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Going on a family trip to europe in January and february 2010 from Australia any must do's and see's of the chocolate world , going on a behind the scenes look of the Callebaut Factory. Going to the UK, Belguim, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong on the way home. Any information would be greatWallace

The biggest celebration of Dia de Los Meurtos or Day of the Dead in America is at Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles. Part art walk, part street festival, all souls are welcome. The tradition is rooted in the ancient civilzations of Mesoamerica (Maya, Aztec and more) and are the same ones that developed chocolate from their native cacao trees. People decorate alters with memorabilia, marigolds, candles, bread and sugar skulls to attract the souls of their beloved departed. In Mexico, where the tradition continues, a cup of hot chocolate entices with its fragrance, and then promises to fuel the travelling spirit as it continues its journey through the afterlife. Mexico has been serving a Halloween special of death and chocolate for a long time. Spooky!

The first time I traveled to Europe for an extended period of time (six weeks in 1986 - way before my interest in chocolate) I managed to lose quite a bit of weight.One of the reasons why was that I spent the first two weeks in Germany (a culture not known for gourmet cuisine) and another was that I was working a nine-day trade fair (Photokina) and so was on my feet from 9am to 8pm every day with few options for eating. For the remaining four weeks I was eating at most two meals a day (skipping lunch) and walking at least five miles a day. So, even though I was in places like Venice, Florence, Nice, Barcelona, and Paris, I was really only eating a light breakfast, no lunch (with the aid of a few light snacks when I got peckish), and only indulging in dinner and trying to be reasonable even then.During my most recent European Chocolate Road Trip I had a similar experience, though I did some backsliding the second week because I was treated to some phenomenal dinners (and other temptations) and despite the fact that I was consuming quite a bit of chocolate every day.Here are the secrets to my New New European Chocolate Weight Loss Diet:1) You have to be in Europe - away from your normal routine. This won't work in Cleveland. Nothing against Cleveland, just see #2.2) You have to be at least five time zones from your home time. Your body clock needs to be out of sync.3) You have to get up early and stay out late and be really busy in between (in other words, burn the candle at both ends and in the middle).4) Have nothing but coffee (espresso, not American) in the morning until at least 10 am. Three or four cups of good, strong coffee. No sugar or milk. You want to get your heart pumping in high gear. It's okay to have one small slice of pastry as long as it's really, really special - like the Pralus' Praluline - but only one small slice and not before 10am.5) Eat small amounts of chocolate at regular intervals throughout the day. You may have as much coffee as you like (two more espressos is about right), and you should drink at least a liter of water as well.6) Do not eat dinner before 8pm.7) When you do finally have dinner, make sure you're with lots of friends and that you spend at least three hours at the table. The point is to enjoy the meal and the experience, not just consume food. You may have wine with dinner (not too much as you have to be up early in the morning) and you should make sure to have at least one more glass of water. When you choose your meal, make sure to have a salad and try to avoid dishes with heavy cream sauces. Coffee is always okay (you do have to stay awake until you reach your hotel) - but skip the dessert as nothing will compare with the chocolate you've been eating all day. Do not go to bed before midnight and do not watch CNN or BBC News in your room. Some popular Hollywood film dubbed into a foreign language without subtitles is perfect.8) Make sure to walk at least three miles every day.By following this plan you can reasonably expect to shed 5 pounds the first week.The only things that can set you back is lunch, dinner, and ignoring the morning coffee rule, so try to stay away from any or all of the following:a) Having dinner at Michelin 3-star restaurants (my downfall was Le Troigros in Roanne)b) Ordering a tasting menu for dinner where you ask the chef to "make what he feels like" (at Htel - Le chteau de Champlong in Villerest)c) Having extended lunches with the managing director (Francois Pralus) of the company you're visiting, andd) Pulling fresh vanilla macarons and florentins off a speed rack and running them through the warm milk-chocolate waterfall of the tempering machine where the addicting barre infernale is being made.Too much of these kinds of experiences will set your European weight loss goals off-track. But then you didn't really travel to Europe to lose weight? Did you?

