pureorigin was involved in one of its most ambitious tastings just before Valentine’s Day 2003 at the Cornell Club in NYC. It turned out that this was not the largest group we’ve presented to (55 people all told), but the event was certainly the most elaborate.

Originally posted: February, 2003

The centerpiece of the evening was a “formal” comparative tasting using the 7-piece Michel Cluizel les Nuancier des Pures Origines du Monde. This box provides a horizontal tasting of seven different terroir chocolates, all 72%. This is important because all of the pieces have the same sugar content and are made with the same aesthetic, so it offers one of the best “apples to apples” comparison of chocolate that you can make.

What made the event different and special was that it was billed as an evening of socializing and modeled on a cocktail party.

When guests arrived they had their choice of drinking Prosecco (a sparkling wine from Italy) or going to the chocolate martini bar. In addition to fixing drinks made with various chocolate-flavored liqueurs, I worked with the club’s executive chef and food & beverage manager to make a house-infused cocoa vodka. The cocoa vodka makes it possible to create martinis that aren’t too sweet, which is my main objection to most chocolate martinis.

Guests were treated to a cheese and fruit platter that contained the first of the evening’s surprises, Japanese wasabi peas dusted with cocoa powder. This is an awesome combination, but a little unsettling if you think you’re reaching into a bowl of nuts. Waiters were passing around an hors d’oeuvre of beef tenderloin that had been marinated in a house-made mole rub using cocoa nibs and served on a toasted ficelle and drizzled with a sauce made from the pan juices.

The evening’s chief surprise was another passed hors d’oeuvre: a chevre truffle from Christopher Norman. I first had these delectable bites last summer at a party at the Christopher Norman workshop. The filling is made with goat cheese, champagne, and black pepper and is formed into balls. These balls are dipped twice in dark chocolate and after the second dipping they are dusted with roasted herbs. I ordered these specially for the event and they were absolutely fresh which is a large part of their success. Again, this is not an obvious marriage of flavors, but one that does have to be tasted to be truly appreciated.

Following the formal tasting guests were encouraged to stay and mingle and enjoy themselves. Two additional hot hors d’oeuvres were passed at this point in the evening’s festivities. The first was a phyllo cup filled with chive mashed potatoes and a slice of rare duck breast and drizzled with a chocolate-cabernet reduction. The second was grilled salmon satay with a white chocolate beurre blanc made with El Rey Icoa white chocolate. The special dessert chocolate was the Castelanne Diamant du Marais (which, sadly, is not being imported into the country at the moment), a liquid salted butter caramel in a dark chocolate cup that was awarded a Silver Medal at the 2002 European Masters of Tasting competition. A selection of chocolate pastries and coffee rounded out the food offerings.

For pureorigin, this was one of the more interesting tastings we’ve done, because of all the different elements involved. Guests appreciated this aspect of the evening, too. It was not what they expected, which was a death by chocolate dessert indulgence. Instead, people got to experience chocolate in a lot of very unusual forms and tastes, and the educational experience was appreciated by everyone.

Plus, it was a lot of fun—but then, what’s not to enjoy about chocolate?