Review: Chicago Luxury Chocolate Salon

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Sep 8, 2008 3:16PM

$Symphony Center\'s Grainger Ballroom was the perfect setting for the salon.$ $These white chocolate hearts infused with passion fruit and mango are from \<a href=\"http://www.mayanachocolate.net\"\>Mayana Chocolate\<\/a\>. This Rogers Park start-up currently services catering clients and was a welcome start to our visit.$ $Milk Chocolate with Indian madras curry spice and coconut from \<a href=\"http://www.rrchocolats.com\"\>rr Chocolats\<\/a\>. Chef Randall Rauflaub is one of the more inventive confectioners in the city, frequently blending fresh herbs and spices into his candies.$ $White Chocolate from \<a href=\"http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/\"\>Divine Chocolate Company\<\/a\>. This is a fair trade, organic collective from Ghana. Their chocolate has an exquisite mouthfeel.$ $If you haven\'t had caramel from \<a href=\"http://www.katherine-anne.com\"\>Katherine Anne Confections\<\/a\>, you\'re doing yourself a disservice. Owner Katherine Duncan makes the best caramel in the city, using honey sourced from May\'s Honey farm in Harvard, IL.$

$A selection of truffles from \<a href=\"http://www.chocolategourmet.com\"\>Ugly Truffles/Damn Good Cookies\<\/a\>. The truffles (from L-R: \"Put Your Clothes On\" chocolate, \"Not in Mint Condition\" and \"Messed Up Mocha\" were teeming with flavor, yet light on the palate.$ $White Chocolate Ganache with brandied cherries from \<a href=\"http://www.cocodelice.com\"\>Coco Delice\<\/a\> in San Francisco. This companies truffles and chocolates incorporated salty and savory flavors: lots of brandy and cognac-based chocolate selections.$ $A selection of chocoaltes from \<a href=\"http://www.cyndysweettreats.com\"\>Cyndy Sweet Treats\<\/a\>. Owner Cyndy Keene successfully turned her kitchen in suburban Crystal Lake into a working kitchen where she pursues her passion for chocolate. Keene says that orders can be personalized to fit the purchaser, from flavors to gift boxing.$ $A selection of toffees from \<a href=\"http://confectiondiva.com\"\>Sweet Margy, the Confection Diva\<\/a\>. Owner Margery Kane makes the best local toffees around. They neither stick to nor crack your teeth and are simply satiny in texture.$

Yesterday was the Taste TV Luxury Chicago Chocolate Salon at Symphony Center's Grainger Ballroom. By all accounts from attendees, exhibitors and sponsors it was a rousing success. We like to try and blend in during these events (a stiff proposition while carrying a notepad and camera), but we managed to taste some delicious confections and see what some of our town's confectioners are currently working on. We arrived toward the tail end of the salon, which gave us some ample opportunity to talk with the exhibitors more in length than during the peak hours.

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