This is a tale of two attempts to see what Eurochocolate has to offer. On the first Sunday we arrived early at the park and ride area to find over 100 tourist coaches and a hlaf-mile long/4 people wide queue for tickets to get the bus to the town centre venue. There was, of course, a similar queue for the actual coaches.We bailed on this and found the railway station - the plan being to say "hi Clay, we're out of here!" but the bus queues didn't exist so we parked and made it to the centre. We shouldn't have bothered. We had an enjoyable few hours talking to Clay, Vanessa and her Mum and found a good place for lunch but the crowds were enprmous. Chocolate was only occasionally glimpsed - as 1m cubes being sculpted, being spooned into a passing face from a warm plastic cup, through a crowd at a tasting session. Good evidence of chocolate for dogs, a few inflatable purple cows and many many people.The second attempt was made on Thursday morning. I was keen to find the "professional" exhibits and get more of a feel for the festival. It was still busy but the stalls were actually visible. The stalls were usually company-specific and most offered moulded confections of many kinds, a suprising range of bars and a broad selection of novelty shapes: screwdrivers and hammers, cell phones and clocks, helmets and horseshoes.Way more bars than I expected and I have a good selection of single-origin bars from a variety of producers (Zaabar, Piluc, de Bondt, Santander, Vanini) to compare. Research is tough, no? There were some intersting takes on flavourings (banana, rose, coariander - not together, thankfully) and packaging (simple clear wrappers, embossed white paper boxes, sealed foil pouches). I didn't actually eat any chocolate there but will make up for it this week.I found the "trade" area and made contact with an Ecuadorian producer. The Indonesian and Brazilian zones were un-manned as I passed but all the stalls were wet up to be informative to the general passer-by and there was an empasis on educating the young.Overall? Quite fun, but not at all what I was expecting. It isn't a trade event it's fun for the family. Did I enjoy it? Of course I did! I bought chocolate and was in Italy - takes some beating.Duffy

where to buy them & what's best to use

Lovely dark chocs!

Just some pics of the packaging and goodies we bought.

They had their machinery behind a glass partition with an micromini amphitheater seating so you could watch them smooshing beans.

And the box - loved the design!

And the cookies (which were gone in seconds)

Oh, but how we the chocolates you ask? Friggin' divine. Strong, distinct dark chocolate taste perfectly balanced with a variety flavoring and without any acidity or cloying sweetness. One of the best balancing acts I've had in a long time and I'm a woman who loves Marcolini's acidic edges. I like a strong flavor that can be dialed up or down to complement a diversity of flavors -- everything from sweet balsamic vinegar to the earthy almond cluster. Both my husband and myself loved most of the chocs we bought, with the exception of the Douglas Fir praline which I liked, but my husband found tedious. But c'mon, who doesn't want to eat a tree flavored chocolate? I will definitely buy them again, but it may have to be by mail order since I'm switching coasts. Oh and here's their shiny mod website: http://www.somachocolate.com/ , if you're in Toronto stop by.

My husband and I spent an afternoon in Toronto (we live in Buffalo) and we stopped by Soma Chocolates while we were there. I'd been dying to try them and as we only had time for one chocolatier (of the three possible) Soma was the winner. Let's start with some pictures of the store:

I'll post pics of the actual chocolates later. We just got back from Italy yesterday so I also have pics from Eurochocolate and the chocolatier shops of Luca Mannori, Paul de Bondt, and Robero Catinari.

Hey, its today! My new book, CHOCOLATE BLISS: Sensuous Recipes, Spa Treatments and Other Divine Indulgences hits bookstores today (Barnes & Noble, Borders, your local independent). Its a celebration of how chocolate touches the culinary heart of the world. Lots of info on tasting, health benefits, sustainable farming, gifting, plus recipes for brownies, cookies, marbled pound cake, cocoa chili, fondue; AND shopping tips on how to find great chocolatethe stuff we like! Of course THE CHOCOLATE LIFE is listed as a must-see site. Check it out on Amazon - if you like it, write a rave review, okay?

