I think I can safely say that all of us here at Project Foodie love chocolate - milk, dark, white and everything in between.  A great piece of chocolate is like a great glass of wine, complex, soul-satisfying and just plain delicious.  This year I have had the great pleasure of hanging out with the folks at Scharffenberger chocolate for some neat events. 

Back in July I went to my first ever chocolate tasting sponsored by the well known chocolatier.  The event was in celebration of the release of the movie Julie & Julia.  There is a scene in the movie where the Julie Powell character, after a particularly grueling day at the office, walks by a Scharffenberger chocolate display and becomes inspired to make a chocolate crème pie that same evening.  The chocolate tasting, which was held at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, featured a cooking demonstration by Jacques Pepin, world renowned Chef and great friend of Julia Child. The actual tasting was led by founder and owner John Scharffenberger. The chocolate tasting was not unlike that of a wine tasting.  We were instructed to take a small piece of chocolate let it rest on our tongues, and as we tasted we were led in a discussion about the various flavor profiles we might experience.  There was talk about cacao percentages, levels of sugar, and the various countries where Scharffenberger acquires his cacao supply. During the demonstration we were also treated to a lunch featuring several savory dishes that featured chocolate as a key ingredient.  I left the event far more knowledgeable about chocolate than I ever thought I’d be and with an even finer appreciation for it.

Last month Scharffenberger hosted another event, this time at my alma mater the Institute of Culinary Education, to kick off their Chocolate Adventure Contest with the website Tutti Foodie (no relation to Project Foodie).  Between now and January 3, 2010 enter an original recipe featuring Scharffenberger artisan chocolate and one or more of 16 different “Adventure” ingredients for a chance to win $10,000.  Some of this year’s adventure ingredients are smoked, sea salt, sumac, and black-eyed peas just to name a few.  I wasn’t able to attend the event in September, but I was able to participate via webcast where we were able to interact with Top Chef Masters’ finalist and San Francisco pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner, who made some fantastic desserts featuring adventure ingredients. She's also one of the judges in this year’s contest.  So for those of you out there that love chocolate as much as we do, get in the game and show the folks at Scharffenberger that you’ve got what it takes.  We plan on interviewing this year’s winner here at Project Foodie.  In the meantime, and perhaps for a little inspiration, listed below are a few chocolate recipes made perfectly with Scharffenberger chocolate of course.

Chocolate Cream Pie (Gourmet, April, 1994) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles (Bon Appétit, December, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Roasted Beef Tenderloin With Rosemary, Chocolate And Wine Sauce (Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger, Episode: Chocolate Surprises, Season: 4) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

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We’re going to end our series of Chefs’ Holidays interviews on a definite high note.

The year was 1999 and I was in culinary school, I had just a few more months to go and no idea what the future would hold for me. I remember picking up my latest issue of Food and Wine magazine, with the cover boasting the headline 'Best New Chefs', and being in awe of the then 32 year old Suzanne Goin who had worked the kitchens of Chez Panisse and Campanile.  After reading through her profile I thought only one thing. That could be me.   

Well, here it is ten years later and I’m sure Suzanne like me is pretty surprised at where our careers have taken us, but one thing is for sure - Suzanne has definitely lived up to her title of Best New Chef. Today, she’s no longer a new chef but she is one of the best chef’s in this country. Suzanne Goin will be part of the Chefs' Holidays session that runs from Sunday January 24 - Tuesday January 26, 2010.

Recently, I got the chance to ask Suzanne a few questions. Here's what she had to say:

Q: For our readers that may be unfamiliar, please share with us you culinary journey.  When did you decide you wanted a career in food?

A: I have always loved food, restaurants and cooking since I was a child -- my parents were really into food (I always say they were foodies before the term was coined). On weekends when I was bored I would open a cookbook and just make something. My sister and I even "catered" my parents' dinner parties starting from when I was about 10 years old. But my parents were into education and being a chef was just not a career that people really talked about then (pre-food network, pre-celebrity chef). Most chefs were French men so it didn't really occur to me. So I followed the college track, went to brown, but as soon as I got there I found myself looking for a restaurant job.  I ended up at al Forno, which was amazing. While I loved school, my heart was really in the restaurant, so when I graduated I started cooking full time. I got a job at Chez Panisse, went to work in France for Alain Passard, came back to Boston and worked for Jody Adams and Todd English. I moved back to LA in the mid-90's and worked for Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton, Joachim Splichal and eventually opened Lucques.
 
Q: What trends in the food world right now have you most excited and why?

A: I sort of hate the idea of trends and food being trendy. That being said I'm excited that people have embraced the idea of slow-food, shopping locally, farmers markets, handcrafted artisan products and organic and sustainable thinking. I just hope it's not a trend.

Q: Could you tell us a few restaurant secrets/tips that home cooks could benefit from?

A: Sharpen your knives (or get them sharpened). Think in terms of Mise en place - do your prep and set yourself up for success so you can enjoy cooking and your guests.

Q: When you're not at your restaurants/businesses where can we find you?

