Past Newsletters
Vol 4 No 9

In Pursuit of Chocolate

Holy Chocolate - it's Valrhôna!

We are quite aware that sometimes it's difficult to share scrumptious chocolate, and this assortment from Valrhôna will really put you to the test. This exquisite chocolate comes from the famous French Chocolatier located in Tain-l'Hermitage. These ballotin boxes of chocolates are a relatively new Valrhôna product, and currently very limited. You don't often see them in the U.S. you can't even find one on Valrhôna's website. Just in case you find yourself at a chocolate crossroads, and you want to squirrel some away, we have included two gourmet bars. With a little slight of hand, you can save them for your own personal enjoyment.

Of course these aren't just any old chocolate bars, they are designated Valrhôna Grand Cru de Chocolat, and made with a 'single bean origin from THE finest chocolate plantations on Earth. It takes many years of training to select and process these gems, and like a fine wine, complex blends of cocoa beans produce tastes that are reflective of their geographic areas. If you are planning to taste both bars right now, start with Jivara always go from the lowest percent cocoa to the highest.

Jivara is new to the Valrhôna line of bars. Unlike most milk chocolate, it will linger on your palate as it melts, what the French call longeur en bouche, and you will notice hints of caramel and vanilla. This work of art is made with a special estate blend of cocoa beans from South America, whole milk, and cane sugar (not white and refined), and a touch of malt to naturally enhance its taste. Forty percent cocoa gives this chocolate a depth and complexity rarely found in milk chocolate. (Note: To produce a milk chocolate bar, chocolate makers only need to use a minimum of 10% cocoa which is why most of them are overly-sweet, and lacking in flavor and aroma.) Jivara is the best milk chocolate we have tasted this year, and very different from Swiss or Belgian milk chocolate. Even die-hard dark chocolate fans will appreciate Jivara!

If you can bear to put Jivara away, clear your palate with a glass of water and proceed to sample Manjari, which is also making its debut this year. You must go to the island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, to harvest the precious and fragile Criollo and Trinitario beans used to make this Grand Cru Valrhôna indulgence. Manjari has a cocoa content of 64% and is made with candied Spanish orange peel, striking a perfect balance between the tart and sweet flavors. The intense chocolate flavor and its aroma are, at first, quite pungent, but then the fruity orange notes develop and leave a long, aromatic taste. As you read on, you will better understand how special Valrhôna chocolate is then again, perhaps you already know.

As you may know, ballotin, refers to the shape of the box - a traditional form of packaging created by European chocolatiers. What you have in this ballotin is an incomparable, hard to find, assortment of French bon bons, including chocolate-covered ganaches, pralines, giandujas, and marzipans. When you taste these extraordinary chocolates, we think you will agree that Valrhôna is, in one word, the standard for chocolate excellence.

Note: Your chocolate deserves special care. Protect your mouth-watering treats from heat and humidity, but don't put them in the refrigerator, unless it's absolutely necessary. Just savor them at room temperature.

Master Chocolate Maker

It all began in 1922 when one pastry chef with a stalwart vision opened Chocolaterie du Vivarais, which by the early 1950s became known as Valrhôna. Monsieur Guironnet lived in Tain-l'Hermitage, a small town in the Rhône Valley of France, near the Lyon and Rhône rivers - hence the name. Guironnet had exceptional passion as he searched the world for cocoa beans that rose above the ordinary. His philosophy was to use the best to make the best, and because he resolutely stuck to his vision, he created THE standard of chocolate excellence.

Today, Valrhôna selects cocoa beans from all over the world, visiting over 100 plantations in over 22 countries, including Venezuela, Ecuador, the Caribbean islands, Sri Lanka, Papua-New Guinea, and Ghana. It is still headquartered in the Northern Rhone Valley of France, but now they also have offices in three other cities: Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. The company that was once a small family affair, now employs over 250 people and produces more than 3,500 tons of the finest black gold each year, most of which is bought by chefs to create bewitching masterpieces.

Of course the foundation of any great chocolate is an exceptional cocoa. This is why Valrhôna buyers are in direct contact with the people who grow these precious beans. They visit the plantations to see how the trees are grown, how the beans are dried and fermented, and to offer their expertise. In fact, they own or manage some of the plantations. Valrhôna selects all of their beans on location, rather than buying them through international brokers, as most companies do. Their professionals know the exact conditions, both technical and climatic, under which each group of cocoa beans was produced. And that pays off when their experts calculate roasting conditions, create blends, and conch their beans these are the processes which determine the flavor, texture and balance. You can't just follow a standard recipe when the climate and other conditions impact cacao beans every year your raw product is unique.

Today most of Guironnet's fine chocolate is used by master chefs all over the world to create pastry work, ice creams, and to enrobe and make garnishes for artisan chocolates. They make limited quantities of bars, and very rare ballotins of chocolates, such as the ones you have received from In Pursuit of Chocolate.

