CHOCOLATE!

Last month Steve took me on the worlds best date.  Our anniversary is August 4, we've been married 8 years and we celebrated in style.  Steve is the self proclaimed "Captain Surpriso" because he likes to come up with amazing surprises for people.  Also, he's really good at keeping secrets.  

Here's what we did.  First, we went to a great day spa and got massages.  Really great hour long full body massages.  It was so wonderful.  Then we went to our fave restaurant Cucina Toscana.  Oh this restaurant!  This was enough for me.  A massage and then my favorite food.  But then came Steve's crowning achievement for the night-we went to a chocolate tasting class.  

(the one's on the right are the delights of the amazing Chris Blue)

A local Italian market (Caputo's) does a beginner and then an advanced chocolate tasting class.  We were seated at tables with bowls of bread and room temperature water (cleansing the palate, you know).  Then we were taught about the beans used for bad and good chocolate, where they're grown, how they're processed, yada yada yada.  Then we sampled chocolates from worst to best.  The worst being Hershey's (ya think!) and the best being from a chocolate maker called Amadei.  They're an Italian company who is taking over the chocolate world from the French.  The second best is a maker called Amano and guess where they're from?  That's right-Provo, Utah.  What!?  Who would have thought?  Also, we learned about the best maker of filled chocolates, Chris Blue.  Guess where he's from.  You guessed it, Orem, Utah.  

So, last night was the advanced class.  It was so fun.  We tasted all the best chocolate ever invented and Art Pollard (owner, inventor, whatever, of Amano) and Chris Blue were there.  It was fantastic.  

Chris Blue was the head chocolatier for Charlie Trotter's and is in negotiations to be the next chocolatier for French Laundry in California.  These are two of the best restaurants in the country.  His chocolates are amazing.  

As for Amano... If you can believe this, there is actually such a thing called the Academy of Chocolate in London.  They are the officials of the chocolate world.  If you win an award from the Academy of Chocolate, you officially have the best chocolate in the world.  They give gold, silver and bronze medals to chocolates.  It's like the chocolate Olympics.  While Amadei is sort of the gold standard now, Amano (our little Utah operation) won bronze the first year they entered and are expected to do better in coming years!  YAY UTAH!  

So, being the nerd that I am, I had to get pictures with my chocolate hero's.  I was the only one to do this.  Like I said, nerd.  

This is Art Pollard, the genius chocolate man.  He was so nice and unassuming.  He is a former Physics guy from BYU so he said he puts his scientific brain to work in chocolate making.  His website is amanochocolate.com

This is Chris Blue.  Are you noticing anything in these pictures?  Yes, I am a giant.  Oh well, freakishly tall is good, right?  Chris Blue was also very nice and I'm so psyched that he didn't make too much fun of me when I asked for a picture (the Caputo's did, however).  His site is chocolatierblue.com

Thank you, Steve, for such an amazing time and for being Captain Surpriso.  You are the best!  I love you so stinkin' much.    

Keep your eyes out for chocolate bars by Amano and for filled chocolates by Chocolatier Blue.  They, along with most of the Amadei bars, are amazing.  You should be able to find them (maybe not Blue, he's pretty snidey about where he'll sell them as of yet) in any gourmet market.  GET LOOKIN'!  

I hope I have inspired the chocolate monster in all of you (or at least haven't bored you to sobs).  I promise knitting in my next post because I'm going on a trip dedicated solely to knitting and eating.  Denver, here we come!  Are we excited Erin and Kara?