NEWS

28 January 2009

A Journey through a new World of Chocolate

Belcolade hosted a day for some of Denmark's best chefs and confectioners at the National Museum in Copenhagen. Belcolade's origin chocolates were combined with scallops and foie gras, and an amazing chocolate sculpture demonstration was given by Stéphane Leroux to celebrate the launch of his book ‘Matière Chocolat’ in Denmark.

During the day the confectioner Carsten Kej from the Danish Confectioner School, who in 2008 won the title as Danish national champion in chocolate, chef Wassim Hallal, and chocolatier Henrik Konnerup, each gave ideas and inspiration on the use of three of the Origin chocolates.

Chocolate becomes trendy
"I believe there will be a trend giving chocolate the same status as coffee and wine, where people are very much into and well aware of the role of the origin. There is currently a widespread misconceptions among consumers that a high cocoa content equals high quality. But there is not necessarily a connection. My advice is to taste different chocolate and note the differences", said Carsten Kej.
 
Chocolatier Jan Hansen from Puratos Denmark added, "I believe that people should go to their local chocolate shop or restaurant and ask for chocolates from different origins. I am sure that it can become a sport to know more about chocolate - just in line with wine and coffee enthusiasts." 
 
Scallops and foie gras with chocolate
For the event Carsten Kej explored three Origin chocolates: "The differentiating taste variants can all be used very differently. The milk chocolate, Lait Collection Costa Rica 38, is deliciously creamy with a slight cocoa flavour. I mixed it with coffee and made a mousse with caramel cream and a bottom of pecans. Noir Collection Peru 64, however, has plenty of fruity acids and a delicious aroma. It goes really well on its own, so I just added some nuts to it. The more bitter Noir Collection Ecuador 71, is very suitable as a ganache in a French macaroon with almonds. "

Chef Wassim Hallal, who is about to open a new restaurant, has worked to pick the flavour nuances of the origin chocolates to develop small menus with them. He decided to use the strong Noir Collection Uganda 80 for a starter in combination with scallops and brown butter.

"The acid in the dark chocolate is really good for fish and can replace lemon in some dishes. The sweeter Noir Collection Costa Rica 64 chocolate will be excellent with a sweet type of fish or lobster. Finally, I decided to put the milk chocolate Lait Collection Venezuela 43 with foie gras. The nutty chocolate taste really goes well with the creamy foie gras. I added an acidic apple puree to balance it out, "says Wassim Hallal.

Chocolate art on one and a half meters and seven kg
The main attraction at the National Museum was Stéphane Leroux, who demonstrated world class chocolate techniques and chocolate art.
The audience held their breath and followed each motion from the champion, as he built his showpiece from the ground. In the first part of the show, he created the many elements for the showpiece, among other lotus flowers, bamboo sticks and a granite block of chocolate, with tips and inspiration for the audience all through the session. At the end of the afternoon, Stéphane Leroux combined the many elements and built-up an impressive showpiece at a height of 1.6 meters and weighing a total of 7 kg - all of pure edible chocolate.

  Stéphane Leroux and his chocolate sculpture in Copenhagen