Photo by Shelly Kay Smith
The New Chocolate
Falling in love all over again
By Virginia Rainey
Your first sensation is a spike of bitterness. Then come the intense fruit flavors—currants, perhaps, or lush strawberries and cream—and then if there’s good “length,” the sultry dance continues over your taste buds to finish with echoes of espresso or molasses or licorice.
A fine wine? Guess again.
We’re talking chocolate and not the kind that comes off an assembly line in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This is the kind that costs as much as caviar and has only recently become part of America’s food culture. From artisan producers, such as one in Orem that is garnering worldwide accolades, to chefs who create exquisite chocolates that resemble little jewels and come in a tiny box—it’s a whole new world.
Recently, I had my own chocolate awakening. It started with a certain buzz in local expert Matt Caputo’s Advanced Chocolate Tasting class at Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli in Salt Lake City. Matt Caputo’s ambitious attempts to re-create an authentic Aztec chocolate drink kicked it off. A labor-intensive concoction based on 100% cacao mass chocolate (basically pure ground cocoa beans) and laced with hot chili, black pepper, and anise seed, it spoke to the depth of Caputo’s devotion to all things chocolate. Next, I was dreamily melting chunks of an Italian Amedei “9”—made of 75% cacao—on my grateful tongue. We consumed multiple bites of seven of the world’s best dark chocolate bars in all. Caputo described them with such passion—tempered with precision—that I was momentarily tempted to leave everyday life behind and become a full-time student of the cacao bean.
As with fine wine, coffee, olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegars, the more you know, the more the incredibly sensual, even obsessive, world of artisan food opens up. And, the more you crave. The source, the look, the feel, the aromas, the taste, the artistry—they all combine to elevate the ordinary to something transcendent. But I digress. The real buzz that night was generated by two factors (contrary to popular belief, chocolate is not all that high in caffeine). One was the level of interest and intensity in the room. This was no ordinary bunch of chocolate fans. Here were some of Utah’s top pastry chefs, a few food writers, and about 20 other students—all eager to continue tasting and learning about one of America’s latest food obsessions.
Most of the devotees had already taken Caputo’s beginning and intermediate chocolate tasting classes. They bandied about names of treasured cacao bean varieties—Criollo, Chuao, Porcelana—and discussed the ethics of cacao growers on the Ivory Coast and chocolate producers in Italy. Hmm, I wondered … how long has this been going on?
The other part of the buzz was generated by the fact that Amano Artisan Chocolate, a “bean to bar” small-batch producer in Orem, Utah, had just been given a royal review on www.seventypercent.com, the most respected of the Websites devoted to chocolate. Amano is one of the few true chocolatiers in the United States that obtains superior-quality cacao beans direct from the source (and pays three to four times the going market price for beans that meet exacting standards) and lovingly, slowly transforms them into finished super-premium chocolate. Talk about buzz. Matt Caputo and the entire class were wildly excited, and rightfully so. In the world of fine chocolate, it doesn’t get any better.
So … how long has this been going on? Believe it or not, in terms of fine dark chocolate being produced (from bean to bar, as Amano does) and appreciated in the United States, we’re only talking about the past 20 years or so. And by “fine dark chocolate,” serious folks mean bars with at least 70 percent cacao solids, with less finely ground pure cane sugar than what most people are used to (thus, more intense and bitter than most).
Fine chocolate is made in small batches from the world’s best cacao beans—carefully fermented, roasted, conched, and tempered. And more often than not, the packaging is a little work of art in itself. Then there are the chocolate “purveyors” who create their own masterpieces by hand. More about them later.
