Meditations On Chocolate Part 3

Pride and…

Since I became besotted with passionfruit truffles, I have befriended yet another chocolatier, the very talented and lovely Glenn Knowles. Glenn has created the Vancouver gem, Gem Chocolates, which offers superb chocolate products. He had recently opened his shop when, at a staff-appreciation luncheon at my son’s high school, Glenn showed up with his eye-popping offering of a tray of chocolates. Because there were witnesses other people who deserved to sample Glenn’s excellent chocolates, I took only a couple (okay, okay, I took four) of the chocolates, leaving the rest for the hard-working and deserving teachers of the school. The first piece I sampled had already won an award, and there have been many other award-winners since that first exposure. However, Glenn has his own Muse; inspired though he obviously is, he rarely produces, in its pure form, the elusive passionfruit truffle that is so dear to my heart: dark chocolate and passionfruit ganache. However, he has many other chocolates that soothe my demanding palate, and he very thoughtfully lets me know when he has concocted something passionfruity that might scratch that ‘ganachty’ itch of mine..

My Nutty Chocolate Phantasy (Macy Gay)

In my imagination, the World of Chocolate is a magical sort of Mt. Olympus in which white-robed-and-toqued chocolatiers swirl around the Parthenon Kitchen, complete with marble slabs adapted from some other temples’ pediments on which they blithely temper (Temple Tempering!) chocolate, commanding the flavors of truffles and clusters that will emerge from their godheads as easily as the Greek gods commanded the fates of Ajax and other poor sods down on Earth. I’m reasonably sure that this is not true – there is no actual temple to chocolate, more’s the pity – but I’m guessing that the chocolatier community must be fairly small, and everyone eventually knows one another (pure conjecture: I’m fearful that knowing the Truth would overwhelm me – all that chocolate incestuousness… SO hot!). Theobromine is be the chemical in chocolate that produces the effect of feeling in love, and Love ThyBroMine might as well be the mantra of the Chocolatier Community. And now, back to our story…

Pride Chocolate Goeth Before A Parade

Anyway, The World of Chocolatiers bumped up against The Word Of Chocolate Madness detailed above a la’ Reese’s Cups, culminating in a joint chocolate venture for Vancouver’s Pride Week between my chocolatier friends. As part of this project, they hopefully and innocently requested that my husband and I suggest some possible names for chocolate offerings that would commemorate Pride. Well, this was an opportunity to let our imaginations and taste levels run wild. Even our daughter, home for the summer, got in on the act and contributed her own wordsmith-y skills to the task. Below are some highlights (or low points) of the list we produced for possible Pride-themed chocolates:

For the Diva Box of 6: Gaga Ganache, Cher: If I Could Turn Back Thyme; Diana Rooibos; Liza Mintelli ; Barbra Barberry Bar; Adam Lambert Filberts.

Other suggestions included the following:

I Like Boysenberry, Oscar Wildeberry, Fista Fiesta, Chocolate GayNache, Cunning Lingonberry, Earl Gay Tea, Fairy Cherry, Katy Perry Cherry, Glace’ Grace Jones, Harvey Milk Chocolate, Savage Love, Glenn Cocoa/ Lessssbian Crunch (if you’re not a Mean Girls fan, I can’t even…), Santorum Pastilles, Anti-DOMA Domes, Bareback BonBon, I’m Cumin, and Nut Cluster Fuck.

In the end, the marketing scheme didn’t come to fruition, but it was a lot of fun to plan the details. As for me, I remain ever hopeful for passionfruit truffles.