Past Newsletters
Vol 2 No 6

In Pursuit of Chocolate

Only The Finest From Cuneo, Italy

We are able to introduce these unique and whimsical cigars, created from premium quality chocolate, hazelnuts, and other natural ingredients because in 1870, a 16-year-old boy had a dream.

At that time, Silvano Venchi began what would become a fantastic odyssey by working as an "operaio dolciere," (confectionery worker). He was responsible for the dragèe line of another Piedmontese Chocolatier, and he was completely enthralled with his work. Silvano could see chocolate like no one else there. He had so many ideas and the highest of standards… only the best would do. And so, at the age of 20, Silvano used every last bit of his arduously earned savings to buy two bronze cauldrons.

Venchi was earnest, and eager to make the ideas that had consumed him come to life. He began experimenting in his own apartment by making chocolate covered sweets. He would bring them to his friends and relatives and scrutinize their faces, looking for their eyes light up. It took him four more years to get up the courage to take the next step.

For the past eight years, Silvano had been learning the craft, but also seeing a better way to do things, and designing a whole new line of chocolates worthy of a gourmand’s attention. His vision was leading him on. His desire to create with only the finest of ingredients, and to offer the fruits of his fertile imagination finally could no longer be denied. 

In 1878 (Remember this was before World Wars, space travel, the Internet, and cell phones), Silvano left his job and founded his own company… he would now be competing with the very company he had worked for!  Venchi™ rolled out its first chocolates from a small facility in Via degli Artisti. By 1900, only two years later, Silvano had to move his new venture into much larger quarters. Venchi™ had already acquired a reputation for the most elegant confections in Torino. And Venchi, now a young man of 24, had no idea just how far his dream was going to take him in the next few years.

Nougatine Brings Venchi National Fame

Venchi™ acquired National recognition, when it began to distribute its simple, but scrumptious, caramelized ground Piedmont hazelnuts, covered by a layer of extra dark gourmet chocolate. They called it "Nougatine"™. The sweet became an instant favorite in Italian households, and was easily recognized by its distinctive logo, the face of a Zanzibar Sultan… thus ensuring that Italian kids had their fill of Nougatine™!

Thirty years after Silvano began to hit his stride, Pietro Cussino began his lengthy apprenticeship of Pastry Chef Master in Cuneo, a small Piedmont town. Twenty years later in 1949, he was ready to found his own business producing chocolate, nougat and iced chestnuts, as well as baked goods.

By 1959, with the expansion of his business, Piertro’s company moved to a bigger facility in Roccavione, a small town in an Alpine Valley Northwest of Cuneo… only 25 km from the French border. In the new Chocolate Factory, Cussino devoted himself to exploring local traditional chocolate recipes. Cuneese al Rhum, a praline made of a generous portion of chocolate filled with a rum-flavored cream, rapidly established Cussino’s reputation. And just last year, as we began the new Millennium, Cuba™ and Venchi™ merged into one entity!

All Cuba Venchi™ Recipes Are Unique

Today the company is named Cuba Venchi™ (Cuba"™ Cussino, Biscotti e Affini). It’s an outstanding marriage between two traditional Piedmontese Chocolatiers. A combination of unquestionable know-how, integrity and pride, and extraordinary recipes that have been lovingly developed, guarded, and handed down. Cuba Venchi™ now offers over 250 products… crafted in chocolate, giandujas, confectionery, sugar free treats, chestnuts and Nougatine™. Cuba Venchi™ is faithful to its origins, and Silvano Venchi would be so proud!

Almost 500 Years Ago…

It’s amazing that Cocoa was used in the Piedmont region only a decade after it was discovered by Spain from expeditions to Mexico. It was 1559. Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy imported the use of chocolate from the court of Charles V of Spain, for whom he served as general. The Piedmontese quickly developed a passion for the exotic beans… doesn’t everyone? It was the Court in Turin (early 1600s) that adopted chocolate as a "Royal Desert." Chocolate was still to pricey for us peasants.

Facts Often Overlooked… even by Chocolate Aficionados!

It was the Piedmontese merchants known as "Cioccolatieri" who first introduced chocolate to the Swiss in the 1700s. And later in the 1860s, it was in Piedmont that chocolate Easter eggs were invented … an updated version of the very ancient tradition of giving painted eggs as a gift during the Easter festivities.

A Message From Cuba Venchi™

We take the utmost care in selecting our raw materials, which must be the best nature can offer for our products to live up to our palettes. Our Cocoa comes from the best plantations in Latin America… Venezuela and Ecuador, and from Ghana in Africa. Our confectionery products contain no trace of hydrogenated fats, animal fats, or vegetable fats other than cocoa butter. Absolutely no unnatural ingredients are use to make our gourmet confections.

All of the Hazelnuts that we use are grown in the Piedmont region. The unique and famous "Tonda e Gentile" (round and noble) variety is used whenever our recipes include hazelnuts. Its chemical properties resemble those of olive oil, thus allowing the tonda to have unique dietary properties, and be the only hazelnut that lasts almost a year without need of chemical treatment.

