A Patric

Hello Lapin D'Or and Kerry, Do either of you know if this Friture mold by JKV is available through any US company? Or, Kerry, have you ever ordered directly from them before, and did the transaction go smoothly? Best, Alan

Dear Lapin D'Or, Thank you. One of those just might work! Best, Alan

Hi Kerry, Thank you. Actually I came across that very mold at Tomric too, and some of the others on the Chocolat-Chocolat site--I think they are all made by Chocolate World. I like the style of that fish a lot, but I'd rather have something in the neighborhood of 40-50 mm long. You'd think that it would be easy to find something like that in a Belgian mold selection, but so far no luck. I have certainly seen fish of such small size in France. I wonder if they are French-made molds? Any other thoughts?

Hi all, I'm looking for little fish molds for making solid bite-sized chocolate fish that are like what is called in France "la friture" for Easter. I've seen what they have at Tomric, and I'm not sure that any of them are exactly what I'm looking for. If anyone knows exactly what it is that I am wanting, and can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful. Very Best, Alan

I'm making these right now. I don't know how they will turn out, but the batter is delicious. How can you go wrong with that much butter and chocolate? Alan ← Ooh - I hope I'm not too late - I should have added in my notes that the baking time is a little too long on these, and I bake them about 32 minutes in a metal pan. Hope you see this! ← Luckily I checked them almost ten minutes early, as they looked pretty much done, and they were. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to taste them.

Thanks to you both. I'll have to get it then.

I'm making these right now. I don't know how they will turn out, but the batter is delicious. How can you go wrong with that much butter and chocolate? Alan

Just a quick question: Are the two books mentioned in the title both different, or are they different translations of the same French source material? I own Molecular Gastronomy, and would love to buy a new Herve This book, but I can't find out anything about "Kitchen Mysteries", and the review of the book by Steingarten--from what I can tell at Amazon.com--is word for word what his review was for Molecular Gastronomy. Thank you, Alan

To my knowledge, there is no other US company making fine chocolate that could fit within the "micro-chocolate-maker" category, except perhaps The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory. I say "perhaps" because I have never read reviews of their chocolate, nor tasted it myself. I just know that they exist, and are small. If you would like to include Canada, there is a company called Soma Chocolatemaker that does some bean to bar items. I have also never tasted their chocolate. They wouldn't ship to the US. Best, Alan

I know this thread is old, but I was searching around for a thread that talked about fromage fort, and found this one. Actually, I've met plenty of cheeses that I don't like, but fromage fort is not one of them. I find it, or at least the incarnations that I tried in Lyon during the year that I was there, to be delicious. At the time I wasn't aware of how it is made, but now that I have learned, it doesn't turn me off. In fact, the whole idea of creating something more complexly flavored than the single cheeses themselves fascinates me. In fact, I just finished making a small batch of fromage fort from a Pepin recipe: 1/2 lb of cheese scraps 1/4 cup white wine (it took a bit more for the texture to be right) 1 garlic clove pepper herbs salt if needed (probably not) I don't know how long I'll be fermenting it, but probably not anywhere close to 3 months. I used: brillat savarin frais reblochon pico picandine gruyere raclette I understand that often the cheeses used are longer-aged and therefore drier, but gruyere is the driest and most aged cheese that I have at the moment. Anyway, just thought that I'd share. Best, Alan

Well, when I was in Beaujolais I had some dark chocolate with a dry, aged, goat cheese, and it was particularly good. People also seem to be pairing blue cheese with chocolate lately too. You might want to try Gorgonzola or Roquefort, if you can get either one. Lillie Belle Farms did a smoky blue cheese truffle that was really good. Alan

Thin bits of the chocolate on thin slices of cheese would be delicious. Stronger cheeses would be particularly good, at least I like it! Alan

Hi all, Rather than take up too much space by posting a number of links to various reviews of the 70% Madagascar bar and new Patric Chocolate articles/interviews, let me just offer one link where I have compiled them: http://www.patric-chocolate.com/store/press_and_bio.php A few of the links are particularly relevant to this thread as I talk about some of my processes in quite a bit of detail. These are particularly in the interviews. However, the chocolate reviews will also be interesting to those who have followed this thread. And by the way, since I haven't mentioned it in a while, if you aren't on my mailing list already, then you can sign up here. The sign-up box is on the top-right. Best, Alan

Thank you to both of you. Well, I am not concerned with finding a shop that only sells chocolate; fine foods stores are just as good. Is Fox & Obel a chain, or is it a small business? Also, am I to assume that Hannah's Bretzel does not have the space for any sort of event? Having sufficient space is definitely a necessity that I should have mentioned. Thanks again, Alan

Hello all, I am interested in doing a chocolate tasting in Chicago, similar to the recent Kansas City one, but geared more towards people who are already professed fine chocolate bar lovers. This being the case, I am trying to find out what the best options would be in Chicago in terms of hosting the event. Such a retailer should already have a large selection of bars from companies such as Valrhona, Michel Cluizel, Domori, Amedei, Scharffen Berger, Guittard, Pralus, and Bonnat, and should either be chocolate bar-centric, or at least put a major focus on them. Chains such as Whole Foods are not an option. Any ideas? I have checked some of the sites that index these things such as chocolocate, but to no avail. Thanks for any tips, Alan *Edited to add: I meant "selection," though the misspelling is kind of funny in a Freudian sort of way.

