Art
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Posts posted by Art
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Thanks for that interesting article and foolow up by Art! I am also interested in shelf life and WIlliam Curley's truffles!
We had an absolutely wonderful time at William Curley's shop today. We just came back. (It is way late now -- like 1:00am.)
Today, we went to William Curley's shop. William was such an incredible host. He invited us (us being my wife, myself, Martin Christy -- of the Academy of Chocolate -- and one of our top retailers Matt Caputo)
William prepared a series of desserts for us to try. They were all absolutely incredible. William has quite a resume when it comes to various restaurants he has worked at. (I'll let people look that up if interested.). But more importantly, the flavor of all his desserts and truffles were incredible. William uses Amedei exclusively. This causes his truffles to be a bit more expensive but all in all, his flavor is so much more improved, he has developed quite a following (to the detriment of two other nearby chocolate shops.)
Needless to say, we were treated to a complete chocolate tasting course. All of his truffles were very well balanced and were beautiful in flavor. Regarding shelf life -- getting back to the question that I'm responding to here -- his shelf life is 3 weeks. He figures one week for himself and two weeks for the customer.
I gave him some chocolate for him to try and he gave us some chocolate to take back with us. We will treasure the chocolate not only because of the craftsmanship but also because we felt that by the end, we had a new friend. Personally, I admire William's dedication to using only the very best ingredients and working each and every day to step up his game. (We had a medium length conversation about this.)
The end of the day consisted of walking along the Thames and watching the sun set against old stone bridges.
As to how the water ganaches of Damien Allsop stacked up against Willaim's cream ganaches, they are both very different. I am not convinced that either technique is inherently better but more simply each is a unique tool that can be used by the right craftsman to achieve a particular end.
-Art
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I'm in London right now (for the Academy of Chocolate Awards on Tuesday night), and yesterday, I met with Damien Allsop who is famous here for his water ganaches.
I have to say, they are absolutely wonderful.
The texture is perfect. The ganache is fairly stiff but very smooth and creamy. His flavors are perfectly balanced. This was especially noticeable when compared to chocolates that I purchased on Friday from another well known chocolatier / chocolate house. Their flavors tended to be either too strong or too mild with perhaps 20% being spot on. Damien's by contrast were all perfectly balanced and really highlighted the chocolate being used. We traded chocolate and as I write this, I'm truly enjoying another piece. ;-)
The flavors in his sampler box are:
* Raspberry
* Olive Oil
* Peanut Crunch
* Salty Licorice
* Pear Aniseed
* Basil Leaf
Damien is a really nice guy to boot. It is going to be really exciting to see what he is able to come up with as his business grows. (Right now, he has no storefront and wholesales his chocolates to a number of hotels and restaurants.)
I've made water ganache truffles at home and have really been pleased with the results. However, seeing what can be achieved when someone has spent lots of time with it and truly knows what they are doing has been a real eye opener. I'm definitely going to have to spend more time experimenting with water ganches. (When I can find time that is.)
Later today, I'll be meeting with William Curley who won the Academy of Chocolate's award for the best truffles. He has won numerous years in a row. I haven't tried his chocolates yet and after hearing such wonderful things for all these years, I'm really excited to do so.
-Art
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A huge congratulations to Art and Clark at Amano chocolate. They won a lot of categories.
Thanks Ruth!
The Chocolate Salon this year was incredible. Previously, the Salon was held in a smaller venue in Fort Mason. There were so many people last year that it was elbow to elbow. It would take 15 minutes to go from one side of the room to the other. They'd only let someone in when someone left making for some very long lines.
This year, the venue was easily 3-4 times the size of the previous one with twice as many vendors. This was wonderful since it allowed there to be space between everybody's tables and people could spread out a bit. In addition, people could actually walk easily around the venue.
It was really exciting seeing all that was being made. We were so busy though that I was only able to get away from our booth very rarely and then only for a couple of minutes at a time. In fact, I was only able to sample one other vendor's truffles, that is XOX Truffles. I have to admit, that was on purpose as their truffles are really good and I always make a point of sampling them at the events where we cross paths.
The number of people who came to the show was far more than what we anticipated. We ran out of samples around 3:00pm as did many of the vendors. In some respects, this is a good thing in that it indicates the number of people and where the show is headed. Next year, we plan on taking twice as much chocolate as this year.
All in all, it was a great show for us. Winning a few awards was really a nice treat but most importantly, we really enjoyed meeting so many great people and with the larger venue, it really worked in so many ways.
