Valentine's tsunami

I survived my first Valentine's Day making chocolates for a retail shop.  I had a few major catastrophes, mostly weather related (as usual).  A few weeks before I started working on the chocolates I said "if we have a warm week and it rains again, I am done."  Well, we had a really, really warm week, in the 70s for most of it, but it didn't rain.  I will keep it up for awhile.  I went from having heat on 1 day to ac the next, it was crazy, but I am done.  So, all weather and temperature things aside, I had a very successful run.  

For Valentine's Day, I did 10 different truffles.  I was sampling and selling at Let's Talk Wine.  I have to say another round of thanks to Ian, Trish and Linda for believing in my products enough to include me in their tasting events.  They had a great turn out, which means I had success.

I was very pleased that everyone that tasted my chocolates enjoyed them, feedback is always nice, positive feedback is even better!  People had a lot of questions, which I love because there is nothing better for me than educating people about my process and chocolate in general.  There were a few faces filled with disbelief at some of my flavor choices, but all I had to say was "please taste it" to make some believers!

I will be back at Let's Talk Wine in 4-6 weeks, whenever they do another wine tasting event. I am happy to make chocolates available there when requested as well.  Hopefully we will have some chocolate centered events coming in the near future, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again to Sharon and Lisa, it is nice to have people who are willing to give of their time for no payment other than chocolate!

So, here are the chocolates I did for Valentine's Day:

Malaga:

Creamy milk chocolate and almond butter ganache rolled in almonds and dark chocolate.  The name Malaga comes from an area of Spain where almonds grow, as well as several sites with Art Nouveau architecture.

Paris:

A return favorite that always sells out!  A classic french truffle, nothing but an amazing 65% chocolate, cream and butter.  There is no need to embellish this.

Roma:

Rome is the first place I think of when I see the word cappuccino, you?  I have taken my double espresso ganache and added a sweet, creamy white chocolate flavor.  This was a best seller.

Vienna:

Another customer favorite, and my personal favorite.  You have to love fresh ginger.  This is a soft, dark chocolate ginger ganache that can't be fully described.  

Reims:

Another flavor that has carried over from Christmas.  While the champagne flavor isn't in your face, this truffle made with 65% chocolate and champagne has a bit of something special in it.  This was a best seller as well as a most requested.

Lyon: 

I have been told not to show up if I don't bring the marshmallows.

Antwerp:

Antwerp is not only a city rich with Art Nouveau architecture, it is also a variety of raspberries, which ties in nicely to this truffle made with a 70% chocolate and framboise, which is a fortified raspberry wine.  Not for the faint of heart, this has a very intense raspberry flavor.

Rosario:

Rosario, Argentina is one of the few South American cities to contain any Art Nouveau anything!  While I don't believe ancho chiles or cinnamon come from the area, I know the combination of chocolate, cinnamon and chiles are traditional to many areas of South America.  While not spicy, this truffle is flavorful.

London:

This was a surprise favorite!  It has such an amazing scent and taste, it is just beautiful (if I do say so myself).  This took a few trials to get right, but it was well worth the effort.  The combination of chocolate and Earl Grey tea may seem odd, but it tastes great!

St. Augustine:

Another combination people thought was odd, chocolate and grapefruit; until I ask "doo you like chocolate and orange?"  Very few people say no to that.  Because this is chocolate, cream, butter and only the zest of some grapefruit it is very subtle.  I chose the name St. Augustine because I remembered that there is a stained glass window at a church in St. Augustine, Florida by L.C. Tiffany, as well as several other pieces done by Tiffany at the Lightner museum.  I know it is a stretch, but grapefruit comes from Florida when you live on the east coast!

Sorry for the radio silence!

I didn't sell my entire setup on Ebay!  I did take the chocolate down time between Christmas and Valentine's Day to update the photos on the website and to take care of all kinds of boring administrative type details, none of which are worth writing about.  I also took a few days to make the trip to DC for the inauguration, which really was something amazing to take in.  

The last 10 days or so have been filled with experiments!  You know when you have a very specific flavor in your mind, say for instance that you are really thirsty and assume that cup of clear liquid to be water, but you take a big gulp and it is sprite?  Yes, it was cold and it was refreshing, but it wasn't what your tongue was prepared for?  I have been up against that.  I have come across a great Earl Grey tea, from Stash Teas in Portland, Oregon (you have to support your home state!). This is a double bergamot Earl Grey that I thought would be amazing for  a truffle, I haven't given up yet, but is anything ever as simple as you think it will be?

When we were living in Germany I fell in love with the weekly markets (sometimes a few times a week depending on the town); all the fresh produce and flowers, meats and cheeses and fish.  Eating what is fresh and in season wasn't really a revelation to me, everything tastes better fresh, but I had been sucked in to the supermarket theory that it is fresh "someplace".  My Aunt Cindy sent me a book, Harvest for Hope, by Jane Goodall that made it impossible to go grocery shopping, for a few months.  While I always knew things were better in their season, she made so many connections that weren't obvious to my mind.  Not the least of which was the amount of fuel needed to transport those beautiful blueberries from Chile that are in the markets right now.  I made a very concerted effort to stay within the seasons, locally.  I am not on my soapbox, I promise, there is a reason for this.  I so admire all the chefs and restaurants out there (The Boot is my local favorite) that uses local, seasonal foods, but when you take all the veggies out of the mix (kale truffle anyone) it is really rough!  How does one stick to your guns, especially given that the main ingredient in my business in no where NEAR local?  Does that make me a hypocrite?  I really hope not, that is just something I can't stand!  So, to assuage my guilt I have been searching for local sources of dairy, (tougher than one would think in Virginia) fruits, nuts, etc.   I am off to the Five Points Farmers' Market in Norfolk tomorrow to check out their dairy supply (cross your fingers for me).  Does this matter to my potential customers?  Especially in this economy?  I don't really know, but I am hoping that my customers are so because I am doing the very best I can, which has a few too many parameters if you ask my husband!  If I can keep my purchasing power within my community, which is then sold in my community, isn't that better?  I know that my business is tiny, a drop in the bucket for any area the size of Hampton Roads, but I hope it will make a difference, even if it is just one person. Another great book on the local food subject is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

So, while only one flavor I am working on is seasonal, some of the ingredients will be local and those that come from distant lands are bought with fair trade and organic principles as forethought.  I also have to keep in mind, as my husband keeps telling me, that I and possibly,  my customers may not be able to afford my guilty conscience! Every bit helps though.

Flavors for the February batches will be (I am hoping):

• a chocolate version of a latte 
• a return best seller, champagne
• framboise, the classic chocolate raspberry combination, with a fortified raspberry wine instead of berries
• a spicy chili along with cinnamon
• another customer favorite, ginger
• the earl grey tea
• and the most surprising (in a good way) grapefruit

I will be sitting at Let's Talk Wine all day on Valentine's Day, handing out samples and answering any questions, there will be chocolates available for purchase as well.