Hello! I had a wonderful whirlwind trip to New York; here's the sweet scoop:

The Chocolate Show was filled with chocolatiers from across the country and around the world, there to show, sample, and sell their creations. From the deliciously classic and elegant chocolates at Aroa, to the pure and exquisitely flavorful single-origin bars from Peace Corps veterans at Madecasse, to the creative Aztec-spiced chocolate peanut brittle from Jer's, the unique and lactose-free camel's milk chocolate from German-Dubai venture Al Nassma, and the wonderfully whimsical chocolate covered cornflakes at Jacques Torres, the show had something for everyone, and lots for this Chocolate Girl!

The show also featured fascinating chocolate demonstrations, book signings with famous chocolatiers ("our rock stars are not like your rock stars"), a display of historical chocolate artifacts such as molds for making shaped chocolates, and a high-spirited chocolate buzz among the guests and participants, as I'm sure you can imagine - perhaps you can feel the buzz yourself from these photos!

And yes, it's true, I couldn't fit everything into my cute little pink and black carry-on to get all of my chocolate treasure home to Chicago, so I shipped my large signed books by Jacques Torres and Max Brenner from a local FedEx (the woman at the counter was a chocolate lover too so I shared a bit of loot with her), placed everything else in a Bergdorf's shopping bag (that's another story, from another day during my NY trip!), and managed to have absolutely nothing confiscated at the airport this time - quite a successful series of travel maneuvers, wouldn't you agree!

A highlight of the Chocolate Show was having a moment to chat with pastry and chocolate legend Jacques Torres, winner of France's highest pastry honor, former pastry chef of Le Cirque, and owner of his own chocolate manufactory and shops in New York. Chef Jacques made a chocolate Halloween castle before our eyes, never missing a beat as he shared his chocolate knowledge and passion; laughingly took a cellphone call from an artist who had commissioned him to make giant chocolate bunnies for a food art installation / dinner; and demonstrated his lighthearted and chocolate-fueled sense of humor (What's the difference between chocolate and a man? Chocolate gives you pleasure every time!).

One of the most unique booths at the Show was Cotton Tree Lodge's clever multi-part mini demonstration of how chocolate goes from bean to bar. My job as a 30-second volunteer was to mill the cocoa beans. (Will work for chocolate!)

Chef Tim Brown of Aroa Fine Chocolate kept us engaged as he showed us how to make velvety chocolate caramel tarts, and rich yet refreshing hot chocolate from an orange and nutmeg spiked homemade chocolate mix.

The demonstrations were great fun and full of useful tips, and it was lovely to sample the fresh creations on the spot. I'm excited and honored to welcome Aroa to Boston Chocolate Walking Tours!

A few other Show notes: The chocolate sculptures from Fika were incredibly intricate; sampling chocolate flower petals from French chocolatier Boissier - not yet available in the US - was a delightful treat; and the well chosen dessert wines were a perfect finish to a well done chocolate show. As Chef Jacques reminded us: Eat dessert first!

Join me at next year's NY Chocolate Show - or the October show in Paris - as part of the Chicago Chocolate Tours Travel Club. You deserve a chocolate vacation!

Your friend in chocolate,

-Valerie

I was in a taxi today, texting and tapping on my phone on my way to one of the Chicago Chocolate Tours participating stores, and the taxi driver suddenly asked me: What is the origin of Halloween?

He asked the right person - smile!

I told him that what today is a candy-filled costume extravaganza for children and adults started thousands of years ago as a pagan Celtic observance in England.

As the harvest closed and the days grew shorter, the Celts believed that good and evil spirits wandered during the long nights. They put out food on October 31, seen as the last day of summer and of the year, in the belief that this would appease the spirits and keep evil ones from harming them. "Hallows Eve" was a sort of festival of the dead, and people wore masks and costumes to disguise themselves as spirits, and put candles in the windows to honor the dead.

When Christianity came to England, the Church took this pagan festival in the 800s and tied it to All Saint's Day, which is November 1. The Church convinced people to give food to the poor on Halloween instead of putting it outside their houses. Beggars went from house to house for "soul cakes," and this was the precursor to trick-or-treating.