-Art
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A friend just sent me an article about Amano, that they have recently won awards for every bar they make at the Academy of Chocolate Awards in London!
Good going, Amano and congratulations! Thank you so much Darienne! It is really appreciated! We are completely humbled and blown away around here. I don't think it still has sunk completely in yet. Last year, our Madagascar won a Bronze and quite frankly, we were completely and totally ecstatic about that. This year, our Madagacar won a gold and then we won two silvers (Ocumare and Montanya) and two bronzes (Jembrana and Ocumare Milk).
For me, the most amazing thing is that each of our chocolates placed. I love our gold immensely but the fact that each of our chocolates placed shows me that we are being consistent and that it wasn't just a fluke. To me, that is just huge.
The awards announcement is here:
http://www.academyofchocolate.org.uk/acade...wards/2009.html
and our press release is here:
http://www.amanochocolate.com/press/releas...009_awards.html
Of course, I also love the fact that we are an American chocolate company. Europe has for so long been known as the only place to buy really high quality chocolate. I think it is wonderful to show that we can make truly exceptional chocolate on this side of "the pond" as well.
I'm heading out Tuesday to the chocolate festival in Linkoping, Sweden where I'm apparently one of the headline names at the festival. After the festival is over, I'll be visiting Cologne, Amsterdam, Brugges, and finally Paris for a few days. If any eGullet members happen to be at the festival or along my route, please stop in and say hello or let let me know and perhaps we can get together or do dinner! I love putting faces to the names I see on the board. (Especially with people who truly love the very best food.)
Thanks to everyone here for the support we have received over the last few years. As we all know, one of the very best parts of cooking is seeing the joy it brings others.
-Art
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I told my friend that no one uses even 70% chocolate in ganaches usually, let alone 82%. ???? As she says to me...what can I tell you? ????
All the percentage does is tell you how much sugar is in the chocolate. Thus an 82% cocoa is approximately 18% sugar. A 70% cocoa is 30% sugar, and a 50% cocoa is 50% sugar. So if you are making a ganache, you can always simply add more sugar.
The flavor you taste is due to the beans and how they were roasted and conched -- not so much the percentage.
I had ganache filled truffles this last week at one of the nations leading restaurants last week made from our 70% Jembrana. It was absolutely incredible. So it isn't the percentage so much as how the ganache is prepared and more importantly what cocoa beans were used to make the chocolate, how they were roasted, how they were conched -- all decisions on the chocolate maker's part. It isn't the sugar -- you can always add that when you make the ganache. For a ganache, there is no difference between the chocolate maker adding the sugar or you adding the sugar (provided it all dissolves).
-Art
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Answers please.
A friend (and no, it is not me in disguise) tried to make a ganache out of the Scharffen Berger 82% chocolate and it tastes too cocoa-ish for her purposes.
Not having tasted it .... It probably has to do with the beans that Scharffen Berger used as well as how they roasted them. I doubt that there is anything that anyone can do.
-Art
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I am curious as to why Scharrfen Berger would have their chocolate in such a store. Hmmm....I wonder if they would reply to my question.
The other thing that can cause them to be sold for cheap is if a store or chain that carried Scharffen Berger closed down. All that excess inventory gets resold to chains such as the one you describe. So it may have nothing at all to do with the quality of the product or closeness to an expiration date but may have something to do with where one of Scharffen Berger's vendors is financially. In either case, I'd grab what you can.
-Art
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I just talked with Art. He is out at the Bonneville Salt Flats sending rockets into space. I think he is a bit of a mad scientist!
Yes, yesterday was spent out on the Bonneville Salt Flats launching rockets. (These are really big rockets -- not those little Estes toys that we all grew up with. Some weigh over 100lbs and fly up to 17,000 feet or so. You have to get FAA clearance in order to fly this high. About two or three miles away, was the "racetrack" which is just as flat as where we were. We could watch cars zoom back and forth at 200mph+
See these links to see some of the more impressive rockets that were launched yesterday:
http://uroc.org/index.php?option=com_conte...1481&Itemid=715
http://uroc.org/index.php?option=com_conte...=528&Itemid=715
Fun fun! Came home and spent the rest of the evening working on getting our new (well, built in the late 20's early 30's) melangeur going. There are some slight mechanical problems that have to be worked out before we can use it in production. It is a very beautiful machine though. In fact, it looks almost exactly like the melangeur in the "Avatar" engraving I use that shows on the left side of my posts.
