PRODUCT REVIEW: Delacre Royal Moments Cookies

As always I'm on the lookout for pre-made goodies without HFCS or vegetable shortening. Bahlsen and LU cookies are two of my widely-available favorites, and I think that we can add Delacre to this list. After trying a few of their cookies I'm happy to report that they're certifiably good. The biscuits are of high-quality, dense, crisp, but not buttery. Most of their cookies use vegetable oil, not the hydrogenated kind, in place of butter and it tastes it. For example, the biscuit in LU's Petit Ecolier is noticeably creamier on the palate and tastes more, for lack of better descriptors, decadent.

The chocolate in Delacre cookies is also behind LU. There's a bit of bite to the aftertaste and a lack of smoothness that betrays a cheaper chocolate. It's of greater quality than a Hershey bar, certainly, but I expect more from something that crows about its rich, Belgian chocolate. It's weird, because the ingredients in the Delacre are, at least quantitatively, better than the Lu cookies. They use real vanilla, as opposed to vanillin, but there it is; the chocolate in the LU cookies is better.

While this isn't the most ringing endorsement I've ever given something, it's still a damned good cookie. Paired with a hot cup of espresso, it's a good little getaway, even if I'd prefer to have LU's Petit Ecolier.

Delacre Royal Moments: RECOMMENDED

http://www.delacre.com/Home_us.html

Chocolates the World Over

Huffington Post has an article about chocolate makers in Brugge, Belgium. Apparently, there are artisan chocolate makers on almost every street corner making world-class candies from cocoa nibs that fall from the sky. Sounds like my kind of place. While the article didn't fail to cause an increase in saliva production, I think chocolate in the Rhode Island area is pretty good. All of the makers might not be in the same city, but while you would walk in Brugge, you can drive in RI. Moreover, Rhode Island has Garrison Confections, a world class place in the truest definition of the term.

And while we're on the subject of Rhode Island chocolates, Garrison is going to start holiday hours for its factory store. It's down some crap-hole alleyway in Central Falls, and it's easy to miss the street even with GPS, but it's totally, completely worth it.

Old World Chocolatiers in Brugge (Huffington Post)

World Chocolate Championship Sees a Familiar Face

The World Chocolate Championship special aired on The Learning Channel... oh right. I forgot. It's no longer The Learning Channel. It's now just TLC. Seeing as how they have excised anything remotely educational from the channel, they had to get rid of that pesky, hoity-toity intellectual word from the name.

Regardless, in the video, did you notice someone... familiar?

That's right! The judge from the United States was our very own local, chocolate celebrity Andrew Schotts!

RECOMMENDATION: Michel Cluizel Chocolate Collection

If you're interested in starting a journey in the wild world of chocolate, this is hands down the best place to start. It's a variety pack of various single-origin chocolates from one of the world's very best chocolatiers, Michel Cluizel.

The only way to really begin appreciating the finer aspects of chocolate flavor, well, you need something to compare each flavor to. The five varieties in this package run the gamut, from the explosively fruity Mangaro, to the darker, less complex Tamarina. You get eight squares of two varieties, and four of the remaining three. Yeah, the photo is a total lie. The chocolates are laid out in columns.

The box gives you a short description of each variety, from whence it came, and general flavors. They also provide a small booklet explaining the chocolate manufacturing process and how passionate Cluizel is about the whole thing.

It's an easy one-stop-shop for a beginning in fine chocolates. I recommend it fully. The only thing I find a bit ridiculous is the insistence of using "Noble Ingredients." If you haven't heard of that, it's because Cluizel made it up. Basically, it means he doesn't use soy lecithin as an emulsifier in his chocolate mix. He says that finely tuned palates can taste the lecithin. I can't. While my palate may simply not be up to snuff, I also sense more than a little pompous BS in his declaration. Regardless, I'm glad he's dedicated enough to do something no one else cares about.

Moreover, this praise only applies to his dark chocolate varieties. His milk chocolate is a surprising miss. The texture is waxy and the flavor is so mild as to be almost nonexistent. After you're done with this, you can expand to other single-origin chocolates and manufacturers. If you so desire, I highly recommend Marie Belle, Jacques Torres, and the wide variety available from Guittard. Bernard Callebaut also produces excellent chocolate, including a fantastic milk.

Local chocolates are surprisingly varied, but none of them manufacture their own chocolate. For example, Garrison Confections uses Guittard to hand make his own artisan treats. Still, these places are nearby and don't require $4,730,699.00 in shipping costs to keep the chocolate from melting. Massachusetts has Nirvana, Connecticut has Knipschildt, and New York has... everything ever.

Michel Cluizel Variety Pack (Amazon.com)

QUICKVIEW: Jennifer's Chocolates- +++ / $$

If there is one thing of which Rhode Island could likely never have enough, it's chocolate. And boy howdy, do we have a lot of chocolate. We have the multi-generation/location institution that is Sweenor's, Sweet Twist, Garrison Confections, Ocean State Chocolates, and Hauser rounding out the southern part of the state. Phew! I'm getting fatter just listing them.

We also have an itty-bitty one person operation chugging away down in Wakefield called Jennifer's Chocolates run by, I assume, Jennifer. A quaint, well-appointed retail area gives you full few of the magical workings and the selection. Everything is decorated with care, and the inside is clean with a few tables sitting by the window so you can enjoy your chocolates immediately, if you're actually that desperate.

You have two, primary areas with goodies lined up. Jennifer produces a wide array of things aside from just the chocolate. She has some delicious-looking baked goods, chocolate covered things, biscotti, and cookies. Next to those is a remarkably colorful array of candies. Nothing incredible, but everything looked good enough and makes a decent addition to the overall offerings. I mean, what kind of candy shop would it be without Swedish Fish? She also acts as a sort of mini-cafe, making cappuccino, latte, and coffee. This whole direction seemed a bit half-baked. The machine wasn't commercial-grade and the latte I got wasn't all that good.

Chocolate is the star and her selection is good. Everything is hand-made, I know because I saw the hands making it, and looks good. She sources good chocolate, from Callebaut and Merckens. Merckens is cool because it's local, but I prefer Guittard for commercial-scale chocolate blocks. And if she really wants to wow some people with dark, open up a can of Michel Cluizel Noir Infini on their ass. All-in-all, I can't really criticize her choices of chocolate, since it's how refined her skills are that really make the product, and she does not fail.

I was impressed with her variety. Nothing to blow my mind, but she nails all the requisites. A variety of caramels are gooey, rich, and well-cooked. She's good at tempering the chocolate, which is very hard, so we can at least rest-assured we're not dealing with some amateur. A variety of simple, yet delicious recipes gives JenChoc a real reason for existing. I especially liked the delectable almond toffee chocolates, where the toffee was light, crisp, and easy to chew. Jennifer's Chocolates is reasonably priced. A pound of chocolate hovers around the $20 mark, which is competitive.

Jennifer's Chocolates does a good job of serving up tasty treats to the local area. She has nothing to make herself world-class, but that doesn't stop what she does have from tasting very good. I liked her selection of well-made baked goods, her espresso adds a semi-compelling reason to go, even if it's not that good, and her candy selection will more than satisfy. Sweenor's may be nearby, but that wouldn't prevent me from making an extra stop for some of her recipes that really can't be found elsewhere. The chocolate market in Rhode Island is getting a bit crowded, but I think Jennifer has the chops to remain.

Jennifer's Chocolates: +++
Price range: ~$20 for a pound, which is good, so $$ seems right.

http://www.jenschocolates.com


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254 Robinson St
Wakefield, RI 02879
401-783-1673

Hours
UNKNOWN... I'm checking on that.