Chocolate Sundae

It was a cold wet miserable Sunday morning. Was I the only one daft enough to leave a cosy house to face the elements all for chocolate? Himself certainly thought so. But the Chocolate Fair happens once a year and by hook or by crook we were going.

HoneyB donned her wellies and was quietly excited about meeting the chocolatiers to get some tastes. By the time we got there the rain had eased and I was encouraged to see all the chocolatiers setting up, unperturbed by the weather. We got down to business straight away, relaxed by the Willie Wonka music playing the in background.

We got a tremendous reception at Wilde Irish Chocolate. Trish remembered us from last year and brought some chocolate bunny lollipops especially for HoneyB. Yahoo! We got a special ‘Wilde Rocky Road’ to taste … their secret: lots of delic milk chocolate, mini mallows and honeycomb. It is a chocoholics dream i.e. more chocolate than ‘other stuff’ :-)

Their truffle boxes were amazing, so colorful and inviting … now you can have a box of your favourite flavour. Maybe a box of Orange Truffles for Mum this Christmas??

I got my fix of Super bar (80% & cocoa nibs), and a jar of White Chocolate Hazelnut spread for the nefs. Well, as part of my research I had to open the jar for a tiny taste. I was expecting soft and spreadable, but it was pretty firm. Just like spreading butter straight from the fridge … how will that work out I wonder??

Next port of call was ChocONeill who do simple things with wonderful chocolate – why mess with a good thing, eh? I picked up a Peru single plantation for tasting later.

At this stage a patch of blue sky emerged – hallelujah! and an old school mate of mine arrived. Yes it was time for hot chocolate ala Louise Lennox: 3 types of chocolate, milk and cream – yum. Himself went for the marshmallows (aka flogs … do you remember flogs?) on top. Then it was time to decorate cupcakes … and yes we would all like a go … sweet messy stuff is not the preserve of kids ;-)

Although I was cold, HoneyB must not have been as she dived into a free tub of Ben and Jerrys ice-cream. We headed inside to see Benoit Lorge’s demo leaving the ice-cream behind … that was not a good idea and HoneyB exploded into tears. Himself quickly nipped back to get more and in the meantime the chocolatier came to her aid with a piece of Valrhona :-)

The demo was excellent and both boys were rightly impressed. TC … might you leave down your guitar and pick up the spatula?? HoneyB sat patiently or maybe somewhat confused thinking ‘hey this guy is making a mess and mommie not cross’.

I must mention Sarah Varela, face painter extraordinaire. HoneyB was too young for face painting by got her hands done-up like a tiger (just like in Peppa Pig, grghhh).

O’Conaill were there with an immense range of chocolate bars with everything sprinkled on them, molds from way back when, drinking chocolate kits and even some dipped fruit peel. The coffee beans on top of dark chocolate sounded like one for Himself.

Dinner was supplied by Mero Mero Sabores de Mexico in the form of Turkey Mole … spicy but hit the cold spot perfectly and for €5, good value.

Final port of call was Aine Chocolates where apparently their chocolate is made from beans (rather than couverture) … ‘takes a very long time’ I’m told. They buy the beans, roast them etc … ‘yes, it takes a very long time’. I was stunned … where were the trumpets to announce the bean to bar stall??

We bought 3 bars for €6 too but oh the pain when I got home and saw what was behind the Butterscotch wrapper. The bar was bloomed beyond belief (streaked white and crumbly). The Lemon Zest and Honeycomb was fine though – phew!

And now I realise the benefit of clear wrappers. I’ve bought Cluizel bloomed so I know it can happen … but with a clear wrapper you can see the state of the chocolate before you buy. Maybe I’ll start a campaign for ’see-thru’ wrapping. Actually Aine Chocolates had some clear wrappers … maybe they are moving over …

There were many stalls we didn’t visit as HoneyB started to get tired and my arms were at breaking point. There was the Truffle Fairy, Natasha’s Living Foods, Celtic Chocolates, Gallaghers, Chez Emily, Chocolate Garden of Ireland … as we left the fair, the sky was blue and the stalls busy.

Benoit Lorge’s Demo

I was wowed by this demo and now I know the sign of a real chocolatier: they can talk to a room full of chocoholics and temper at the same time! And kudos to the Temple Bar Cultural Trust for such a professional ticket design … I am keeping my ticket stub!

