In the Cupboard

Come to The Meadow in New York (yes, our new shop is open!) for tasting and talk with two of the world’s chocolate legends: Francois Pralus and Stephane Bonnat. Both vanguards of the fiercely dedicated world of bean-to-bar chocolate making, their chocolate bars are at once dazzling and refined, innovative and classic. Francois and Stephane will share their passion, perspectives, and unique expertise on Friday and Saturday this week. Sorry for the last minute notice, but the opportunity just came up! Both classes are at our just-opened New York location at 523 Hudson Street. A third class at the New York shop, the Chocolate + Salt Exploration with Michael Recchiuti and Mark Bitterman, has sold out before we could get the announcement out, but we’ll do it again soon.

On the other coast, this Sunday at the Portland Art Museum Mark will investigate our primal obsession with salt, from humankind’s first salty bite to salt’s use in modern industry to the resurgent interest in artisan salts. Based on his new book, SALTED – A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes. Registration is required, but tickets are free!

Later this month at The Meadow in Portland, you’re invited to join chocolatier David Briggs of Xocolatl de David and selmelier Mark Bitterman for a deliciously informative class on the art and alchemy of the salted caramel.

Francois Pralus – Maitre Chocolatier
Friday, Nov 12: Francois Pralus will share his experience as one of the few chocolate makers who actually owns a cacao plantation. But his interest in chocolate extends far beyond his own crops, and we will learn about his pursuit of the finest chocolate from across Latin America, Africa, East Asia, and Oceania. Francois obsession with chocolate has left little room for learning English, but his charm and smile more than make up for it, and we will have with us his two very capable assistants Valerie and Chloe Le Gaillard, who are proficient in both chocolate and English. Chocolate and wine included.
Friday, November 12 - 7:30 to 9:30 - $30.00 - 523 Hudson St., New York
Classes are very intimate, so please sign up immediately! Sign up here>>

Bonnat – Chocolatier à Voiron
Saturday Nov 13: Stephane Bonnat’s speaking almost rivals his superb chocolate.
Stephane’s English is very good and he infuses his talks with a lightness that makes the wealth of knowledge and precision most entertaining. He always speaks of the chocolate making process as a part of the broader world of cacao: the regions, the stories of the farmers, the long relationship of the Bonnat family and the growers (and governments) in Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru. Bonnat has just released four new, incredible chocolate bars (including a new bar from Haiti made with cacao harvested after the hurricane!), and we expect to have them on hand for the event. Chocolate and wine included.
Saturday, November 13 - 7:30 to 9:30 - $30.00 - 523 Hudson St., New York
Classes are very intimate, so please sign up immediately! Sign up here>>

Reading
from Salted : A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes
Mark Bitterman will take you on a tour through the mysteries and majesty of salt. This lecture and reading is based on Bitterman’s new book, SALTED – A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes, and surveys the historical, minerolgical, and culinary dimensions of salt.
Sunday, November 14 - 2:00 to 3:30 – FREE – Portland Art Museum. Register here>>

Recchiuti & Bitterman – Chocolate + Salt Exploration
Tuesday Nov 16: SOLD OUT Master chocolatier Michael Recchiuti and selmelier Mark Bitterman combine forces for an intimate class at The Meadow’s new West Village shop where they’ll show you what happens when chocolate and salt meet. The evening will include a discussion of the complex, powerful, and sometimes unexpected ways salt combines with chocolate and other sweets to create new, profound flavors. Chocolate, wine, and more included.
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 – 7:30pm to 9:30 pm – $40 Per Person
SOLD OUT

Salted Caramels with Xocolatl de David
Tuesday Nov 30 & Thursday Dec 2: The amazing and ever-inventive David Briggs of Xocolatl de David will share his expertise in the art of making fine caramels, and Mark Bitterman of The Meadow will discuss the startling ways salt brings flavor to confections. David, whose love of chocolate is complemented in unexpected and delicious ways by an almost equally powerful attraction to savory flavors, always brings something new. We will sip a little wine, taste caramels with various quantities and types of salt, then sip a little more wine, and then taste some more. At the end of the evening, you will be taking home a little pot of freshly made salted caramel sauce!
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 – 7:00pm to 9:00 pm – $25 Per Person
Thursday, December 2, 2010 – 7:00pm to 9:00 pm – $25 Per Person
Classes are very intimate (i.e small), so please sign up immediately! Sign up here>>

We hope to see you!

Mark & Jennifer

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