-Art
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Is the price per L still under one dollar in the U.S.?
I have a 30 liter dewar and it costs me a bit more than $100 to fill it up. I need to buy a smaller one for smaller "projects"....
-Art
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My father used to regularly win bets from his colleagues at MIT by gargling liquid nitrogen. I'm not sure what the trick was, but he never burned himself. I'll have to ask him about it.
If you do not do it too long, you can gargle it or even hold it. I used to freak people out by sticking my hand in a dewar of LN2. Not only that I'd _leave_ it there until they were well past the freak out stage. It was pretty fun.
The trick is that since your hand is warm, the LN2 evaporates and creates a thin film of "air" that actually insulates your hand, mouth, or whatever. The problem comes in when your hand starts to cool down so the LN2 doesn't boil as much thus there is less thin film of gas protecting your hand. Also you have to be careful as it likes to freeze in collection points. Once I put my hand in a dewar as a fist and left it in for a very long time (like 30 seconds). My hand was mostly alright but I ended up with frostbite on the pads at the base of my fingers. There the gas couldn't form a nice protective layer for long enough. That was the end of my freak people out with LN2 days.
Of course, I still found other ways to have fun such as making Nitrogen Tetraiodide and tesla coils of various sizes...
Oh, small pieces of dry ice make for some nice belching too. Just be sure to drink something _first_. I wouldn't try that in a restaurant environment though. Some might think it a bit uncouth.
-Art
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Hi! here is aof an interview with Anna Shea. She seems lovely!
I know Anna. She is just as nice as she seems in the video.
Her chocolates are pretty good too!
-Art
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There are a number of different things that you can do with a bag of cocoa beans. First though, be sure to roast them. There are a number of "raw-foodies" out there who encourage people to eat raw beans. This is a bad thing and is bound to get somebody very sick one day. Cocoa beans can carry e-coli as well as salmonella and because of this, roasting is very important. A few years ago, Cadbury had to issue a giant recall because of bad chocolate and if it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone.
To roast, you can spread out the beans on a cookie sheet and place them in your oven for about 20 minutes at 350F. I'm not sure of the actual time because I do it by smell and taste followed by an infrared thermometer to keep me on track. Roasting starts when the beans reach 210F and can go up from there industrially, roasting can happen in roasters with temperatures as high as 425 degrees F. but for short periods of time. Be sure to transfer the cocoa beans to a cool cookie sheet when they are done and place in a cold place (preferably with a fan) to cool the beans quickly. They are continuing to roast as long as they are above 210 degrees. (That's why we have a 4,000 cubic foot / min blower hooked to our cooling table. It is incredibly overkill but it cools the beans down to almost room temperature in about two minutes.)
Once your beans are done, you can remove the husk. The husk is a papery shell that surrounds each bean. Simply crush the bean between your thumb and forefinger and you'll see it is there. Since you only have just over 1/2 lb, you can remove the husks by hand and wont' take too long. For larger amounts of beans you will have to figure a way to winnow out the husks. (A fan and a large bowl work well.)
Now you have nibs. Since you only have .6lb, it is probably not enough to make chocolate with. Especially with a Champion Juicer. Champions are great but a lot of chocolate gets stuck inside and if you start out with very few beans to start with, you will have significantly less by the time you are through. You might be able to do something with a VitaMix or a Cuisinart since they don't trap ingredients like the Champion does. Just keep forcing the chocolate back down into the blades and watch your fingers. It will eventually get to a point where it will start to stick together in one large mass. You will have to fight with it a bit to get it past this stage. Warming it in a pan (or microwave) will help keeping it from gluing itself together too much. Add your sugar once the beans have liquefied and process until you feel it is "done."
In your case, I'd work with the nibs directly since the above instructions don't work well unless you have at least a couple of pounds to play around with. You can use the nibs for chocolate chip cookies, in a bowl of strawberries, sugar, and vanilla, in salads perhaps with a citrus vinaigrette, and a number of other creations. Let your imagination be your guide. Of course, nibs are great by themselves.
-Art
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This is pretty odd. I have a hard time thinking the large machines used in the chocolate industry are all sent to the NSF folks for approval. NSF usually really comes to bare when water is involved. Unless you are making ganaches or water based fillings, it really should not be a problem.