Benoit Lorge, originally from France now firmly installed in Kerry, had a bain marie on the go, huge marble slab, several 2.5kg bags of Valrhona chocolate, molds of all shapes and sizes and most importantly, a tilted mirror over the work area so everyone could see what was going on. Hmmm let me illustrate …

The demo was packed with loads of information presented in a easy-to-remember format. He ran thru cocoa bean types, the importance of tempering, cocoa origins all the while keeping bowls of chocolate stirred. He piped the molded sweets with a honey ganache and here’s the recipe. It will do approx 450 sweets ;-)

500ml cream

450g honey

500g Valrhona Jivara

500g Valrhona Carribe

Bring cream to the boil, stir in the honey, then pour over the chocolate.

Just like that :-) It tasted fabulous not least because of the excellent ingredients. Sur’ there was even a Valrhona sales rep present in case anyone need a few kgs.

The worktop after a very busy demo … I lost count of how many discs, truffles and bars he made. He made it look so easy and I know from messy experience that it isn’t. And there was no pretend tempering here … the finished truffles were shiny and crisp.

I thoroughly enjoyed this demo so much so that we went back today to watch again. HoneyB (after a good cry which was silenced by the chocolatier and some Valrhona!) sat watching too. She especially liked pouring all the chocolate onto the slab – I think it was the mess she liked.  She was probably thinking to herself ‘look, this guy making a mess and Mommie is not cross’ !

Lindt Creation 70% Coulis de Chocolat

Those Parisians have it easy. In a corner shop near our hotel Mama Shelter in Paris I picked up a few dark chocolate bars, one of which was this Lindt Creation 70% Coulis de Chocolat. For under €2 as well.

It is a decent filling bar, lots of crisp dark chocolate wrapped around a bitter truffle centre. The bar is presented in typical Lindt style, cardboard box, large easy to break squares. Quite yum. Even Himself liked it and he normally wrinkles his nose at 70% Lindt. I reckon it would be a good seller in Ireland too … please Mr Lindt, can we have some more please??

In the meantime, HoneyB is still refusing to accept the change in the hour so we are up at 6:20am these mornings. This is good for me in that I can get some photos in the daylight.

Janeymac I hope she wakes up early on Friday morning – that will give me lots of time to get into the city and set up for the truffle making class. Speaking of the class, I got some nice ribbons to glam up the chocolate boxes from Cara Craft Supplies. They helped pick out the colors cause I liked them all. Apparently electric blue is big this year … and will go very nicely with my brown chocolate boxes. Mind you maybe the boxes will be empty and bellies will be full :-0

Salon du Chocolat: The Fashion

Some were wearing their old reliable jeans, others in sleek business suits, then of course the chocolatiers resplendent in white aprons, others in trendy cooking aprons. But all faded into the background during the chocolate fashion show. Gowns (no, not dresses!) designed by the best chocolatiers inspired by chocolate. I was not at the fashion show to see real women wearing these gowns but be sure to check out the photos from Chocolate Bytes.

My favourite from La Maison Du Chocolat:

Each dress came complete with a little fashion sketch:

Michel  Cluizel’s offering was unbelievable too:

Salon du Chocolat

So we are back from our whirlwind trip to Paris. Early flight on Sat morning got us to the Salon at 11:40am. It was not too busy and all the stalls were easily accessible. But by 2:00pm, it began to get a lot busier, we gave up at 3:30 and as we left we saw the crowds of people queuing outside, every now and then a group would be allowed in. Phew we were lucky to get there a little ahead. I would recommend going on a week day … at 10am.

It was a wonderful show full of all sorts of chocolatiers, the artistry of their creations were exquisite, all those chocolatiers under one roof was nearly too much … certainly too much for the wallet. We left feeling satisfied rather than stuffed full of chocolate. Most of the stalls were generous with information, some oozed pride wanting to show off their creations, others a little standoffish, others a little too sales oriented for my liking.

We bought lots of bars which will be tasted over the coming weeks. Here’s the more unusual creations we found.

What, veg at a chocolate show? Nah, just chocolate with a crisp candy coating:

Anyone for some chocolate salami … chocolate, nuts and biscuit:

You might think that 4 for €50 is expensive but look at the size of the rolls:

These chocolate masks look too precious to eat:

Slabs like I’ve never seen before. The sales people were equiped with hammers to tap a portion off, weight it and sell it:

There’s lots more to follow! But a big thanks to Himself for taking all the photos :-)

Cocoa Bean Bars

And all because the lady loves …

This selection of treat size 20g bars from Cocoa Bean are a delight. Himself got them in Chocolat, Ennis as a little pressie pour moi :-)

The bars inside are thin and so east to break off a little or a large square. The G&T is something else – it is my favourite of them all. Tasting the Lime and Black Pepper went something like this: yip, that’s nice, dark chocolate and lime is good. where is the pepper …. oh there it is … tiny grains of black pepper waiting to be munched. I love chocolate bars …