At home with my husband and 3 kids (doesn't happen that often!) Or at the spa (my vice)....or ideally on Kauai!

Q: After 11 years, Lucques is still one of the most well-known and celebrated restaurants in this country, what is the secret to your success?

A: Lucques is a very personal place. My partner and I really poured, and continue pouring, our hearts and soul into it. I think people can feel that even if they don't know what they are feeling. And the space is great, it's warm and cozy. I think you just feel good when you are there and hopefully the food is good too!

Q: What tips do you have for women in the restaurant business, or those who want to get into the business in regards to balancing family and career?

A: Wow, I need someone to give me some tips! I guess my advice is that it's really really hard. I mean the work is hard and the hours are hard and in many ways its not conducive to family life at all. I'm sort of struggling with that now... You have to love it (the business) incredibly and be really dedicated to it or it just doesn't make sense (personally I couldn't imagine doing anything else). So many people drop out because it is too much. Up until we had kids it was easy to balance because my husband is a chef too. We would just hang out late at night, in the morning and on Mondays. But now with the kids it's really hard because they don't want me to go to work and I really miss them. I'm working it out, but I feel like it's almost impossible to balance it - which is hard.

Thank you Chef Goin for taking the time to speak with us along with Chefs David Kinch, Carla Hall, and Christopher Lee.  If you have a chance to get to Chefs' Holidays this year then go, with such great culinary talent there it sounds like an event not to be missed.  

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California has become known as home to some of the best chefs and food visionaries in the world, including Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, and now Chef David Kinch.  Chef Kinch, of the Michelin two starred restaurant Manresa, takes classic French cooking techniques and combines it with the abundant regional and local foods in the area to create dishes that are quoted as being “inspirational”.  I know a compliment like that would definitely continue to drive me to produce the best food I possibly could.

Quiet and self-spoken with a gentle spirit, he is the type of Chef you want to learn from. His love of good food and cooking is more who he is than what he does.  He will be presenting at the Chefs' Holidays Session that runs from Sunday January 10th - Tuesday January 12, 2010.

I was thrilled to send a few questions his way to find more about where his talent and drive come from.  Keep reading to find out a little more about this new hero of California Cuisine.

Q: For our readers that may be unfamiliar, please share with us your culinary journey.  When did you decide you wanted a career in food?

A: My first culinary memories were at family reunions in Lancaster County, Pennslylvania, the sharing of food with loved ones.  After moving to New Orleans and going to school there I started working in restaurants and have never really left.  I fell in love with the power of food and its effect on people and how ingrained it was and still is, in the culture there.  I have never left the business and knew what I wanted to do from then on.
   
Q: What trends in the food world right now have you most excited and why?

A: I am very excited with the continued maturity of the American food scene and its emphasis on the fundamentals, the quality of ingredients, its regional influences and a population that is embracing it.  I also am amazed at how the quality of cheeses in the US has increased so rapidly.
   
Q: Could you tell us a few restaurant secrets/tips that home cooks could benefit from?

A: I know it is boring to hear, but you should always by the best quality ingredients that one can afford.  It really makes all the difference.

Q: When you're not at your restaurants/businesses where can we find you?

A: You will find me at home in Santa Cruz trying to spend as much time outdoors on the coast as I possibly can.

Q: Manresa is one of the most well-known restaurants in the world; what about the restaurant are you most proud of and why?

A: Without question it is our staff and team members.  Our restaurant is one that is built on collaboration and a sharing of ideas, a home to a dedicated and passionate staff that really believes in our goals and what we try to accomplish.
   
Q: If you could open another restaurant anywhere else in the world where would it be and what type of cuisine would you focus on?

A: I haven't thought that far yet!

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Artwork reproduced with permission from What Should I Make?. Copyright © 2009 by Nandini Nayar illus. by Proiti Roy. Tricycle Press.

If you are fortunate enough to have a kid who loves to eat, loves hanging out with you in kitchen, and loves Harry Potter than I have a  book for you. Think Harry Potter meets Top Chef and you have Ariane Smith’s book "Enchanted Thyme" which is book number one of the Delicious Adventure Series. 

Amazon.com

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Cinnamon-Scented Sweet Potato Chapati (Cooking Light, November, 2003) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

And here is one of Peter and Belinda's attempts to win the Queen in Echanted Thyme...

The Forbidden Forest's Black Raven Bog with Vanilla Fog

Recipe by Chef Michael Wilson from Enchanted Thyme - Book One in the Delicious Adventure Series by Ariane Smith,  Big Word Press 2008.

serves 6

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 loaf pre-sliced, white bread cut in 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or carob chips
• 3 ripe bananas, peeled, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla or maple flavored yogurt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together sugar, vanilla, eggs, cream, milk, and cocoa powder.

Add bread cubes and toss.

Add chocolate or carob and bananas to bread mixture and toss.

Spray a 8 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan with cooking spray to coat.

Fill with bread mixture.

Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes until top is slightly crisp.

Allow the "bog" to cool slightly and firm up in the pan.

Remove from pan and cut into slices.

Serve warm with vanilla or maple flavored yogurt drizzled on top. 

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