{"id":19260,"date":"2011-04-12T10:32:31","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T08:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=19260"},"modified":"2011-04-27T11:01:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-27T09:01:00","slug":"the-grand-cru-of-chocolate-valrhona-est-un-grand-chocolat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/the-grand-cru-of-chocolate-valrhona-est-un-grand-chocolat\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grand Cru of chocolate : Valrhona est un grand chocolat!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There can be no better ambassador for Valrhona chocolate, imported from Tain l’Hermitage in France, than Vanessa Quellec, co-owner of and baker and pastry-maker at Caff\u00e9 Milano<\/strong><\/span>.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Vanessa uses Valrhona exclusively for all her chocolate requirements in her cakes and pastries.\u00a0 It is regarded as one of the best chocolates in the world.<\/p>\n

The black packaging is striking, with strong colours representing the different flavours of chocolate available.\u00a0\u00a0 Vanessa generously lent me a book by Dominique and Cindy Duby called “Wild Sweets Chocolate”, and gave me a booklet about Valrhona, a\u00a0slab of Valrhona chocolate, as well as a collection of Easter eggs made by Valrhona, to inspire me in writing this story, not that I needed much encouragement, being a chocolate lover.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valrhona brochure is introduced with three claims: Valrhona is the ‘chocolate-maker to the world’s greatest chefs’, is a ‘creator of unique tastes’, and an ‘expert of the finest cocoa’.\u00a0 Valrhona has been producing chocolate since 1992, and plants its own cocoa beans and sources from other suppliers too, to create chocolate ranges “to offer gourmet consumers intense tasting experiences”.\u00a0 The Les Grands Crus range consists of eight\u00a0flavours, created through different percentages of cocoa content, thereby creating a ‘palette of unique aromas, fruit of our passionate quest for the finest cocoa and the purest origins’, the Valrhona brochure says.\u00a0 The flavours are the following:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Tanariva : 33% cocoa from Madagascar, milk chocolate,\u00a0‘soft and succulent’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Jivara, 40% cocoa, milk chocolate, ‘notes of caramel and vanilla’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Ta\u00efnori, 64% cocoa from the Dominican Republic, ‘fresh, tangy citrus overtones’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Manjari, 64 % cocoa from Madagascar, ‘heavenly acidulous red fruit and dried fruit hints’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Alpaco, 66% cocoa from the Equator, ‘floral aromas’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Cara\u00efbe, 66 % cocoa, ‘opulent’, ‘subtle almond and roasted coffee flavours’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Guanaja, 70 % cocoa, ‘bitterness’<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Abinao, 85% cocoa, dark and bitter\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Les Grands Crus range 70g slabs of chocolate can be bought at Caff\u00e9 Milano, and cost R 50.\u00a0 The Easter eggs are made from the same flavours, each colour wrapping\u00a0representing a different\u00a0Valrhona flavour, and beautifully presented in cardboard boxes by Caffe Milano.\u00a0\u00a0Valrhona also markets a range of organic-certified chocolates called Cao Grande.<\/p>\n

The pack contains information in five languages.\u00a0 The Guanaja pack describes the chocolate as follows: “Named after the now-famous Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus landed in 1502, Guanaja offers a completely original blend of cocoas, with subtle Criollos, and powerfully fragrant Trinitarios and Forasteros. This Grand Cru has a high cocoa content and is surprisingly bitter, but the range is full of warm notes.\u00a0 The recipe, of course, remains a closely guarded secret”<\/p>\n

Vanessa says she uses Valrhona because she used it at the restaurants she worked at in New York, including Le Cirque.\u00a0\u00a0 Its quality is consistent,\u00a0the Valrhona\u00a0rep flies down to Cape Town four to five times a year, it is used by the best pastry chefs in the world, the Valrhona pastry chef\u00a0guides professional users, and they have a cook book.\u00a0\u00a0Valrhona\u00a0has a very low-key retail presence internationally, unlike Lindt, for example.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 27\/4<\/strong>: Vanessa Quellec leaves Caffe Milano in July, and is heading for Valrhona in France, where she will undergo training in the use of their chocolates.\u00a0 She plans to return to Cape Town as a representative of the company.\u00a0 Giorgio Nava will bring in an Italian pastry chef.<\/p>\n

Valrhona<\/strong>, www.valrhona.com<\/a>. \u00a0Available from Caff\u00e9 Milano,\u00a0153 Kloof Street, Cape Town, and The Wild Peacock Emporium, 32 Piet Retief Street, Stellenbosch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There can be no better ambassador for Valrhona chocolate, imported from Tain l’Hermitage in France, than Vanessa Quellec, co-owner of and baker and pastry-maker at Caff\u00e9 Milano.\u00a0\u00a0Vanessa uses Valrhona exclusively for all her chocolate requirements in her cakes and pastries.\u00a0 It is regarded as one of the best chocolates in the world. The black packaging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,266,20,21],"tags":[10993,10990,10145,10994,32366,10991,10995,240,32378,10996,10984,10981,10983,3387,1437,10980,10992,10987,10270,10985,7977,10989,10988,10986,10269,10152,32373,10997,10982],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t