In honor of the Salon de Chocolat (which I didnt go to this year) this months walking tour takes you to some of Saint-Germains best chocolatiers. After all, you can toss an M&M in any direction in the sixth arrondisement and hit a world-class chocolatierespecially now that Patrick Roger has opened two new boutiques there.Start at one of them, 91 rue de Rennes, and see what magical window displays the creative chocolate genius has whipped up. After admiring the fantasies and inhaling the smells, select a few of his unusual bonbons to sampleperhaps the Jamaica, made with ground Arabica coffee beans; the Jacarepagua, a blend or tart lemon curd and refreshing mint, or the Phantasme, made with oatmeal.A fun and under-appreciated spot awaits just around the corner. The tiny and whimsical Jean-Charles Rochoux (16 rue d'Assas) is cluttered with chocolate figurines and sculptureseverything from fist-sized bunnies, squirrels and alligators to imposing nude busts. While Rochoux works in his basement kitchen, a lovely vendeuse, donning a lace glove, will pluck the pralines, nougats and truffles of your choice. Dont miss his signature Makers Mark truffles.A quick jaunt east, youll find Christian Constant (37 rue dAssas), a small but slick shop filled with decadent cakes and fragrant teas. In a case tucked along the right-hand wall, youll find delicious chocolates with spicy and floral notes such as saffron and ylang ylang.On your way back into the heart of the shopping district, skip the long line snaking out of Pierre Herm (72 rue Bonaparte). While his macarons are to die for, his chocolates, try as I might, arent as good as the others. Instead, make your way to another PierreBelgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini (89 rue de Seine).Marcolinis boutique is as elegant and refined as a luxe jewelry store. Study the display cases to choose your bonbons of choice. My recommends: the Pav de Tours Fondant, an uber thin milk chocolate, filled with sugared almonds, hazelnuts and puff pastry cake, and the Coeur Framboise, dark chocolate ganache with raspberry puree, enrobed in white chocolate.Is there anything better than chocolate??

Today is the official first day of Chocolate Week and now that Chocolate Unwrapped is over there is no official center for the event. For the next seven days Chocolate Week goes virtual with events scattered throughout the city at various locations including the shops of participating chocolatiers. My main chocolate-related goal for the day is to prepare for a pairing event hosted at the Westbourne Grove shop of Arisan du Chocolat.The event is called Sophisticated Pairings and is part of my work to extend the audience for chocolate tastings by embracing other gourmet foods. Chocolate and wine pairings are common as are chocolate and beer and chocolate and beer and cheese pairings. My sophisticated pairings session for this evening will include 8 different chocolate (plus the cocoa liquors of two of the chocolates), balsamic vinegars, artisan salts, olive oils, and cheeses and charcuterie. There will be none of the traditional elements of a chocolate tasting per se .The London day is bright and clear and cool and there is a full day of things to do ahead of me before the tasting can begin. My first objective was to find the food hall at Selfridges where I would buy the cheese and charcuterie. It's a simple matter to take the Piccadilly line from Earl's Court to Green Park then transfer to the Jubilee line to Bond Street where it takes only a few moments for me to orient myself and make my way to the bastion of British retail.Once inside it doesn't take long to find the food hall and the cheese display. I know that I want an aged Parmesan and luckily for me and for my guests there's a fresh-cut wheel of a thirty-month-aged specimen that should suit perfectly. New parmesans like the kind you get in most grocery stores are dense with one-dimensional and oversalted flavors but aged parmesans can be quite flaky with nuanced and delicate flavors.Harder is the next selection as I want a goat cheese that's not too goat-y. After a few moments and commiserating with the person serving me over the fact that the case is too cold to really be able to taste the cheeses I'm sampling I settle on a British goat's milk cheese called Ticklemore not too tangy or goat-y with a nice flaky texture.