When the English first came to America, they brought Halloween, and as Irish and English continued to come to the US in the second half of the 19th century, Americans converted the practices of Halloween to a secular holiday again. Halloween became more about family and community, and the first trick-or-treating children are believed to have cavorted in the 1920s. By the 1950s, trick-or-treating was in full swing, and today Halloween is a national party of kids and costumes, and candy and parties for all.

And what's everyone's favorite candy? Chocolate, of course!

Sweetest Day has grown to be a holiday mainly in the Midwest region of the US, similar to Valentine's Day. The day actually started not as a celebration of love per se, but as a celebration of candy!

Sweetest Day started in Cleveland in 1921 as a philanthropic effort of 12 candy makers who donated over 20,000 boxes of candy to the poor, elderly, and orphaned. Since then, it has blossomed into a special day to tell people you love them, and is celebrated on the third Saturday in October; that means this year it's on October 17. People often celebrate Sweetest Day with gifts, dinner out, and of course chocolate!

Since Chicago is historically known as the chocolate and candy capital of the United States, celebrating Sweetest Day in Chicago, on a Chicago Chocolate Tour, makes sweet sense!

Here are a few standouts in a city full of standouts:

Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates is located inside a beautiful and contemporary flower and home goods store. And why not! Flowers decorate the home and the mood, and chocolate decorates the palate and the mood. The chocolates are made onsite and give a twist to classics on the one hand, with flavors such as Hazelnut Praline Crunch, and the chocolates bypass classics and go straight to the wild side on the other hand, with flavors including Margarita and Coffee Whiskey. Why not indeed!

From contemporary flavors to ancient enjoyment: The drinking chocolate at Naked Chocolate is worthy of Aztec royalty.

There are a variety of flavors of drinking chocolate at Naked, and I chose the Aztec: an almost unthinkably luxuriant dark chocolate, spiked with chile peppers to give a bit of warmth. The molten drinking chocolate at Naked comes with a mound of fresh whipped cream on the side, so that the chocolate lover in question can add as much or as little as she likes. Pastries and chocolates are also made on the premises at Naked, and you can peer into the kitchen while sipping your Aztec.

For centuries, from the ancient days of chocolate 3,000 years ago until the dawn of the machine age in the 19th century, chocolate was always a drink and never a truffle, chocolate chip cookie, etc. So, following the theme of drinking chocolate, I also visited Max Brenner's new outpost in Philadelphia. Some Israeli customers told me Max Brenner's hot chocolate was the best in Israel, so I had to see for myself now that Max is in the US (New York and Philadelphia).

I tried the "suckao:" you mix chocolate chips into warm milk and suck it through a metal straw. It's a fun do-it-yourself chocolate project, and the sucking plus the cocoa equals suckao. I found I was nibbling the dark chocolate chips on their own, and the server was kind enough to ask if I wanted him to wrap those up for me.  Every last crumb.

The decor at Max Brenner's whimsical cafe is a ball. Big Willy Wonka-esque vats of swirling chocolate abound, and kids would have a blast here. On a more adult note: the cafe's shop carries chocolates to go plus chocolate candles to burn while you're eating chocolate and soaking in a chocolate bubble bath. Why not!

I'm Valerie Beck, founder of Chicago Chocolate Tours, and here are just a few highlights of my delicious 4-day trip through Boston and Cambridge:

First stop: Beacon Hill Chocolates, which carries a variety of artisan chocolates from magnificently executed classics like Dark Chocolate Ganache from Cluizel of France, and Chile Lime Chocolate from B.T. McElrath of Minneapolis.

I lived on Beacon Hill while attending Harvard Law School, and if Beacon Hill Chocolates had been there then I would have lived at Beacon Hill Chocolates!

Another standout: L.A. Burdick in Harvard Square, for their pastries baked onsite, their marvelously subtle chocolates such as Fig and Port Wine, and their rich drinking chocolate with less milk, more chocolate.