Chocolate by itself is considered to be a dry ingredient and as such, different rules apply than those that apply to wet ingredients. Generally, this simply means "smooth and easily cleanable" but stainless steel etc. isn't required.
Hope this helps,
-Art
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Great information Art. Always lots to learn. I do my chocolate tastings and i have one segment that I call Terroir tasting. I can honestly say that your Madagascar is my favourite. It is so full of character! Your other bars are also fabulous! I am very curious and anxious to know what you have up your sleeve for your next batches!
Deb.
Thank you so much. One of the best parts of making chocolate (or cooking for that matter) is simply making people happy.
-Art
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Fantastic explanation - thank you so much for taking the time to share it. I guess the only thing that's not sinking in is - How do you know how much criollo is in a pod (purposely poorly stated)? For example, do you just crack open a pod and see little "c"s and little "f"s on each bean, or is it more like knowing the heredity of a human (3 parts German, 1 part Italian)? I assume the latter based on your explanation.
So how do you know this when you open your bag of beans:
These "new criollo" may be 95% criollo and 5% forestaro, for example.You can have beans that are pure criollo in a pod along with beans that are not.There are a huge number of factors that come into play and can guide you and no one factor will guide you reliably. Some issues to look at are:
Bean size and shape.
Bean color. (Criollos tend to be white where Forestaro are purple). There are of course various shades in between.
Pod shape, color, skin thickness, texture, etc.
Flower style variations
Color and morphology of the leaves and branches of the trees.
Unfermented and fermented bean flavor both of the bean and the pulp.
etc.
Of course, there are also genetic and chemical based tests. Even so, there is no one factor that one looks at to tell if a bean has criollo content. It is a matter of understanding the whole and trying to best place a given specimen. Since we are dealing with nature, there are also exceptions to just about all the rules.
-Art
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I've never been too pleased with the wimpy kitchen torches used for Creme Brulee for a whole host of reasons. Besides not being as hot as I'd like, I've not found one that I have been happy with from a quality standpoint. I know there are some really expensive mini-torches used industrially but these are very expensive (often a few hundred dollars).
So, what I have ended up using is a MAPP gas torch. This uses basically the same head as those el-cheapo propane torches from the hardware store but the MAPP gas is hotter and what's more isn't prone to going out or gas pressure fluctuations like the propane torches are.
The MAPP gas is a bit more expensive than propane but Oh, so worth it....
Go look for it in the plumbing or tool section of your local hardware store and I'm sure you will be satisfied.
-Art
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Oh, and as a final note, about your reference to "within a pod"... You can have beans that are pure criollo in a pod along with beans that are not.
Think of it this way.... Let's say you have a tree that is pure criollo and the flower that will eventually grow into a pod is fertilized both by trees that are pure crillo as well as trees that are half criollo. You will get some beans that are still 100% criollo (created by the "pure" pollen) as well as beans that are 25% criollo.
In addition, you have the usual variability of genetics where you can have beans that exhibit the traits of one parent or another even though they are a mixture of both.
-Art
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And some beautiful cocoa pods that have very high criollo content.
Okay - time to up my education on the topic. I thought criollo was a varietal. And so what do you mean by a high criollo content within a pod - I thought it either was or wasn't. Thanks.
Criollo is a general classification for a type of cocoa tree that is native to Venezuela. And in particular, native to the west side of Lake Maraciabo. (This is a very dangerous area right now since it is partly controlled by FARC who is coming across the border from Columbia.) There are many types of criollo just as there are many types of baking potatoes, etc. Criollo trees generally are considered to have the best flavor. However, this variety of tree also is the most susceptible to disease. Because of this, forestaro has often been introduced into the plantations. Forestaro trees are thought to originate from the upper Amazon basin and are much more disease resistant. Just like criollo trees, there are many types of forestaro trees. But, because of their disease resistance, it is attractive to farmers to plant forestaro even though there is less premium paid for beans of this type. (The forestaro then are either bred with the native criollo trees on the plantation on purpose or it occurs through natural processes.) A hybrid of criollo and forestaro was developed on the island of Trinidad and this hybrid has been given the designation Trinitario which is another over generalized "type" of tree.
There is very little "pure" criollo nowadays. Because of this, many botonists have begun using the term "new criollo" to describe criollo on the farm that has some trinitario / forestaro influence. These "new criollo" may be 95% criollo and 5% forestaro, for example. There is lots of work going on currently trying to identify pure strains as well as strains that are mostly pure.
