Tag Archives: praline

EAT! Vancouver chocolate competition

EAT! Vancouver is this weekend and I’ll be checking out some of the sessions. Aside from general trade show excitement, I’m looking forward to the beer and chocolate session (aptly named “Beer + Chocolate”) that’s taking place on the Grapes & Hops Stage. It’s presented by the guys at Just Here for the Beer. There’s one at 5:30 pm on Friday and 1:30 pm on Saturday.

In addition to the trade show and seminars, there’s also a chocolate competition. Competitors are judged on three components: bonbons/pralines, plated desserts, and chocolate sculptures. I’m excited and nervous. It will be nice to be on the other side of the table. In theory, I won’t end up covered in chocolate. But, hey, you never know. Judging starts at 11 am, which means that I’ll be having chocolate for brunch. I know that sounds awesome, but I’ve cleared out my afternoon for some serious napping to recover.

EAT! Vancouver runs from May 28-30, 2010, at the new Vancouver Convention Centre. If you buy your tickets online, you get $3 off the door price.

Maybe I’ll see you there?

Frasca’s chocolate tasting plate

As I mentioned yesterday, I ate at Frasca when I was in Boulder. It wasn’t enough that I had lobster, beef shoulder and bombolini – I also had to try the house chocolates.

The plate came with coconut, almond praline, passionfruit caramel, 72% dark chocolate, and espresso chocolates. They were all well done, but the highlights were the passionfruit caramel and the 72% dark chocolate.

Aside from combining two of my favourite flavours, the passionfruit caramel was a great combination of tart, sweet and rich flavours. All gooey, sticky and creamy, it was delicious. The 72% dark chocolate truffle was lovely and bittersweet, with an amazing airy texture.

Nom.

Frasca Food & Wine
1738 Pearl St
Boulder, CO
303-442-6966

ChocolaTas: Dent-du-midi

At the ChocolaTas booth a few weeks ago, I tried their Dent-du-midi. It’s billed as dark chocolate with almond praline and nougat, which is a fairly classic flavour. Consequently, it’s a good litmus test for the rest of the line of chocolates. After all, if a chocolatier can’t get a praline right, then there isn’t much hope for anything else.

For a refresher on what praline actually is, check out my post on Voya’s hazelnut praline bonbons.

The ChocolaTas almond praline is actually quite surprising. I was expecting sweet, chocolatey notes and not much else – but there’s a lovely nuttiness and richness to this chocolate. The almond provides more interest and depth to what would otherwise be a pretty pedestrian chocolate. Just for good measure, there are little flecks of praligrain for a bit of textural interest.

ChocolaTas
151 – 1669 Johnston St.,
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3R9
604-488-1226

Ganache Patisserie: Marron et chocolat

marron et chocolat

Marron et chocolat: mocha brownie biscuit, praline crunch, chestnut-whisky mousseline, chestnut cake, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate velvet aspect, icing sugar dust.

The foundation of mocha brownie biscuit is delightfully dense, slightly chewy and oh-so-chocolatey. The thinnest possible layer of hazelnut praline crunch lies between the brownie and a layer of chestnut-whisky mousseline that’s so light it tastes like chestnut air.

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