I swung by my old freshman dorm after visiting Burdick and have never seen the place looking spiffier!

And, in Boston's sizzling South End I was thrilled to meet the chocolatiers at Arao Fine Chocolate and Chocolee Chocolates.

At Arao, Chef Tim Brown's French macaroons were standouts for their velvety softness, as were his lush and well-balanced chocolates such as Venezuelan dark chocolate ganache covered in even darker chocolate.

At Chocolee, Chef and owner Lee Napoli amazed me with her sophisticated Peanut Butter Chocolate, as well as by whipping up fresh chocolate-filled beignets before my eyes.

Such a sweet trip!

Among the over 300 chemicals present in chocolate is phenylethylamine (PEA), a mood-lifting agent found naturally in the human brain and known as the "love drug" in chocolate. PEA is related to amphetamines and causes a temporary rise in blood glucose and blood pressure, makes us feel more alert, and gives us the same feeling we have when we're in love.



In addition, chocolate also raises endorphin levels and releases seratonin, relieving pain and making us feel happier and less stressed. Quite the cocktail!
 
The Aztecs, well versed in plant pharmacology, knew of the properties of chocolate and its power to enhance our physical and mental well being.


















But is chocolate physically addictive? Scientists say no. Unlike amphetamines, PEA doesn't cause the same tolerance or addiction problems.

Isn't chocolate nature's perfect food!

 

 

Chicago Chocolate Tour guests at Joseph Schmidt's chocolate Chicago skyline sculpture

Yours truly (3rd from left) with some of my terrific team members

Chocolate fondue is a more recent invention than cheese fondue, a recipe for which was mentioned in Homer's Iliad: grated goat's cheese, wine, and flour went into the mix.

In 18th century Switzerland, fondue became popular as a way to use hardened cheese and bread. These staples were made in the summer but had to last through the winter, when fresh food was scarce. The cheese and bread became almost too hard to bite into months after their creation, but by melting the cheese, adding some wine, and dipping the bread, a soft and edible mixture ensued. It won't surprise you to hear that the word fondue comes from the French fondre, meaning to melt. 

It wasn't until 1964 that chocolate fondue came onto the scene. Returning American soldiers brought the idea of cheese fondue back from France, where it had migrated from Switzerland. Swanky New York restaurant Chalet Swiss began serving cheese fondue, and then chocolate fondue.

Fondue became trendy in the 1960s and 70s and is having a bit of a resurgence today, as restaurants and home chefs serve fondue with meat or bread dipped by guests into a pot of oil or cheese, or with fruit or cake dipped into a pot of chocolate. But be warned: tradition has it that if you drop your food into the fondue pot, you have to kiss the person sitting next to you - or pay the entire restaurant bill!

Monkeys, rodents, and birds that are indigenous to the Central and South American regions where cacao trees grow do indeed eat the sweet pulp from the cacao pods. They don't, however, eat the bitter seeds from which chocolate is ultimately made. The animals spit out the seeds, and new cacao trees grow. A happy strategy!

The fact that the cacao seeds contain a chemical called theobromine takes us to the next point. You may have heard that dogs shouldn't eat chocolate. The reason is that their systems can't process theobromine, an alkaloid chemical in chocolate that is similar to caffeine and that gives humans a wonderful feeling yet which can cause sickness, seizures, or even death in dogs. In addition, horses and livestock fed cocoa bean hulls have died due to theobromine poisoning.

The amount of theobromine in chocolate is quite small and is metabolized by the liver in humans, while dogs and other animals metabolize it more slowly.

Interestingly, theobromine might have additional benefits for humans besides making us feel good: it might lower blood pressure, help treat asthma, and might even be useful in preventing cancer.

OK, back to the main point: animals that live among cacao trees in the rainforest crack open cacao pods to eat the sweet pulp, while avoiding the seeds. The seeds are what chocolate is made from; chocolate contains theobromine which is pretty marvelous for humans but which can be toxic for dogs and other animals.

So, share your chocolate with your friends, but not with man's best friend.