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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Two premiere chocolate producers come to Dallas to share wisdom and chocolate

by Teresa Gubbins

Alan McClure talks to pastry chef Rhonda Ruckman while fellow chocolate maker Steve DeVries pretends not to eavesdrop.

Approximately 50 Dallas chocolate lovers were in heaven on Saturday afternoon when Alan McClure and Steve DeVries, two of the country's finest chocolate producers, came to the Milestone Culinary Center in Dallas to explain why chocolate is so wonderful when it's hand-made, straight from the bean.

McClure is the man behind Missouri-based Patric Chocolate, maker of dark chocolate, chocolate "nibs," and an especially fierce hot-chocolate mix. DeVries Chocolate, based in Denver, specializes in dark chocolate from Costa Rica.

Both companies are in a unique category known as "bean to bar," which means they start with beans off the cacao tree that they grind and process into smooth chocolate themselves. (Other chocolate companies buy their chocolate already processed by other big companies, then add ingredients like nuts and mold it into their own bars.)

Chocolate tasting and dinner 8-22-09

(Click photo to see entire gallery)

"Steve, your cocoa nibs were simply divine."

By doing the processing themselves -- one that involves special machinery and the purchase of ultra-expensive beans -- DeVries and McClure can fine-tune the flavor and turn out a chocolate that's not like anyone else's.

Saturday's agenda started with a two-hour slide show and tasting. It ended with a dinner featuring their chocolate as an ingredient in every course, climaxing in two showpiece desserts made by pastry chef Rhonda Ruckman.

DeVries and McClure took turns narrating the slide show, describing how cacao farmers harvest pods from the trees, then remove the beans and spread them out to dry.

The tasting included not only squares of chocolate but "nibs" -- pieces of roasted cacao bean -- crunchy and delicious like a chopped nut. (DeVries and McClure both sell chocolate with nibs as well as chocolate bars.) For those used to eating a large Hershey's almond bar in a single sitting, the tasting portions might have looked small. But each bite had so much flavor and personality that four tiny squares felt like more than enough.

DeVries, 57, who made Saveur magazine's Top 100 List for 2008, had more of a professorial style, while McClure, 31, was the guy with the tattoos on his forearms. But both are the kind of people who don't just accept "things as they are," who have that admirable obsessiveness to rethink something -- like an ordinary chocolate bar -- that the rest of us take for granted.

Again and again, they compared chocolate to wine. Cacao beans are an agricultural product, they said, like grapes, that deserve the same attention winemakers give grapes.

Salad of mixed greens with savory chocolate tower

Dinner started with hors d'ouevre such as chicken bites in mole sauce, followed by an unusual salad with baby greens and a chocolate "tower" made from ultra-thin sheets of Patric chocolate with herbed cheese. The best part was the contrast between the deep chocolate and the sparkling-fresh vinaigrette.

Salmon with chocolate-balsamic glaze

The entree was a slab of salmon with a chopped nut crust served with celery root potatoes and DeVries bittersweet chocolate balsamic glaze. The combination of balsamic vinegar and chocolate seemed like a stretch but it worked because the chocolate had a dark savory quality that gave the sauce richness.

Chocolate cake made with Patric chocolate

Aside from the thrill of meeting two nationally-renowned chocolate players, the draw for a number of attendees was the opportunity to revisit the famed Patric 67% chocolate cake made by pastry chef Rhonda Ruckman at her now-defunct bakery Doughmonkey. Oh but there were two desserts: Ruckman made a dessert spotlighting DeVries' 77% Costa Rican chocolate: a thick, fudgy tart with a florentine cookie decorated with more of those lovely nibs.

Chocolate tart made with DeVries chocolate

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Anonymous

Alan and Steve were really cool and down to earth, which made the whole thing even cooler. They had such a broad base of knowledge, it was fun to ask them a question and get a really interesting, thoughtful answer. I thought the Devries in particular was a really unusual chocolate that paired well with food (especially the goat cheese).

luniz Anonymous

3 months ago
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The meal was good, the desserts bringing back fond memories of Doughmonkey. There were a few chocolate newbies (relatively speaking) at our dinner table and the more experienced folks gently "schooled 'em".

The chocolate cake was a small devil's food round covered (geometrically speaking, dominated) by two ganaches: a layer of sour-cream and Patric 67% ganache thicker than the cake itself, coated by an outer layer of Patric 75% ganache, both reveling in their dried red fruit, fig, and wine notes. These used to be a steal of a value at Doughmonkey.

I also quite liked the DeVries Costa Rican chocolate tarte, its assertive, layered earthy and nutty (specifically, to my palate, the pleasant savory character of pistachio skin) nuances against the "carpaccio" of Costa Rican gold pineapple harboring a melange of aromatics, from cloves to cassia to ginger. Sophisticated in its simplicity.

I found the two chocolate makers to be without guile, just genuine craftsmen who live and breathe their trade and who are generous in sharing their expertise. Their knowledge ranges well beyond the production their superb chocolates (from top of the quality pyramid Costa Rican, Bolivian, and Dominican cacao for DeVries, Madagascan for Patric), as I found out when our conversation flowed to matching of beverages to their specific chocolates, to issues of genetic fidelity of cacao cultivars, to the business side of how they might succeed in the face of such uninformed consumer expectations, to whether or not they can survive selling bars of candy to a few discerning chocolate lovers (their American-made goods are WAY less expensive than comparable European top-line products). I partially resupplied my stash of Patric at the tasting but not so my now-gone supply of DeVries. As of this morning, the DeVries on-line store had no inventory, which, I hope, is just a temporary situation. People, please support these artisans. You'll be treating yourself in the process.

Thanks to the staff at the Milestone.

Big props to the so-unassuming Sander Wolf and dallaschocolate.org for pulling this together!

FatCap Anonymous

3 months ago
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Great Pod Almighty! Is that what you're saying? Holy Fugks.

OEsophagus Anonymous

3 months ago
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Beyond, beyond!

goodygoodyumyum Anonymous

3 months ago
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Great piece, TG!

Billusa99 Anonymous

3 months ago
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I enjoyed the event trememdously, thank you Sandor for pulling all the strings to make it happen.

The presentation was very informative, I have learned so much about chocolate by going to Dallas. And the dinner was interesting, I loved the salad and the desserts were beyond rich, just Rhonda being Rhonda. Loved it.