The close relations that have been developed over the years with small, local farmers, who deliver fresh and genuinely cultivated product, assure the quality of other ingredients, such as honey, cherries and almonds. We use only natural vanilla and not the chemical synthesis vanillin. The soya used for the lecithin is not genetically modified. We pride ourselves in a manufacturing process that is only semi-industrial, in that the heart of the product, the filling of the chocolates, is still prepared traditionally, with no use of techniques which alter in any way the genuinity of the product.

We do not use any chemical processes, such as hydrogenation, artificial coloring and food preservatives. The lack of industrialization in the production causes products not to be perfectly uniform. Thus weight on certain products, nougat and chestnuts and truffles, varies slightly from time to time moreover, product lots may vary in taste and shape according to raw material lots and atmospheric conditions. Samples from every single production lot, and of every single recipe, are therefore tasted individually during the cooking process, allowing adjustments to be made instantly, according to set taste standards. Our manufacturing processes do not create any environmentally unfriendly waste. All waste is organic material, assimilated in waste disposal to that of the residential sector.

the all-time favorite, 56% Extra dark bars and blocks, exhibiting the full richness of a perfect blend of Ecuador and Ghana beans

the incredibly rich and powerful 75% "Cuor di Cacao"™ (literally "Heart of cocoa"), a secret blend of Criollo beans

hazelnut chocolate in bars and blocks Le tavolette ed i blocchetti

hazelnut chocolate in artisanal slabs Il brutto e buono

In the heart of Piedmontese chocolate tradition lies, the hazelnut, which, thanks to the unique minerals in the soil, grows rich and unique in the hills of the region. The birth of the gianduja is attributed to the Napeolonic wars in the first part of 19th century, when the blockade by the Royal navy of all European ports caused a shortage in cocoa, which obliged Piedmontese chocolatiers to find a substitute. They discovered that by refining hazelnuts into a very thin paste they could blend it perfectly with chocolate, thus creating the gianduja. What was born as a cheap substitute of chocolate in piedmont has now become a delicacy, which only few chocolatiers still know the secret to.

Lost and Found in Italy

We were in Parma, tasting mountains of food at Italy’s unrivaled food fair, CIBUS. Linda and Sarah were spending their “off the clock” time food shopping at local stores (go figure). When we saw them they were loaded down with a bunch of unusual treats (by American standards), and were non-stop crooning about a goodie that had really stopped them in their tracks. They had heard of it before, even tried it before… but it never tasted like this, before!

Being the resourceful gals they are; they found a phone number on the wrapper. Sarah called that very morning, stumbled through introducing herself and Linda… in Italian (I could never have done that!), and won an invite to visit the Cuba Chocolate Factory! Both Sarah and Linda had always been ardent fans of Willie Wonka, and this was too good to be true!

It was just a couple hours away, so Linda promised they would be back in time to join the Zimmerman’s Gourmands for dinner. Off they went (driving a stick shift was the only challenge they expected to encounter), maps in hand, chocolate on their T-shirts… an educational experience, of course.

Nothing looked familiar or even seemed to match the directions, but then Sarah’s Italian was pretty basic, and this was new turf. For the first two hours every view was a Monet pastoral. Brilliant sunlight bouncing of the landscape seemed to create an entirely new palette… one that had been reserved for travel photos and the film industry (we all know computers make that all up). Sarah kept insisting on stopping to take pictures… surely that was why it was 3:30 and still no Chocolate Factory was in sight. And the roads wound endlessly around the mountains, each curve yielding an idyllic view of Italy. Sarah said, “we all know Italians drive toooo fast, so that’s why we still aren’t there.”

When we heard from them that evening… we were all so relieved. “Lost” didn’t adequately describe their adventure, but the finale more than made up for their worst fears. Once they gave up denial and knew they were hopelessly lost on a mountain road with no streetlights, their anxieties quickly turned to determination. Three or four more phone calls brought them promptly to Cuba’s parking, only a half hour after they had closed. Apparently there were still a couple chocolate elves hiding among the beans and nuts, so Linda and Sarah got to spend an evening touring and tasting and falling in love with Cuba’s confections. A few days later, they filled in the details, and I envied them for their  ry and gave me the info on how to import it— we’ve been bringing in boxes of Cuba’s great gianduja, chocolate-covered chestnuts, and super chocolate cigars ever since.

Extravagant, satiny mixture of chocolate and toasted hazelnuts called Gianduja… very popular in Northern Italy, especially around the Piedmont, the region that is world renowned for its premium hazelnuts.

Cuba—the Chocolatier, not the country—is a small and innovative family enterprise, tucked away in the shadows of the Alps in Northern Italy. It’s kind of close to Turin, but not close enough to be convenient, and certainly not close enough to keep you from getting lost, cuz that’s exactly what my friends Linda and Sarah did when they went to sneak into their factory a couple years ago.

Italians take afternoon naps when it’s this hot and they often don’t eat until 10 PM