So, perhaps an analogy is in order. On the islands of Hawai'i, there are very few "pure" Hawai'ians but there are lots of people who are "mostly" Hawai'ian or at least "partly" Hawai'ian. (Of course, I'd argue that anybody that has the Aloha Spirit is Hawai'ian but that is a side issue.)
Also, it should finally be pointed out that there are many plantations that have multiple varieties of trees. The beans often end up getting mixed up before they are turned over to the chocolate maker. So, you can have high-criollo content both in reference to the genetics of the trees but also you could have plantations that have 75% criollo trees and 25% something else.
It is much more complex than this both from a practical standpoint as well as a linguistic one but hopefully, this will help answer your question.
Hope this helps,
-Art
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Hey Art,
I was just thinking...Do you have any new origins that are already in the making? Not trying to rush you along or anything, just wondering if we will see other origins from you in the next few months? I am eager to see what you do with other beans as they come along...I think you are getting a lot of support because your chocolate is just plain good...and I'm right along with Chris, I'm a big fan of your chocolate(as you know) and I let others know my opinion! lol...can't wait to see what's next.
Robert
Hey Robert! Good to hear from you!
Yes, I have four new origins that I am currently working on. I'm not ready to announce what they are (yet) but at least one is from Venezuela. In fact, I just came back from Venezuela where I spent time on the Cuyagua plantation and around Ocumare. It was an incredible trip as I'm sure you can imagine. It was jaw droppingly beautiful and as always, the people are wonderful. At the same time, the traveling was very difficult due to the remoteness of many of these areas.
One of my favorite things to do on trips such as this is to take chocolate back and share it with those who have helped to create it. For example, here I am sharing our Cuyagua chocolate with the growers who grew the beans I used to make it. One grower made the comment, "This chocolate is like a river." When I asked him what he meant by that, he said that "it is a journey in flavor that just keeps going and going taking you on a wonderful journey of flavor." It was incredibly touching and it is perhaps the most wonderful moment of the entire trip.
While in Venezuela, I made some wonderful new friends and shook hands on some new beans.
Here is another picture where I was sourcing some new beans. (Sorry, I can't say what they are ... yet.)
And some beautiful cocoa pods that have very high criollo content.
One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Chuao. It is a very difficult town to get to. You have two options: 1) Hire a fishing boat or 2) Hike for six hours over a trail through the mountains. Before anybody starts getting excited, this little side trip was purely cocoa-sight-seeing. The beans are locked up by Amedei out of Pisa Italy. Even so, this town has lots of cocoa history and I felt it worth the stop simply to enjoy and take in the history. I was able to hire a fishing boat and was lucky enough to find that the captain had a friend in Chuao who could take me around.
It was a very brief excursion. I had a flight later that night to another region of Venezuela where I had a lead on some very good beans. After speeding all morning to get to Chuao, once there, I only had about forty-five minutes before I had to turn around and speed back to catch my flight. (Even so, I missed my flight by five minutes and was forced to buy a ticket on a later flight.) I was a little disappointed to miss seeing the beautiful circles of drying cocoa beans in front of the church. Apparently, they brought them in just an hour before I arrived. Was it worth it just for those 45 minutes? Yes! It was a lot of fun. Chuao is quaint and has changed very little because of its remoteness. From what I've been told, it still has grown quite a bit over the last five years due to the money coming in from their cocoa and their fishing industries. I felt very lucky to have this opportunity to see and learn about a cocoa region, however brief it was, that few in the industry ever do.
Robert, what I am really looking forward to the new beans I found later in the trip. They are truly something special. The farmers are paying particular care to their growing practices as are the people who are helping the farmers with the fermentation. The trees have some very interesting genetics (again high criollo content) so all in all, it should make for some wonderful beans to make some really exceptional chocolate with. Even so, I'm not going to get too excited until they are in a container headed towards our factory. There are still too many things that can go wrong between now and then. I wish I could tell you more but for right now, I'm holding my tongue (as well as my breath) and am hopeful that I can use these newly discovered beans to create something very exciting. Once things are in place, I'll tell you a bit more about the beans, their story, and post pictures of the farms, farmers and area.
I have several other origins that are in the works -- one I'm particularly excited about. However, I don't want to get your, my, (or anyone else's) hopes up until I know that they truly on their way.
-Art
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I thank you once again. I wonder if the computer board can be fixed locally???
