When I was in Toronto doing a chocolate tasting with Cote d'Or a couple months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Konrad Ejbich, who is both a delightful person and one of Canada's foremost wine writers. After being a fabulously enthusiastic participant during the tasting itself, Mr. Ejbich stayed on for a bit afterwards to chat with me about other pairing ideas. In addition to teaching me how to properly hold a wine glass, he also took a bunch of notes about our chocolate tasting and then wrote this comprehensive article for Canada's Style at Home Magazine about chocolate and wine pairing.
The article also featured the most awesome description of The Tasty Show that has ever found its way to print. According to Konrad, The Tasty Show is "the absolute gastroporn of melt-in-your-mouth moments." Gastroporn? Me? Who knew??
It all came at a perfect time, because I just happened to be compiling this list:
Dana's Favorite Gastroporn [Top 5 This Week]
- Wild Sweets: Exotic Desserts and Wine Pairings: This is the cookbook I picked up at Whole Foods yesterday. Gorgeous photographs, bizarre ingredients, curious wine pairings, and awesome recipes with really long names such as "Apple softcake with dark chocolate and cinnamon soup" and "Milk chocolate and orange parfait with steamed meringues and orange and black truffle brown butter". I'm really excited.
- 101Cookbooks: My friend Toby alerted me to this gorgeous food blog written by photographer and food enthusiast Heidi Swanson.
- Whole Foods: I love Whole Foods. I like to walk around with my little basket and ogle all the pretty fruits and vegetables and then dream about all the weird chocolate recipes I could make with them.
- Aapplemint: Another delicious blog that I look at for inspiration and for the pretty pictures.
- Plum Produce: This is a tiny produce boutique in Boston's South End that is about the size of a compact car. It's not a grocery store, and you'll never be able to find everything on your shopping list there, but you will find the most beautiful local salad turnips, wild asparagus, spring onions, and porcini mushrooms that you've ever seen. (Among several other vegetables, fruits, spices, and preserves.)
A journalist from Canada.com was at my Cote d'Or chocolate tasting in Toronto last week and posted a lovely article about chocolate today. In addition to giving a nice rundown of chocolate's benefits (health and otherwise), she also talked a bit about the tasting itself. According to me as quoted in this article, "chocolate is like a story." And indeed it is - there is a beginning that starts with the aroma and the first few seconds as the chocolate melts on your tongue. There is a middle that is made up of the changing flavors and developing textures of the chocolate as it continues to melt. And there is an end, which stretches way beyond the point when the chocolate has totally melted into the realm of aftertaste, which is an integral part of the tasting experience.
And on a related note, the article also reports that chocolate can help you score significantly higher on a standardized scale of sexual functioning. (Who knew that there was such a scale?)
Check out the article here.
The Boston Globe came out with a lovely article about chocolate tasting that featured The Tasty Show. Here's an excerpt:
Gina Medaglia decided she wanted to have a party for her staff. The chef and owner of Dalias Bistro & Wine Bar in Brookline hired Dana Zemack, owner of the Tasty Show. Zemack brings everything with her, including palate cleansers (watermelon, berries, cookies, sorbet) as well as 15 chocolate samples and rating cards. ''Chocolate is like a story," says Zemack. ''It starts one place and ends another." Zemack encourages Medaglia's guests to smell and savor their samples, challenging them not to chew.
And I quote:
"Framingham native encourages appreciation through tasting get-togethers
Dana Zemack specializes in temptation. Her lure is chocolate -- lots and lots of chocolate. Come to a party where Zemack is presiding and chances are, you'll develop an appreciation for chocolate that goes far beyond a quick handful of M&Ms...
And I quote:
"Dana Zemack knew she was onto something when the first chocolate-making seminar she taught at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education drew a waiting list 25 people long..."
And I quote:
"Cheap candy is dandy, but local chocolate expert Dana Zemack said people are going for gourmet chocolates during the holidays - and beyond...
Continue reading "Boston Herald: Go Slow! Gourmet Chocolate On Board!" »
And I quote:
Weekly Dig :: So why should people go to your chocolate-tasting show?
Dana :: Well, it's run by three beautiful women, and two of them are sisters. And there are 6,000 pieces of chocolate you can taste. Can you argue with that?
And I quote:
"It's no secret that we regard chocolate as a gift from the gods. So it doesn't take much convincing to get us to commit to a night sampling the wares of Boston best chocolatiers, bakeries, and restaurants, including L.A. Burdick's, Godiva, and Teuscher Chocolates, while sipping champagne and viewing modern art...
And I quote:
"It's all about chocolate for Dana Zemack. She teaches classes about it, sculpts with it, and even runs a website dedicated to the dark stuff. At the Institute of Contemporary Art on Friday, she'll host "Chocolate...for a Change," a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society...
And I quote:
"Event to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Everyone knows that chocolate tastes good, but Dana Zemack believes it can also serve a good cause. That's why Zemack is organizing a chocolate-tasting party whose proceeds will benefit a group fighting to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma...
Continue reading "Framingham Tab: Chocolate...for a Change" »
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