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2008 Fancy Food Show Chocolatiers |
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Wednesday, 16 January 2008 |
As I walked into the exhibit hall, which turned out to be the ENTIRE convention center, I marveled at the sheer size of this event. The San Diego convention center is one long building, and this show spanned the entire length with more than 1,100 exhibitors in over 210,000 sq ft. of exhibit space spread out along 52 aisles with 10-20 stalls on each side of the aisle. Of course most of the participants were not chocolate purveyors, but there were over 160 offering chocolate in some form. More than 30 selling truffles, 41 selling bars and over 100 offering combinations of chocolate with nuts or toffee. Unlike the Chocolate Show in New York, this is open only to those in related businesses and the press, and the exhibitors are not permitted to sell any product at the show. Instead there was an overwhelming amount of food to sample, each booth offering tastings of their products. I must admit I was not expecting this much food, and came to the show having just finished brunch!
I decided to take a methodical approach and start at one end of the hall and work my way down row by row. Most of the Chocolatiers could be found greeting the assortment of visitors ranging from discriminating chocloisseurs to those who just love anything chocolate. Once of my first stops was at Coco-luxe from Sausalito, CA, where the founder, Stephanie, was warmly greeting patrons. Coco-luxe offers confections with seasonal or themed designs on their chocolates that tell you what is inside. Pictures of gingerbread men, banana splits and oranges slices were a few of the decorated items offered. Several rows over was Chocolate Grove from Australia, focusing on macadamia nuts, enrobed fruits such as muntries and riberry and truffles imbued with local spices such as lemon myrtle and wattleseed. Delicious and quite unusual!
Several of the chocolatiers were so passionate about their products I couldn’t help but feel inspired. Rose Ramos-Benzel of L’Estasi Dolce was one of these, bubbling with excitement and love for her art. L’Estasi Dolce is from Monterey, CA and has been known for their wine truffles such as champagne, pinot noir and cabernet, but recently they have expanded to offer an Asian-fusion line. This new line has exciting pairings like praline ginger, mint ginger and my favorite, mimosa. Worth a mention, though not strictly chocolate, is Browinepops. Delightful treats the size of a golf ball, the brownie is placed on a stick and dipped in chocolate. They can be decorated to accommodate a celebration and come in tempting flavors like Missouri mud, toffee and mocha.
The phrase go big or go home could certainly be the motto for Sweet Shop USA based in Fort Worth, TX. In true Texas style, these chocolate truffles are easily the size of a golf ball! They are beautifully handmade, each with some signature hand-marking to denote it’s filling. Having tasted quite a few samples by this time, I was grateful they were offering modest sample pieces that could actually be eaten in one bite. Beautifully colorful packaging is the perfect accent to these colossal confections.
At these shows I have found some of the chocolatiers, usually the bigger names, are a bit arrogant and uninviting, while others are warm and inviting. Jacques Bergier was the latter, inviting me into Leonidas’ area in his melodic French accent where he enthusiastically offered me samples of his favorites, which included a wonderful tiramisu cup. It was clear from his descriptions of the various offerings the he loves sharing fine chocolate and implored me to visit him at the Madison Avenue store the next time I’m in NY. A true pleasure speaking with Mr. Bergier, I will most certainly put Leonidas on the list for a Maker of the Month interview.
Among the success stories of people who are professionals in non-culinary disciplines that cross over into the wonderful world of chocolate is Nicholas Proia, owner of Brix. Nicholas is as enthusiastic as anyone I’ve met in the chocolate business. He was brimming with pride and zeal for his product, and immediately launched into the story of how his product came into being. He and his friends enjoy sharing nice bottles of wine, and used to meet after dinner to sample various bottles accompanied by fine cheese. Deciding that they needed a more healthful accompaniment for their tastings, the group began sampling different chocolates. The more artisan bars were so complex in flavor that they conflicted with the flavors of the wine. The more mainstream confectionary chocolate was just too sweet and left an undesirable taste. Nicholas set out to create the perfect chocolate to enjoy with wine, and has developed three Brix for just that purpose. Each Brix bar is almost the size of a brick, about an inch thick and is meant to be eaten by chipping off chunks. The quality of the chocolate used is apparent when you see how cleanly the chocolate breaks. Each bar is meant to pair with certain wines, and has tasting notes on the lable.
Growing weary with blisters on my feet, we were 3 hours in having walked briskly up and down 75% of the aisles. Kim’s Chocolates caught my eye, with a beautiful red backdrop showcasing their traditional Belgian chocolates. Their collection was vast including pralines, marzipans, palettes, fresh creams, ganaches and house specialties. They were gracious enough to offer me a hand selected sampling which you can expect to see on our review page very soon. The pure dark palette that I tasted was sublimely smooth, dark and delicious.
Dagoba is well known for their organic and fair trade chocolates. They have a most unique collection of flavors and focus on the purity of their offerings. There is clearly a passion to what they do, and they were quite affable, chatting with me about the culture prevalent at Dagoba. In the vein of all-natural, Bissingers of St. Louis, Missouri has been hand making chocolates in the US since 1845. The Bissinger family was named Confiseur Imperial by Emperor Napoleaon, and continues to use these same recipes today.
There were a few celebrities to be seen amongst the fray – as I came around one corner, there sat the Barefoot Contessa happily signing cookbooks and looking exactly as she does on the cover of her books. I also met Julie Pech, author of The Chocolate Therapist, A Users’s Guide to the Extraordinary Health Benefits of Chocolate, a book that attempts to discuss the various aliments chocolate can cure, complete with supporting evidence and a bit of humor.
As I rounded aisle number 52, I was relieved to see there were no chocolatiers at the end of that row, and I was able to save a few steps here at the end. The last aisle was lined with wonderful cheeses from around the world, all there for the sampling. Deliciously fresh mozzarella from Italy and decadently creamy brie from France – yum! There were other chocolatiers exhibiting that are not mentioned here for various reasons, but those with an interesting story and those who so clearly embody a love for the all-mighty chocolate made this show such a treat. You will hear more about some of those mentioned in future Maker of the Month features. I learned a few valuable lessons at this show; wear comfortable shoes- there’s a reason the show floor is open more than one day, and don’t eat a bite of food before coming to the show – it’s like a gourmet Costco on Saturday, times 1000!
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