I doubt it. Their computers are custom built. Well, sort of. Typically, a standard micro-controller (computer) is used and then programmed with custom programming on how to control any one of a number of custom devices -- in this case, a tempering machine. I suspect you won't find a shop locally that works on microcontrollers let alone the one that they are using.
However, as was mentioned in the earlier post, the folks at Chocovision are easy to work with. They are in my experience, more than willing to take a machine in, test it, fix any problems and send it back in short order.
There is always the debate as to who makes the best tempering machine and I doubt it will ever be settled. However, I can say that in my dealings with Chocovision that they try very hard to make sure that everybody is happy with their products and that is worth a lot in itself.
-Art
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I recently posted a chocolate trouble shooting guide on our website that you may find useful as you are starting out. The troubleshooting guide assumes a basic knowledge of working with chocolate but even so, you may find it useful.
Amano Chocolate Trouble Shooting Guide
Good luck with your chocolate endevors!
-Art
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Ok, another thought . . . .
I'm at work so I can't check any of my bags of Callebaut, but do they have a fat content on the side? And would that roughly correlate with the % cocoa butter? (I'm assuming the 811 is dark chocolate so no milk fats)
Well, you could work from the Nutritional Information. However, there is a certain percentage of fat in the cocoa mass. (Generally about 54%) The FDA uses a standard information set for the nutritional information rather than requiring everyone to have their product lab tested. So given that, you can look up the FDA's fat values for cocoa mass then work from there.
-Art
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In conversation i had w/artisan baker i was amazed at how important weather is When it's humid out, the whole thing changes. There is a battle between the heat, the humidity, the culture, the dough. All needs to be in synch to make the perfect loaf. It's very interesting to listen to someone who bakes like that--it's not about following a receipe - it's like cheesmaking....the flavor differs with season, diet of animal, age, etc.... there are always adjustments to be made.
That's artisan.
I agree. I at at the White House in Atlantic City on the advise of a number of forum members last year. They make these incredible sub sandwiches. I've never been a big fan of "subs" since they typically are all about the bread -- and often poor quality bread at that. Certain chains seem to have sandwiches that are almost all bread and so you are hungry forty five minutes later. Even so, I put my trust in my fellow eGulleters and went to the White House with a friend.
I must say, these subs were incredible -- and the bread was absolutely wonderful. I asked them about their bread and their comment was simply that Atlantic City had the perfect conditions between heat and humidity to make the perfect bread for their subs. I would have to agree and quite frankly, we do not have bread like that here in the Salt Lake City area (though there are a number of good bakers). So there is plenty to be said for having the perfect conditions for bread making.
For what it is worth, the White House was the basis for an episode of House where a dying patient wants to go to Atlantic City for the perfect sandwich before he dies.
-Art
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I would like to know if there is an "official" definition of Artisan?
There is no official (i.e., legal) definition in the same way "organic" has been legally defined. However in general, it refers to the product being made by an artist.
Some companies bastardize the term and use "artisan" to refer to products made using traditional methods. I do not believe that this is a true reflection of the spirit of the term especially since many "modern" manufacturing methods where food is concerned can actually be traced back over one hundred years. As much as we like to think we are unique, it is really surprising what was done one hundred years ago and how similar it is to the way things are done today. So, given this, it would mean just about everything is artisan including mass produced products where there is no significant care whatso ever into creating a great product.
Some others have tried to define "artisan" to be small producers. I'm not sure I buy that explanation either. Some products benefit from small scale production and others do not. Some products can scale production amounts while not affecting quality while others can not. If this definition holds then who sets the limit between being "artisan" or not? What is 1lb or 1 gallon is produced more than this definition? Does the "artisan" magically disappear?
Others have tried to tie "artisan" to quality. Here I also disagree. When I go to our local farmer's market, I see lots of artisanally produced products -- pottery for example. Some are of good quality and others not. Some are beautiful and others make you wonder why they aren't embarrassed to be selling it. However, it would be hard to deny that these aren't artisanally produced.
So, I believe in the end, "artisan" means that there has to be an artist who has the artistic freedom to make choices (both good and bad) as to which products are produced as well as fundamental design / manufacturing decisions that reflect on the quality of the final product. The artist, I beleve, must hold final responsibility for what is produced. In short, it must be produced by an "artist" and the artist is fully responsible for the final product.
-Art
Fine Chocolate
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Darienne:
It is Claudio Corallo. He is a farmer/chocolate maker, out of Sao Tome.
http://www.claudiocorallo.com/
-Art