Next I hit the charcuterie counter which is just steps from the cheese. There are loads of Italian and British specialties but I am looking particularly for bresaola, which is an air-cured beef, and a prosciutto. While there are a half-dozen choices in the prosciutto category (including an Iberico ham at 18 GBP per 100 grams (or about US$137/lb)) that I would love to select but it's way out of the price range for this event, there is only one bresaola choice an American wagyu beef bresaola at a more reasonable (but not really reasonable) price of 6.50 GBP per 100 grams. I need 15 slices which ends up being about 220 grams or nearly a half-pound which amounts to about US$25. Armed with the prosciutto, bresaola, and cheeses I pay for my purchases and head back out to Bond St to catch the tube to my first meeting of the day.Totally coincidentally, I was contacted just a few days before I was scheduled to leave for London by a book packager located in the Islington area (Angel tube) who was considering doing a book on chocolate and did I want to be considered for the project because they were heading for the Frankfurt book fair and wanted to promote the book to publishers? We had a lovely meeting and agreed to meet when I was back in London before returning home.From there it was a short walk along to Camden Passage off the Islington High Street to one of Paul A Young's shops. I already knew that it was closed on Mondays but I walked by to take a photo of the exterior.

Then it was back on the tube to Bayswater to drop off my loot from Selfridges at Artisan du Chocolat and take a look at the setup for the tasting before heading out to my afternoon meeting and shopping expedition.

Satisfied with all of the preparations I started walking from Westbourne Grove towards the Belgravia Square shop of Rococo where I had a late-afternoon meeting with founder Chantal Coady and Sara Jayne Stanes that I'd arranged well before I set out on the trip.

Chantal is probably the best-known figure on the London chocolate scene and Rococo has been in business for about 20 years. Chantal is the author of several books on the subject of chocolate and is one of the founders of the UK Academy of Chocolate. She may be best known for her campaign for Real chocolate chocolate that contains no added fats other than cocoa butter (one of her books is titled Real Chocolate).I made a huge directional error when I assumed I could walk from Bayswater to Belgravia because I was not careful to ensure that the two maps I printed out actually overlapped in the corner where I thought they did. So I got to the edge of one map and found myself, instead of the expected one street west of where I needed to be (Knightsbridge tube at the top of Sloane St), about two miles west of there at the High Street Kensington tube stop. Though it was in the midst of rush hour I was able to flag a cab and make it to the foot of Motcomb St (Rococo is at #5) just on 5:00. I was the first of my party to arrive only to discover that ChocolateLife member 'masur' (who is also a member of the Swedish Academy of Chocolate) was seated enjoying a late afternoon tea.Sara Jayne Stanes arrived shortly thereafter and we talked about how we started out in our respective Chocolate Lives. Sara was originally a documentary film and television commercial producer who was exposed to chocolate by chef Michel Roux during the course of producing one of her projects. That introduction in the very early 1990s piqued her interest in a way not all that different from my own. One difference however is that Sara was asked shortly thereafter to write a book on the subject and she soon found herself on cacao plantations in Mexico, among other places.When Chantal arrived the conversation turned to the evolution of the London chocolate scene, the differences between people's attitudes towards chocolate in the US and the UK, and about the Academy of Chocolate's awards and some of the differences between the Academy's perception of how they conduct the Awards and the perception by some of the public (and especially some members of the UK chocolate artisan chocolate community) that the Awards and judging process were not as transparent as they could be and needed to be.The conversation was accompanied by various beverages, and I opted for a hot chocolate. It was in the French style in the sense that it was bitter/dark and not at all sweet. Although the chocolate taste was fine, it was thinner than the consistency I prefer most.Because Chantal had arrived a few minutes late by the time this conversation was winding up it was getting very close to the time I was supposed to be back in Bayswater to set up for the class. At the last minute, however, I was invited to a short tasting of some their current pieces by their current chief chocolatier, Laurent. I asked him the question I normally ask in these situations, which is to pick three or four pieces that he felt best represented his approach to his work. The pieces arrived and my impression is that they were very well made in the classic French tradition but with flavors that were more forward and recognizable, putting them squarely in what I call Nouvelle American and that others call Modern French . One surprise was a layered piece with ganache and a quince pate de fruit (jelly). Quince is an underused fruit flavor in chocolate.I made my way from the shop in a rush as I needed to stop and get the last elements for the tasting beer. Fortunately there was a Waitrose at the bottom of Motcomb street and I popped in and bought some Guinness and Pilsner Urquell. Armed with these I was able to hail a cab and make it back to Artisan du Chocolat just a few minutes late.Setup took quite a while as we assembled 15 plates for the tasting, each with three different balsamic vinegars (a bulk organic balsamic vinegar purchased at Sainsbury's and two I brought from the US a 5-year aged balsamic from Manicardi, and one of my favorites, a balsamic condimento from a company called Villa Manodori); two olive oils (a bulk organic oil purchased at Sainsbury's and an organic artisan oil from Italy I brought from the US); two salts (a black Hawaiian salt and an Italian sea salt made in Bologna that is seasoned with garlic, black pepper, rosemary, and sage); the two cheeses and the bresaola and prosciutto from Selfridges; and a selection of 9 AdC chocolate bars (three origin chocolates Congo, Madagascar, and Bali - and the liquor from two of them (Congo and Bali), and four flavored chocolates mole, matcha, saffron, and tonka).

