Posted on
May 17, 2016
by
Linda Johnson
| 0 Comments
This Memorial Day weekend is sure to be one to remember. The Chocology team will again be participating in Taste the East End at the Long Island Aquarium. We were delighted to participate in this event last year and this year is going to be extra special.
And how is it going to be extra special? Well, Chocology has been “paired” with the extraordinary vineyard, Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyards. Together Chocology and Baiting Hollow Farm are working to create a spectacular experience for our visitors at Taste the East End and we hope that you’ll join us!
Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Sharon and Steve Levine, the owners of BHFV and their lovely manager Rose Vasta. Like Chocology, BHFV is a family run business with a foundation built on giving back. Their greatest passion is rescuing horses that are marked for destruction either due to their age or to no longer meeting the requirements as a racehorse. The Levine’s are passionate about raising awareness around the fate of most of these animals and rescuing those that they can – providing a sanctuary on the farm where the horses can live out the rest of their lives free and happy. Three of the BHFV wines are dedicated to the rescue horses and all of the profits from these wines go back to helping these animals. We love that philanthropic spirit and knew immediately that we had been paired well.
During our visit we brought along six Fat Ass Fudge flavors and a mix of our artisan chocolate truffles to pair with some of the BHFV wines. We even drizzled some of The Amazing Olives balsamic vinegars on some of the tastings. Wine, balsamic and chocolate! What a delightful experience for the palette!
The six BHFV wines we tried with our chocolate were Savannah Rose, Riesling, Sam’s Legacy, White Satin, Red Velvet and my personal favorite Mirage; named after BHFV’s adored Arabian Princess, who was rescued in 2007. The Mirage is a dry, yet bold “Bordeaux Style” red blend and is a perfect combination of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This particular wine won the 2013 New York State Commercial Gold award and is one of the BHFV horse rescue wines.
As we’ve said time and again, the people we meet on the Chocology journey make our job so fun, adventurous and educational. And meeting the Levine’s and their manager Rose was no exception. In fact, as we were leaving, Linda said to Rose “If I didn’t love my job so much, I might like yours!” Rose chuckled and then replied, “If I didn’t love MY job so much, I might like yours as well!”
We hope that you’ll join us at the Long Island Aquarium for The Taste of The East End on May 29. It’s sure to be a fun experience for all who attend, not to mention a tasty one!
Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyards and Chocology are preparing a table that you won’t be able to resist. And with over forty other local restaurants, live music and locally craft beverages and wines, a good time will be had by all.
Posted in
Aquarium,
Baiting Hollow Vineyards,
BHFV wines,
Chocology,
giving back,
LI Aquarium,
philanthropic,
rescue horses,
Taste the east end,
The Amazing Olive,
Wine Tasting
Posted on
August 03, 2015
by
Linda Johnson
| 0 Comments
Last week’s blog post was all about our white chocolate tastings at the Farmer’s Market. We have so much fun with our Fat-Ass Fudge tastings and look forward to bringing new flavors to our customers to try each week.
Another hot topic around the booth these days is chocolate pairings. When we talk about pairing chocolate, many people automatically think of wine/chocolate pairings or cheese/chocolate pairings. But, what about pairing chocolate with whatever is on hand?
At our Farmer’s Market we like to get a bit adventurous and our customers love getting in on the fun. We’re not afraid to pair chocolate with just about anything! When our customers walk up with a pickle, meatballs, Starbuck or Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, even lemonade, our job is to pair them up with a chocolate that will compliment whatever is available at the moment. It’s a lot of fun and we’ve learned a lot about pairing chocolate with all kinds of food and drink.
For the customers who don’t have a pickle or a meatball in hand, we always keep a stash of Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar nearby from one of our favorite local vendors, The Amazing Olive. After spending a few hours pairing in their store, we just couldn’t keep our discovery to ourselves. The vinegars from The Amazing Olive compliment our fudge so well!
We’ve also begun to introduce cHarissa Spice, a wildly popular spicy condiment developed by a local Long Islander, in honor of his late wife. The spice paired with the sweet is amazing and our patrons absolutely love it.
Pairing these condiments with our fudge has been a very unexpected (and delicious) surprise, not only to the Chocology team but to our customers as well. Who knew spicy and vinegary would go well with chocolate?
One of our Market patrons exclaimed, ""Chocolate bliss, this is chocolate for adults," which became our tagline for the day. Another said, "I'm thinking holiday gifts!" And we agree. Some of these pairings will likely land on our holiday menu in the coming months!
For those of you who aren’t able to join us at our Farmer’s Market booth pairings, why not set up a chocolate pairing party of your own? Here are a few tips from an article we read on the SheKnows website.
White Chocolate pairs well with lemon, blueberries, strawberries, pink peppercorn and lots of other unique flavors. White chocolate paired with the right flavors can create some unique tasting experiences.
Milk Chocolate pairs well with pink Himalayan sea salt, caramel, coconut, bacon and walnuts. Try a milk chocolate that is creamy and not too sweet.
Try Dark Chocolate with lavender, ginger, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. Dark chocolate is paired well with tangy or sweet flavors.
Whether you join us for pairings at the market or choose to do pairings of your own, always remember to be adventurous and give those ideas a try! Have fun with it. You never know what’s going to taste good together until you give it a go!
Have you paired chocolate with something unique? If so, we’d love to hear about it. Tell us all about it here in the comments section or on Facebook or Twitter.
Wishing you a week filled with fun foods and chocolate!
~ The Chocology Team
Posted in
Charissa,
Chocolate,
Chocology,
Fat Ass Fudge,
Holiday Gifts,
mouthwatering,
Shark Tank,
The Amazing Olive
