My Kat Life

I am a chocoholic, and I ate all chocolate that was given to me as a kid, but little did I know there’s a difference between high-volume factory chocolate and small-batch craft chocolate. It wasn’t until 5 years or so years ago that I really started to appreciate the intricacies of chocolate-making when I attended a workshop by a gal who curates “happy chocolate,” chocolate made from beans sourced from farmers/co-ops that are educated and trained on proper treatment of cocoa beans and are also paid fair wages. You can read a bit about how TCHO works with their partners and co-ops to train and educate them on the chocolate-making process here.

When I was invited to a six-course chocolate dinner by Chef Anthony Yang and Pastry Chef Renee Cade at Naked Kitchen, I was stoked! I didn’t know how chocolate was going to make its way into the savory dishes (aside from mole), but I was eager to find out.

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We started the night with some delicious cocktails that were nice and refreshing. There were also three delicious passed hor d’oeuvres, which I ate before snapping any photos, oops! There was a mini madeline stuffed with chocolate, chocolate waffle, and eggplant and pea tart.

First course: catch of the day, passion fruit gel, Tcho chocolate cocoa nibs, red dragonfruit, avocado, pickled kohlrabi, local foraged flowers and greens. This course was probably one of my favorites for obvious reasons [I love seafood]. I loved the combination of the scallops and the touch of citrus from the fruit. The fresh shrimp was also delicious!

Course 2: Bellweather Farms ricotta Tcho cocoa gnudi, parmigiano reggiano, black trumpet mushrooms, La Querci prosciutto, crispy shallots, egg yolk fudge, little gem lettuce.
Course 3: Tcho chocolate duck leg mole, roasted chestnut mousse, sunchoke chips, miners lettuce.
Course 4: Roasted Napa Valley spring lamb, black olive Tcho chocolate crumble, charred cucumber, stuffed demi sec early girl tomato, persillade.

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All of the entrees were so artfully plated and delicious; the chocolate wasn’t forced to be the star of each dish, but rather incorporated into each dish in thoughtful and unique ways. I don’t think I had tried gnudi before (think gnocchi, but made with ricotta cheese instead of potato), and I think I’m now a fan. It’s softer than its potato variant. I gobbled up the duck confit and mole pretty quickly, and while I’m not a big fan of lamb (for its gaminess), I liked the combination of the meat with persillade and olive.

Course 5 was a pre-dessert. That’s right, we had two courses of dessert — score! The Humphry Slocombe ice cream paired with grapefruit ginger gelee and Tcho chocolate cocoa nibs was so delightfully refreshing. I wish I could get a whole jar of the gelee; I’ve never had anything like it, and now I want this exact scoop of ice cream for dessert all the time!

We ended the night with course 6: Tcho chocolate creme, chocolate puffed wheat, green tea chocolate crumble, fresh strawberries, lemon chantilly. The chocolate creme was delicious and light and the puffed wheat and crumble added the right amount of crunch to complement the dish.