If you really want to get into it, some sources say chocolate has been making (Meso)Americans happy since the time of the Olmec civilization that preceded the Mayans. Much of the ancient chocolate lore revolves around the Aztecs and their prolific consumption of bitter cacao in liquid form, spiced with chili pepper, pimiento, and vanilla. In the early 1500s, Cortez came upon cacao beans, revered as a “food of the gods” in Mexico. When he realized that cacao beans equaled valuable currency under Aztec emperor Montezuma II, he hightailed back to Spain with a load of them. Eventually the Europeans replaced chili and other spices with sugar, and the cult of drinking chocolate was born on the European continent. Solid chocolate didn’t arrive until the early 1800s when Coenraad Van Houten invented a hydraulic press to separate cocoa butter from cacao beans.
Chocolate histories—some of them incredibly complex—abound, and most quibble over ancient facts and dates so let’s leave that to the scholars and fast-forward to what’s happening in Orem, Utah, in 2007.
In addition to the glowing reviews found on www.seventypercent.com, Amano Artisan Chocolate’s Ocumare Grand Cru (beans sourced from Venezuela) and Madagascar bars have been lauded by the likes of National Public Radio, which, in February 2007, declared the bars the top choices for Valentine’s Day chocolate treats. Influential Paris-based food writer and pastry chef David Lebovitz gave Amano its props on his Website, and he’s only one of many. Reviews of both bars tend to run long and detailed, but this excerpt from www.seventypercent.com may say it best:
The Ocumare in particular has an evolving flavour and is one of those exciting chocolates where it’s a real challenge trying to name one flavour note before another comes along—plum, cinnamon, and spice spring to mind, with a definite fruitiness. One might say, ‘Christmas pudding.’
The Madagascar bar gets points for its intense fruitiness—being compared to balsamic vinegar: “Enhanced by prunes and raisins first and then oranges and raspberries last.” No wonder Salt Lake pastry chef Crystal Frazier of Log Haven restaurant takes advantage of Amano’s Madagascar bar in the restaurant’s chocolate torte with a pistachio semifredo. She and Log Haven chef Kevin Donovan say they were intrigued by the fruity components in the chocolate, “especially the hints of citrus.” As it turns out, Frazier first tasted it at Caputo’s in-demand class.
Fresh from the Fancy Food Show in New York this past July, Amano founder Art Pollard still seemed a little shell-shocked when he reported that his Ocumare Grand Cru Dark Chocolate bar was named among 10 finalists out of 460 entries as Outstanding New Product. “Our booth was downstairs, tucked in the corner of this huge show, yet we were utterly mobbed,” he said. “Some very important figures in the chocolate world came by to welcome us to the industry.” The same month, Amano also walked away with three “Best of” awards at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon. Heady stuff for a company that produces two types of chocolate bars and has been on retail shelves for less than a year.
A scientist by training, Pollard started working on Amano more than 10 years ago when he realized that the chocolate familiar to most Americans didn’t do justice to the cacao bean’s full potential. He hit the books, studying every bit of information he could get his hands on. He visited the cacao-growing regions of the world (all within 20 degrees north or south of the equator) and snooped through manufacturing plants in Europe. An ultimately curious fellow, he experimented with the tools of the chocolatier’s art and tinkered in his garage with traditional chocolate-making equipment. Over time, he finally achieved chocolate perfection. Pollard, who also sources pricey whole Tahitian vanilla bean pods to flavor his chocolates, believes that the high altitude and dry climate in Orem gives him an edge—and who are we to argue?
And what of the local chocolate purveyors, the ones who turn other producers’ chocolate into their own creations? You will always find customers lined up at Salt Lake’s much-loved Cummings Chocolates, founded in 1924, or at the boutique Garden Gate Chocolates where workers toil in the back room, hand-dipping chocolates during the holiday season. In addition nowadays, demanding chocolate fans can find a host of new local artisans—those who source fine “proprietary” blends and lean toward more esoteric flavors in their chocolates such as lavender, mole with chili pepper, or the exquisite crunch of French sea salt in a ganache encased in a dark chocolate shell. In this realm, terms such as “exotic, sexy, and silky” apply as much to fine chocolate as they ever did to lingerie.
