Of course I had to stop in (no kidding!!). The chocolate section was pretty good, but not as mind-blowing as they would have you believe. I bought 2 of my favorite chocolate bars from Vosges, the "Goji Bar" (goji berries, pink Himalayan salt, deep milk chocolate) and "Mo's Bacon Bar" (applewood smoked bacon, Alder wood smoked salt, deep milk chocolate), and 2 new bars to try from an Austrian company called Zotter, with its weird promises of hand-scooped something or other, "Banana Curry" and "Cheese, Walnuts, Grapes". I should have known better, but they were too weird to pass up.
While I was checking out, I noticed a candy bar on the counter in unusual packaging, and I asked the sales guy about it. "Oh," he said, "that's a really good bar, from new company. The guy who started it has come out with a single-origin white chocolate, the first of his kind. That's his dark chocolate, which we have on the counter to promote the brand. Shawn, the owner, is a really interesting guy." Then he pulled out a plate from behind the counter (just like on a TV cooking show!) and before I knew it, I was sampling a square of creamy, not-too-sweet white chocolate. I added the new chocolate bar to my pile and headed over to some friends' for an impromptu chocolate tasting.
The Zotter bars? Disappointing, odd, definitely not worth the money. The "Banana Curry" tasted like a breakfast bar that you might buy at Trader Joe's, with no hint of curry. It was also kind of reminiscent of baby food. The "Cheese, Wine, Grapes" was just plain strange. It had a kind of briny taste that I would not describe as cheese-like, more like something that had gone off, with a grainy texture, and the wine part just made the back of your throat sting in an unpleasant way. A total bust. I should have known better after tasting the Brie Cupcake at last year's Cupcake Bakeoff. Cheese and chocolate do not mix.
The Askinosie bar (70% Dark Chocolate) was excellent, though. Great flavor, smooth texture, complex. Upon further inspection of the packaging, I realized that the picture on the front of the bar was of the farmer whose beans were in the bar - I liked that. The farm is in San Jose del Tambo, Ecuador, and there is information about the source throughout the packaging, as well as this quote: "In his effort to restore the once glorified Soconusco bean, Askinosie is the first in the world outside of Mexico in over 100 years to make chocolate from this historic region." Hmmm, seems like this Shawn Askinosie guy, from Springfield, MO of all places, did his research.
It turns out that Shawn is a former Criminal Defense Lawyer who made desserts as a hobby. After exploring his cupcake obsession (I can relate), he decided to go into chocolate making. Not knowing anything about it, he used his investigative skills to make himself an expert, then sought out farmers to work with directly who could fulfill his vision. It turns out that chocolate was his calling.
I like those kinds of stories. The guy sounds a little kooky, the kind of person who would trap you at a dinner party and bore you to death with his latest venture, but with his heart in the right place. He has a program in which he teaches local, underprivileged kids about the chocolate making process and entrepreneurship. One less lawyer, one more chocolate maker. I can live with that!
And along with all of this, the chocolate really is delicious, relying on nothing but its pure ingredients to differentiate it from the herd. It is a chocolate to be savored, one square at a time, like a fine wine or an espresso. Okay, I had three squares after lunch. Fine, I had six. But I savored them all!