Temple Bar Chocolate Festival 2009

Look! More info on what we can expect at the Temple Bar Chocolate Festival which runs from Fri 30th – Sun 1st Nov:

- Workshop with Benoit Lorge
- Talk from Willie Harcourt-Cooze
- Beauty treatments with cacao
- Learn the health benefits of cacao
- Chocolate truffle making class … I’d say this will be just amazing :-0
- A chocolate market full of our artisan producers
- Lots of kids activities including ‘decorate a chocolate cupcake’
- Barbershop Quartet ‘4-in-a-BAR’
- Willy Wonka on big screen
- Chocolate-inspired exhibition

Mark 12th Oct in your diary because that’s when the ticket line opens …

Roald Dahl Day Invent a Chocolate Bar Competition

Himself brought back a section of the Clare People at the weekend so that I could read all about Roald Dahl Day Invent a Chocolate Bar Competition sponsored by Wilde Irish Chocolate and Clare County Library. Kids under 13 (not us young at heart) are asked to design their own chocolate bar and a limited number of the winning bar will be made at the Wilde chocolate factory. What a superb idea and best of luck to all.

Also kudos to Wilde for giving us an easy to navigate online shop :-)

Green & Blacks 85%

I was a little skeptical about this Green & Black’s 85% bar … I am not a fan of their 70% but Himself is so this was worth a gamble. And girl did it pay off. This is by far and away the nicest of their range.

Price: €2.20 for 100g bar
Look: very dark, glossy, not a blemish in sight.
Smell: woody, burnt, bitter, cocoa powder.
Snap: My one complaint (as with all their bars) is there is no way to break off a square cleanly. I mean why mold squares on the bar if they serve no purpose other than to frustrate. I’ve taken to breaking off a double row … bits everywhere.
Taste: It is powerful, woody and earthy, packs a great chocolate punch. As it melts it feels like it is building up to a more intense flavour but instead the taste mellows out (pity). Short length and minimal astringent aftertaste.
Texture: smooth, buttery.
Will I buy this again?Yes indeedy
Source: Tesco

I was a little skeptical about this bar … I am not a fan of their 70% but Himself is so this was worth a gamble. And girl did it pay off. This is by far and away the nicest of the  Green & Black’s range. It is powerful, earthy, packs a great chocolate punch but has this underlying creamy elegance. Wow. Not too astringent either. I had expected a drying aftertaste but the creaminess smoothed it off beautifully.

My one complaint (as with all the bars) is there is no way to break off a square cleanly. I mean wht mold squares on the bar if they serve no purpose than to fustrate. I’ve taken to breaking off a double row  … bits everywhere.

L’Artisan du Chocolat Bars

I nearly forgot about these bars purchased at Taste of Dublin. L’Artisan du Chocolat publish a catalog of their creations and some, especially the pearls, look amazing. The pearls strike me as a grown up, all sophisticated, elegant Smartie.  They would be lost on HoneyB but savored by me. The pearls come packed in a white box with black border like packaging from Chanel. Anyway enough about those, on to the bars which are my passion. This stuff is very expensive … €3 for 45g so before I even unwrap it my expectations were high.

Dominican Republic 72%

Smell: smells fruity and mild

Look: lighter in colour than the others, milker looking. Glossy finish and segmented into squares which were impossible to break off cleanly. One of my To Dos is to make a bar where I can snap off a square easily (then I’ll probably find out how hard the process is!)

Snap: beautiful crisp

Taste: Not a strong overpowering chocolate, rather sweet and seductive. A sweet mellow honey taste with hints of sour cherry kicking in. Slightly acidic aftertaste.

Texture: silky smooth

Would I buy it again: No, and this was a surprise because we’ve liked so many others from this neck of the woods.

Brazil Rio Doce 72%

Smell: a stronger bolder smell, earthy, cocoa but not bitter or nose curling.

Look: dark in color which fits right in with the smell. Glossy elegant finish.

Snap: again beautiful snap.

Taste: A definite hit of burnt toffee, dark and strong flavor of turf fires. There is no hints of sweetness here, it is drying with a long aftertaste.

Texture: silky smooth but little pieces of grit now and then.

Would I buy it again: No

Darjeeling Dark Chocolate (Flavoured)

Smell: very chocolately and fresh

Look: Again glossy finish, which is excellent to see on all three bars. This is darker again in color.

Snap: again beautiful snap.

Taste: this is a strong hefty bar, a little goes a long way. Notes of vanilla and fresh flowers accompany a bold dark chocolate. As with Brazil Rio Doce, it is drying.

Texture: silky smooth

Would I buy it again: Yes, this was our definite favourite.