Chocolate Olympics

For decades Valrhôna has researched and studied cocoa-producing regions all over the world to find the best varieties of beans, and has recorded it's knowledge about all aspects of the cocoa industry - growing and harvesting conditions, cocoa blends, aromas, how to coax out flavor, and how to make and use what Valrhôna calls le Grand Chocolat. Part of Valrhôna's mission is to encourage initiative and talent, which is why in 1989; Valrhôna again demonstrated its commitment to the industry by becoming one of three official founding partners of the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (World Pastry Cup). This competition is held every two years at the Alto d'Eurexpo in Lyons, in conjunction with SIRHA the International Catering & Food Trade Exhibition.

In January of this year, the eighth World Pastry Cup was held, and Valrhôna introduced its new Grand Cru Dark Chocolate, Araguani, to the young talented chefs who vie for this prestigious honor, by using only Valrhôna chocolate to create their master works of art. With its originality and distinctive personality, Araguani broadens the horizons of the existing Valrhôna range of Grand Cru chocolates Guanaja, Caraïbe, Manjari and Jivara and paves the way for new, tangy recipes.

This year, the Gold Medal was awarded to the team from France - Angelo Musa, Elie Cazaussus, and Youri Neyers. They took home trophies designed by Antoine Arnaud, and 9000 Euros. Japan won the Sliver Medal, and Belgium, the Bronze. The jury, composed of the most renowned names in pastry from each participating country, was chaired by Antonio Escriba, the famous Catalan (Spain) chocolate wizard, and En-Ming Hsu, leader of the American team that won the Gold Medal in 2001. Note: That was the first time that the U.S. won the gold medal at Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie. Our American team literally stole the show, winning five out of eight categories, including sugar showpiece, chocolate showpiece, entrement (cake), overall presentation-cleanliness, and teamwork. Tres Bien! Tres Bien!

Twenty countries sent a team composed of a pastry chef, a chocolate confectioner, and an ice-cream specialist to prepare a100% chocolate based dessert, a frozen fruit dessert presented on a sculpted hydric ice base, and a plate of desserts typical of the competing country. The teams are in effect ambassadors, and as international friendships are built, our world becomes a smaller, friendlier place. Perhaps, it's safe to predict that there will never be a Chocolate War, and that the expressions on our faces, after savoring the world's finest chocolates, will never need to be interpreted!

Over 155,000 visitors, about 9000 of them from 124 countries, attended this year! For those of you who love fine food, and who doesn't, put the next SIRHA exhibition on your calendars it's definitely on ours! January 22 to 26, 2005 in Lyon, France. For more information go to http://www.cmpatisserie.com and http://www.sirha.com/gb/index.htm and http://www.tain-tourisme.com.

There are over 35,000 pastry shops in France alone, and Spain and Italy are not far behind!

You might be wondering how the teams are selected it's a complicated and time consuming process. First culinary schools, hotels, restaurants and associations nominate pastry chefs to represent their country. Then members of a pre-selection team visit each nominated chef personally to review their qualifications. The pre-selection team is made up of professional teachers and chefs from each country. They run other competitions to help them choose the three finalists who will represent their country in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie.

Over the course of the year, members of each competing team get together more than twenty times to plan and practice creating their masterpieces. The criteria, as you might imagine, is complex in fact, there is a manual of instructions. Some things may be prepared ahead of time, but most must be created while the judges watch, and there are restrictions about materials and how you may work. During the year prior to the World Pastry Cup, each team will be visited 2-3 times by a representative from Valrhôna who will watch them practice. When the big day comes, they will start at 7 AM and stop exactly at 5 PM, and of course, there will be lots of stress. Their work is performed live in front of an audience sitting in the gallery. It's the Chocolate Olympics!

Ethel, No one could possibly outdo your chocolate torte! Except maybe Jean Paul…

By now you might be saying I wish I could do this I’ll get a few good books about chocolate and always use Valrhôna to create my very own specialties. Well this could be your lucky year! For the first time, Valrhôna's center for professional education, is also offering practical courses for the non-professional who is interested in learning more about chocolate. The courses are conducted in English and take place at Valrhôna's headquarters in Tain l’Hermitage, near Lyon, on the banks of the Rhone river. Valrhôna's pastry chefs will teach you all the basics about chocolate and some technical aspects as well. The next dates for these classes are July 21st - 24th, October 27th - 30th, and November 3rd - 6th. The Price for these wonderful four days of feasting is 822 Euros, or about $950, and that includes lunch at the school each day. So hurry up, dig out your air miles, and contact: Ecole@valrhona.fr; Tel: (33) 4 75 07 90 95; Fax: (33) 4 75 07 88 20.

But if you are considering a career in chocolate, we recommend that you begin by attending one of the great culinary schools. For more information go to http://www.completechocolate.com/schools.htm. Get some experience, and then make an investment by attending Valrhôna's Ecole du Grand ChocolatÆ for professionals. Needless to say, these people are very intense. Since Ecole du Grand ChocolatÆ was created in 1988, it has been host to pastry chefs and bakers, chocolate confectioners, ice cream makers, and restaurant professionals. It's a great cultural experience as well - professionals from the four corners of the world share their experiences and work together to create new recipes, many of which end on the tables of the finest restaurants in the world!