, I like to eat the best chocolate I can find.  I appreciate and enjoy beautifully presented confections, but they must taste good too!

Most any cookbook with the word Chocolate in the title is a resident of my personal library.  I entertain often, and have rarely served the same dessert twice.  I savor each opportunity to tote 5 or 6 of my chocolate cookbooks up to my bed and leaf through the pages like it is a family photo album, searching for the perfect dessert that I hope will be the highlight of the meal.  My friends all know what to expect when they are invited to my house for a party – chocolate, chocolate, chocolate for dessert.  There are some desserts I get repeated requests for, and I have shared some of those recipes with you.

About 10 years ago, wanting to share my passion for chocolate, I decided to make boxes of assorted chocolate candies to give as holiday gifts.  This endeavor occupies my evenings and weekends for two weeks, and I usually assemble 15 box sets, given only to those with an appreciation for quality confections.  Over the years, I have added to my standard assortment to include nougats, caramels and other non-chocolate items, and have dressed-up the presentation with monogrammed gold boxes and personalized satin ribbon.  The chocolates are what everyone looks forward to receiving, and I start getting requests in early November.   I have also posted some of my favorite recipes for truffles and confections.

A few years ago, I made a pilgrimage to the Scharffenberger Factory, in Oakland, California.  I was so excited I could hardly sit still on the Bart train, and I drug my husband at a slow gallop down the street when I caught sight of the sign.  I had been a fan of their chocolate for many years, and felt some sort of pride that an American company was producing chocolate that was gaining recognition alongside the European chocolate makers.  At that time, they gave tours that included a brief education about the cacao bean and how it makes its journey to becoming a chocolate bar.  After taking the very tour of the manufacturing facilities, similar to Disneyland, they release you into the gift shop.  They certainly had all the items you would expect from chocolate gift packs to cookbooks and aprons, but the highlight for me was a little freezer over in the corner.  In that freezer they had pints of the famous Dr. Bob’s ice cream.  The flavor that made my eyes roll back in my head was called “The Works”.  It was dark chocolate ice cream with cacao nibs and chunks of Scharffenberger chocolate.  I don’t think I’ve ever eaten enough ice cream to make myself ill, but I sure did that day…and I’d do it again!

I have traveled to many parts of the world for work and for pleasure.  Everywhere I go, with the exception of India where they don’t really eat chocolate traditionally, I have sampled any chocolate I could find.  The textures and flavors are always so different, even between countries in Europe.  I love to wander through grocery stores in the foreign cities, and marvel at the different kinds of chocolate candies available.  I often come home with a suitcase full of truffles and chocolate bars.  So many in fact, it takes me months to eat through them all.  Fortunately I do have a refrigerator in my garage that is dedicated to storing my chocolate stockpile!

My respect for chocolate has only grown with time.  I enjoy tasting and analyzing new flavors, and have been particularly amazed at the volume of chocolate bars that now claim “single origin” or declare the cocoa percentage on the label more prominently than the brand name.  It is this new abundance that led me to start this website.  I thought it would be helpful to have a resource that would delineate the differences between all of these chocolate selections, both bar and bonbons, as well as provide updates via a forum called On Location to highlight sumptuous restaurant desserts and interesting discoveries.  I will draw you attention to exceptional books and cookbooks and share favorite recipes of mine and our readers.  Please let us know what you think by sending us your suggestions and comments.