Peach Fuzz

A plethora of peaches, sweet from surrounding New Hampshire farms. What to do? Perhaps a puree; perhaps a soft caramel rich local cream. Perhaps both. Definitely a round tart cacao like Danta Chocolate’s Las Acacias from Guatemala.

It’s a Secret!

A truffle created for Richard’s Bistro’s Chef Matt Provencher to be served at his upcoming Have Knife, will Travel event on September 2nd. These truffles will be available for pick-up beginning Friday, the day after the event

p.s. Now that the Have Knife event has past, think smoky salty bacon from Porkside Farms in New Hampshire. Think earth black truffles–the mushroom variety. Think of binding the two together with fragrant local honey and olivy South American chocolate. Think savory chocolate.

In-home chocolate tastings are one of Dancing Lion Chocolate’s specialties. A few weeks back, customer K.H. hosted a tasting for nine friends in celebration of her birthday.

The tasting lasted around two hours, during which the guests learned a bit of chocolate history and lore, how chocolate is made, and how to taste fine chocolate.  We sampled six chocolates from various regions and of various percentages and characters, including chocolates from Ghana, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Africa, and to refresh ourselves between chocolates, we enjoyed noshes of Spanish Marcona almonds, artisanal Manchego cheese, and fresh local bread.

It was a grand evening for all. Happy Birthday K!

Use better chocolate.

A year ago, after our last day of class at Valrhona, several fellow chocolatiers and I crossed the ancient stone bridge over the Rhone River that seperates Tain L’Hermitage from the town of Tournon. We selected a comfortable-looking restaurant and enjoyed fine French food with soft Rhone wine from the trellis-covered hills beside the town. Dessert was a perfect scoop of homemade Poire William ice cream, a simple cookie, and a filigree decoration of tempered chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but Valrhona Araguani, a 72% blend of Venezuelan cacaos with notes of pear and a bright clean finish, a perfect play off the Poire William ice cream. The French notice these things.

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It’s as it a chef were to choose a grocery store tomato over an heirloom variety because the flavor is easier to work with.

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I seldom order chocolate desserts in the States anymore. No matter how fine the pastry chef, how perfect the execution, the chocolate nearly always tastes dull and uninteresting. Pastry chefs, it seems, have declared that chocolate to be chocolate and any chocolate will do. In conversation, a pastry student acquantance recently declared that her instructor, a famous pastry chef taught “C—- chocolate is the finest chocolate for pastry” and he would certainly know more about it than a lowly chocolatier such as I. It’s as if, to borrow an analogy from my friend chocolate-maker Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate, “a chef were to choose a grocery store tomato over an heirloom variety because the flavor is easier to work with.”

There’s magnificent chocolate in the world. From single-origin chocolates like Alan’s bold plummy Sambirano Valley Madagascar or Art Pollard’s haunting Jembrana from Bali (Amano Chocolate) to the delicate blends and origins of Valrhona or Francois Pralus. Chocolates that can make a dessert sparkle and shine. You chefs who take care with each ingredient and who would never use a hothouse tomato when there’s an heirloom to be found, please use good chocolate.

Thank you.

It occurs to me that small business owners must say “thank you” frequently as a business grows–there are just so many people who help us along the way. My family, friends, customers, suppliers, partners, I thank you! You make Dancing Lion Chocolate the pleasure that it is!

For those of you who were able to attend the Dancing Lion New Kitchen Open House (and my Best of NH 2010 Celebration), it was fantastic to see you; I only wish I could have spent more time catching up with each one of you. I hope you enjoyed the evening as much as I did!

Lately I’ve been kicking the tires on the new kitchen, and I’m pretty darned happy with how it’s turned out. Here’s what I’ve been working on–try them and let me know what you think!

African Sunrise
Venezuelan chocolate ziggurats filled with a bright ganache of African Rooibos tea,  fresh garden mint, and lime. “The flavors keep changing in my mouth!” exclaimed a recent customer while reaching for a second bonbon. (Total available: 24 pieces)  SOLD OUT

The Nibby Strawberry
Bronzed cacao pods filled with Venezuelan milk chocolate and strawberry ganache and a sprinkling of crushed cacao beans from Sao Tome. Sweet, dark, smooth, crunchy. (Total available: 24 pieces) SOLD OUT

The Strawberry Truffle
Fresh strawberries and Venezuelan milk chocolate ganache enrobed in a paper-thin shell of my own dark chocolate blend. Bright and happy; life is good. (Total available: 40 pieces)

Buy Chocolate

Best of NH 2010, “Chocolate as Art” category

What a wonderful surprise! Look for Dancing Lion Chocolate in the Editors’ Picks section of the upcoming Best of NH 2010 issue of New Hampshire Magazine.

Bars the Lion is noshing this week…

Patric Sambirano Valley 67% from Madagascar. Bold and powerful with flavors of plum and fresh cherries. $6.50 per 50g bar.

Danta Finca Las Ujuxtes 60% from Guatemala. Layered and complex flavor with no trace of bitterness. This has become one of my favorite “go to” bars. $6.00 per 50g bar.

All bars are $1.00 off for current Cacao Connoisseur’s Club members.

Buy Chocolate

A few weeks ago I opened the new Dancing Lion Chocolate production kitchen at the Franco-American Centre in Manchester. This is wonderful for me because it’s larger, it’s my own space, and it’s part of the local community; it’s wonderful for you because that means I’ll be able to produce more truffles and bonbons!

To celebrate, I’m throwing a New Kitchen Open House on Friday, June 18th, from 5PM to 8PM. Stop in to say hello and join me for appetizers and elegant dusted truffles.

Where: The Franco-American Centre, 52 Concord St., Manchester
(Between Elm St. and Chestnut St., two blocks south of Bridge St.)

When: Friday, June 18th, 5PM to 8PM

I look forward to seeing you!

Thank you everyone who attended the Palace Theatre Annual Gala. It was a great evening and we enjoyed meeting each one of you!

The new Dancing Lion Chocolate commercial kitchen in the Franco-American Centre is just about ready for production. As you can see, I’m mostly moved in. The tablecloth on my work table is for an upcoming chocolate tasting; it’s stainless steel underneath.

That’s Nyangbo I’m holding onto. Couverture, precious couverture!