Flatbranch maybe?

I really enjoyed my time in NYC, in no small part because of talking, walking, and of course, eating, with Kerry, Carol and Max, even if the show itself was not necessarily awe inspiring. I especially enjoyed the trek to Vosges and then Kee's just right around the block. It really made an impact on me that Kee's could be so small and down to earth given the amount of press that she has received, when Vosges, on the other hand, was on the exact opposite side of the spectrum. Since one of the themes of a couple of our conversations was the issue of growing beyond one's ability to maintain quality in production, it was great to see that not only is there really a way to be successful and still small enough to keep quality amazingly high, but that it isn't just theoretical...Kee seems to be doing it. Anyway, not to get off topic... It was a good time, and worth it for the people that I met alone, oh, and for some of the chocolate of course. I did a little chocolate show write-up on my blog that ends up morphing into a topic on American micro-producers of chocolate, but it may be of interest to some of you: http://www.patric-chocolate.com/store/2007...e-show-one.html Best, Alan

Thanks to everyone. We hit Resto last night after all. It was a bit noisy, but not uncomfortably so. The wait wasn't bad (maybe 20 minutes). The service was competent. The food was decent. And...I got my beer. I'm happy. The main drawback was that it was a bit pricey for what it was. I'll keep these other places in mind for the future. Best, Alan

Actually, now that I have been on Menupages reading about Resto, I'm starting to second-guess going there. Many people say that the place is noisy, overpriced, and that the food is consistently over-salted. Even if the primary reason for going there is the beer, I don't know if it would be worth it. Additionally, I noted that ont he Resto website, they push their Belgian beers on tap. I am really looking for a place with mostly a bottle selection, and with definite decent quality food that is reasonably priced (i.e., not cheap, but not expensive for the quality). Perhaps people are over-reacting about Resto? Any thoughts on any of this? Any other places that aren't strictly bars or at least that have great appetizers or small plates? Thanks again. Alan

Thank you for the quick responses. I think that tonight might be a Resto night. Alan

Hi all, One thing that I can't believe I forgot to ask about is where to find a restaurant (preferably) or a bar that has an excellent selection of bottled beers, especially Belgian beers. I'm here now, and will be here for two more days, so any thoughts would be appreciated. The closer it is to Chelsea, the better, although anywhere in Manhattan would be OK. Best, Alan

Hi Lior, Well, unfortunately anything outside of North America isn't even on the radar at the moment. As for the packaging, you can see it at http://www.Patric-Chocolate.com The theme of the site, with the painting of the cacao pods, is based upon the packaging. You can also see a small version if you click on the 70% Madagascar bar to read the description. However, the photo is still relatively small. So, I have uploaded a few larger photos that you can find here, including one of the unwrapped bars: Package 1 Package 2 Package 3 Package 4 Bars Enjoy! Alan

Not to worry, shipping to Canada is on the agenda for the near future (probably early 2008).

Hello all, Well, since the almost seven months since the last time I posted to this thread, things have been hectic here. Luckily, however, everything has constantly been moving in the right direction. Starting in late July, just before another cacao trek to Central America, I finally released the first bar under the Patric Chocolate brand, but only locally. It is a single origin 70% dark chocolate bar made only from cacao lovingly grown in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar. This bar is pure and unadulterated chocolate, but due to the special processes employed to create it, including aging process of up to 90 days to mellow harshness and allow subtle and pleasant flavors to shine through, the chocolate is filled with notes of luscious citrus, red wine and berries, and is incredibly lacking in bitterness. So far I have only shared a handful of these bars with friends and colleagues outside of Columbia, MO, but as of yesterday, the re-designed Patric Chocolate website and online store finally opened. You can find it here: http://www.Patric-Chocolate.com Over the past few months I have also added a chocolate-themed blog to the site, so for anyone who hasn't had a chance to see it, you will find it at the above URL as well. Currently I am working on four other chocolate items, three of which will be available by late November or early December, and another to follow in early 2008. Until then I hope that the lone 70% Madagascar bar will be enough to keep fine chocolate lovers happy. Also, let me mention that I will be wandering around the NY Chocolate Show in early November, though not at a booth, and so I hope that I'll have the opportunity to meet some of you. I'm already hoping to finally meet Kerry, and I'm sure that plenty more of you will be there. Very Best, Alan

Hi all, I have noticed that most of the mass-market cocoa powders sell in 8 oz containers. Some do have larger ones, such as 1 lb, but few have smaller. Scharffen Berger has a 6 oz container, but Guittard's small one is 8 oz. Domori has a container that is slightly larger than 5 oz. My question is this: How many of you use your full 8 oz container within a reasonable amount of time, let's say 2-3 months maximum? This is keeping in mind that the shelf life of cocoa powder in terms of "best flavor" is quite a bit shorter than for solid chocolate. Would a consistently smaller container actually help you to keep fresher powder on hand (let's say 3-5 oz)? Or, would you find a smaller container annoying in that you would use it up much too quickly. Personally I have found that I end up having a too-large container sitting around for much longer than is good for aroma and flavor quality of the cocoa powder. I would much rather have smaller containers available. However, I may not use cocoa powder as much as some of you, which is why I'm specifically asking for opinions here in the Pastry & Baking forum. All comments are welcome. Best,