As participants waited for us to finish (it took some time to finish such an involved plating) they enjoyed one of the drink specialties of the house a take on the classic Bellini made with Prosecco and frozen cacao pulp replacing the traditional white peach puree.My tastings are never scripted and are often very wide-ranging in scope though I always have an idea where I want to start and where I want to end. In this case it was a little less scripted than normal because I was not as familiar with the chocolates as I like to be and because Gerard was also participating as a guest and as a presenter. This led for some lively interactions between the two of us as Gerard would clarify some specific points with respect to how AdC does things and the other participants had an opportunity to ask kinds of questions of Gerard directly which really added to the presentation.It is important to me to at this point step aside and say that my goal with this class was not to present pairings that I thought 'worked' to the participants. Each of us possesses our own sensory apparatus and perceive smells and tastes differently. Each of us also has our own preferences when it comes to tastes and textures so that what I really like, one of the guests may dislike intensely (and vice versa). Rather, the purpose of the tasting was to make people aware of the taste version of a concept I know of from my art school days about complementarity.Josef Albers is a famous artist known for, among many things, for his voluminous color field studies. In these he played with slight nuances in differences in hue, shade, tint, and other elements of color to see how colors that were juxtaposed affected our perception of those colors. If you ever do any of these yourselves (i.e., if you've ever painted your house), you know how your perception of a color can totally change when they are seen in conjunction with other colors.The same thing is true with taste except that it's more complicated because taste is also influenced by the sense of smell as well as the texture of a food and how it is eaten (chewed, left to melt/dissolve, etc). This idea affected the selection of items to be paired with the chocolates.The three different balsamic vinegars had differing levels of acidity both in the nose and on the tongue as well as different levels of sweetness. The black salt had a charcoal-y minerality and was real crunchy with a large variation in crystal size while the Bolgonese sea salt was quite herbaceous. The olive oils showed similar variation with the bulk being quite timid and the artisan oil quite grassy with a peppery bite.After talking a little bit about the history of the Bellini and Prosecco (I am on record as saying that it is one of my favorite beverages for pairing with chocolate and I think it is one of the most versatile wines for pairing in general) it was on to the tasting part of the evening's activities.A blow-by-blow description of the pairings would be at least as long as the presentation itself so I don't think that that approach will work here. While it is easy for most people to imagine the taste of salt and chocolate or vinegar and chocolate or even cheese and chocolate, it's a little harder to imagine wrapping a small piece of chocolate in a piece of prosciutto or bresaola. For me, it's moving in this unexpected (and unexpectedly interesting) direction that is keeping chocolate tasting fresh. What is most interesting to me about these particular combinations is the role texture plays in the pairing.The prosciutto, for some reason, has a tendency to hide the flavors of whatever it is paired with compared with the bresaola. Both are a little salty and the prosciutto has more fat, but as was demonstrated with the olive oils, fat is a good medium for distributing flavor to it would be natural to assume that a fattier prosciutto lead to better flavor perception but in practice (at least in this case, with this prosciutto) it doesn't.