In Salt Lake, today’s top purveyors include Xocolate and V Chocolates, and in Park City, it’s pastry chef Raymond Lammers at the Stein Eriksen Lodge.
Randy Judd, founder of Xocolate, came from San Francisco and opened a small Salt Lake shop in 2002, primarily as a wholesaler for the Sundance Catalog and some local accounts. “People found out about us,” he said, “and started knocking on the door to buy direct, so we opened a very small storefront.” Eventually, the storefront took over. “We realized that doing wholesale accounts compromised our quality control,” says Judd. The best chocolates need to be fresh and don’t contain enhancements to extend shelf life.
The market has been changing dramatically in the past few years, both nationally and in Salt Lake City, Judd observes. Research on the health benefits of dark chocolate has had an impact, and the result is that even the big conglomerates—such as those in Hershey, Pennsylvania—are capitalizing on the trend. In 2005, Hershey acquired a Bay Area fine chocolatier, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc., and joined the gourmet swing.
As for acceptance in the local market, Judd says, “We garnered a cult-like following right away. I think there was definitely a need that wasn't being met at the time. Although, we were met with some sticker shock, selling assorted chocolates for $24 a pound … Then you have a customer who’s been to La Maison du Chocolat in New York, or XOX Truffles in San Francisco (both priced between $70 and $80 per pound) and feels that our chocolates are a bargain for the price point. But it is a definite balancing act, trying to create an artisan, quality product and turning a profit.”
Salt Lake’s V Chocolates—known for its Tiffany-blue candy boxes—has also raised the bar. Launched in 2004, V immediately stood out in the market, gaining as many fans for its chocolate-covered toffee as for its sumptuous Belgian chocolate truffles and assorted chocolates. Like all good chocolatiers, V’s Ron Best pays attention to every detail and doesn’t compromise.
About six years ago, Dutch-born Raymond Lammers, Stein Eriksen Lodge’s internationally experienced pastry chef and member of the silver-medal winning team at the International Pastry Championships, decided to “take the art of chocolate to new heights”—quite literally in his mountain-top “atelier” off the lodge’s kitchen at Deer Valley. In a small room equipped with a marble table and hundreds of custom chocolate molds, carving tools, and bain-marie-like tempering machines, this no-nonsense master works as both artist and scientist. Guests can’t seem to get enough of his glossy jewel-toned (the secret is a thin shell of colored cocoa butter) abstract designs and flavor combinations, including mango-cardamom, lemon grass, and chai-flavored ganaches in dark chocolate shells. It takes Lammers and his staff up to 36 hours to create 100 pounds of their acclaimed chocolates—and demand far outpaces supply. The chocolates are carefully doled out as amenities to VIPs, or for weddings or special occasions, and you may order them for dessert at the lodge’s Glitretind restaurant. Though supplies are limited, the lodge tries to fill mail orders for past lodge and dinner guests when possible.
Finally, the Utah Chocolate Show is one more indicator of the sea change in the level of chocolate awareness in the Rockies. Packed with classes, demos, and tastings, this gathering of chocolatiers, pastry chefs, caterers, event planners, vendors, and anyone who loves chocolate broke all attendance records for a “niche” trade show in Utah when it attracted 6,000 attendees in 2004, its first year, at the South Towne Expo Center. The 2007 show will be there from November 15 to 17. Chocolate Show mastermind and Utah resident Melanie Henderson had attended the decade-old show in New York and says she “just knew” the time was right to bring the same concept to Utah. “All the so-called experts told me that this is not New York, and that the focus was too narrow for Salt Lake,” she recalls. “But I did it anyway. Because, you know, almost everyone has a chocolate button.” Amen.
Virginia Rainey, a Utah native who cut her chops in the Bay Area food and wine revolution while living in San Francisco for 20 years, now lives in the Avenues District of Salt Lake City. She co-authored California the Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from California and her food and travel features appear in Sunset, Spa, Hemispheres, Food Arts, and Park City Magazine.
