Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

The largest chocolate show on earth, Salon de Chocolate, was in town recently and of course I couldn’t wait to go, but for other reasons than downing as much chocolate as I want.   It is one of the most wildly popular and wickedly delicious shows put on earth to glorify chocolate in all forms!

It is huge, vast and guaranteed to be crowded.  Paris and the whole country of France is blessed to have some of the very best chocolate makers(chocolatiers) in the world, and you can find most of them showcased there, as well as the most talented chocolate makers of the whole world, assembled all under one roof.

It started 20 years ago, and now comes to 20 cities worldwide, including New York, the only one in America.  In addition to tasting the many divine chocolates offered, there are loads of  associative activities for adults or kids to participate in or just enjoy the entertainment.

This year they opened the salon with a parade of dancers from the famous Crazy Horse saloon, topless of course, but chocolate adorned elsewhere.  The incredible display of chocolate created fashions are a must see, but can’t imagine what they do with them afterwards, nor the time involved in making them.

There are always dance and musical ensembles playing too from the various tropical cocoa producing countries, that is if you can find a vacant seat to rest your weary legs.  You can also learn everything imaginable about chocolate, from  bean to bar!

You know, fine chocolate like wine, should be carefully chosen and slowly savoured.   Chocolate beans produced from different countries, each lean towards a different flavour. Then there are different varieties of chocolate beans, some being more fruity, spicy, earthy etc.

There is a trend among fine chocolate makers to make chocolates issued from beans from one country to preserve and accentuate each unique flavour. Good chocolate comes from perfectly fermented dried beans, that have likewise have been perfectly roasted with little added sugar.

Some chocolatiers, like Marcolini, Hévin and Cluisel seek out their own beans and do their own roasting.  Some  like Beussent Lachelle and Pralus have their own cacao plantations.

Tasting fine chocolate is best done separately from any meals, like late in the afternoon, because your taste buds are overloaded from eating other foods.   First sniff the aroma, then take a small bite and let in melt in your mouth without eating it.  Fine chocolate will have a long lingering taste with the predominance of chocolate rather than sweetness.

Dark chocolate should be at least 72 percent of cacao butter with real vanilla and small amounts of sugar.  Milk chocolate with added milk solids will be sweeter. White chocolate should have at least 29 percent cacao butter and is made with mild solids and sugar, ending up being the sweetest of the three.

The real reason I go to the salon is not to grab all the chocolate I can eat, which I have no desire to do anyway, but something else.     I do though love really well made chocolate,    preferring to buy small quantities from the best chocolatiers and savouring a piece a or two occasionally.

No, my major reason for going, is the show’s best bargain in the world. That is precisely the pastry show, where you are treated to hour long courses from the reigning pastry chefs of Paris.

Not only do you get to see how they create some difficult and complicated pastries, but you get to sample them as well!   Famous names such as Hermé and Conticini have been on the list, but my favourites have been the young and upcoming pastry chefs that are more intent on dazzling you with intricate and fantastical creations, that the already famous ones who generally don’t bother.

Cooking and pastry lessons  for the public, are very costly here in Paris, and will set you back easily over a hundred euros for one.  The famous pastry chefs can charge much more, so seeing them in action here  for the price of entry is a super treat and tremendous bargain!

As much as I admire and like Philippe Conticini for example, he demonstrated chocolate mousse, which I  skipped because I want to be inspired and challenged a little!  Besides, I can buy his creations in his lovely pastry shop, Pâtisserie des Rêves.

Then here comes young Cedric Grolet, who at the mere age of 29 is mind blowingly talented, who I first discovered last year.  He is head pastry chef at the Hotel Meurice, a historical palatial bastion of  luxurious elegance and finesse on Rue Rivoli, overlooking the Tuileries Gardens.

Since a lot of the younger ones don’t have their own boutiques yet, the only way to get a hold of their pastries is either spend several hundreds euros for dinner or go to tea time; much less money, yet still very pricy.  The Hotel Meurice tea time for example, charges 46 euros minimum for tea and pastries, however luxurious the setting.

Cedric Grollet demonstrated a spherique chocolate using something I had never before heard of; smoked chocolate mousse.  He did so by lighting hay in a deep cocotte type pot, then place a bowl of the chocolate mousse in the center, put the top on and smoked it for about 20 minutes.

He used that to fill a layer in a round mould, then placed a creamy light vanilla mousse inside and filled the rest with the smoked mousse.  Finished it off with dipping in dark chocolate and putting gold leaf flakes on top and setting it on a buckwheat biscuit, seen perched on my lace covered knees, as all were before I slowly relished them with delight.   Just sublime! Magnificent!

The there was Laurent Jeannin, chief pastry chef of the Hotel Bristol, he put together a gorgeous and intricate chocolate pod seen in the photo.   The outer shells were of Peruvian chocolate filled with dark chocolate mousse, hiding a ball of  citronelle sherbet; a magical combination!

Francois Perret,  chief pastry chef of the Hotel Shangri-la offered a more simple confection of two warm meringues, one soft, topped with a crunchy one, and served with a beautiful chocolate cream anglais sauce

The only miss in my opinion was from the executive chef of Le Laurent, who was rude to the announcer and stole the stage from his own pastry chef who he left to the side. His potimarron( a small orange squash) and passion fruit sherbet served on top of chocolate shortbread, more potimaron mousse and a peppered chocolate cream was topped with shavings of cepe mushrooms.

The most unusual demonstration was from a Japanese pastry boutique in Paris making wagashi . Made with gluant rice, stuffed with pureed azuki beans flavoured with the Asian citron, Yuzu and dipped in powdered green tea.   Lovely, served with the smoky matcha green tea!

A month before the salon I was invited( thank you Michelle) to a private  chocolate degustation with Michel Richart,  an acclaimed master from Lyon, seen with me in the photo, who has two Parisian boutiques.

I learned a lot about the intricacy of chocolate making from this extremely talented and generous man who was born into a long generation of chocolatiers.  Patience, expertise and passion for excellence is now past on to his son, who continues the family’s tradition.

As with wine makers, keeping it in the family is the ultimate wish that ensures that their individual uniqueness is preserved but at the same time opens up to new interpretations.

Conferences that I attended in previous salons addressed the down side of the cacao growers and hopefully improvements in their welfare and fair pricing will continue to be implemented.  Blame is mostly on the huge industrial chocolate producers who want the beans at the cheapest price.

I would rather spend more money on a smaller amount of finely made chocolate sourced from small growers and fairly bought, that is made with care and passion, rather than cheaply made chocolates that taste more like sugar than chocolate.

From beans to bar, it is a very labour intensive process, and where in the end the skill and expertise of the chocolate maker makes all the difference in the world.  Expensive, but worth the occasional treat made with reverence and passion!