Sunday, October 18th - Moonstruck Chocolate Deminar with Julian Rose
This was a last minute addition to our Festival deminar lineup thanks to X&Y and their unending saga of flight changes. They were originally set to arrive by noon and we were going to have lunch together at Sci-Fi. Then their flight time changed and they weren't going to arrive at the resort until 2PM ... too late for us to join them for lunch with a 5PM ADR at Vickie & Al's; alrighty then, Auntie Crohn canceled the reservation and said, "There's no reason for Jay and me to suffer ... let us eat chocolate."
And so the demo was booked.
And then I found out on this very day that their flight had changed back again and they would likely arrive at the Boardwalk by 12:30PM.
I swore a blue streak in four different languages ... three of which I'm not even proficient in. But there was nothing to be done for it - I advised them that their room would probably not be ready but they could still check in, drop their bags with bell services, and then go have some food and fun while we were being edumacated.
Moonstruck Chocolate has been in operation since 1993 - they're located in Portland, Oregon, and their truffles are amazing!!!
Chef Julian Rose is their Master Chocolatier and was recently named one of the best Chocolate dudes in all of North America ... yes, he is a pastry-making, cocoa bean manipulating demi god. How could we not attend his deminar?
Since Jay and I were in need of serious thawage, we plopped down on a bench and watched the other attendees slowly clear the entrance to the demo area. It was about this time that the lovely Robin wandered by and stopped to chat - she was also attending this event so we chatted for a bit and then decided to go nab a table. But then we found out we didn't need to nab anything because Jeanne & Marcel had arrived early and they laid claim to a front row table and then saved seats for us without our even knowing it. Talk about brilliant and thoughtful and generous!
Aren't we all cute? Robin and Marcel are on one side, Jeanne, me, and Jason are on the opposite side.
It was the only way the CM could figure out how to get us all in the picture...
Pam ... what is her last name again? ... came out on stage to talk up the winery and then Chef Rose. I only included this picture because I noticed she had two microphones. I've heard of two-fisted drinkers - I may actually be one - but I've never come across a two-fisted speaker!!
One microphone for the wine and another for the food!
Pam and Chef Rose
Chef Rose was very methodical and very detailed but not the most ... vibrant ... of personalities and after a while it seemed to me that the event was dragging a bit. I probably just needed a drop of wine to help me relax. The featured vineyard during this deminar was Kenwood, and we were all served the typical miserly thimble of wine: Jack London Merlot in this case. The wine seemed just fine, but we weren't given enough to really get a good feel for the taste profile.
Jack London Merlot
Mocking the serving size never gets old ...
The downside to sitting in the front row is that when you borrow Improvgal's quarter-to-serving-size comparison and show it to your friends in the middle of a deminar it usually leads to snickering and giggles. And in this case Pam saw what I was doing and gave me the giant eyeball ... for just a moment I felt like I was back in grade school when I'd been caught writing "you are a giant poopiehead" on the wall with crayon.
And then she took a big swig from her fancy-schmancy real wine glass and I didn't feel so bad.
So what did Chef Rose make for us?
Pure Origin Chocolate Tarte with Salted Peanut Caramel ...
YUM!!!
This was a delight, until I got to the bottom layer of the tarte and found it chock full of peanuts. BAH! I love caramel and I love chocolate and while I bear the peanut no ill will, the Crohn goblin does. And there was no way in hell that I was going to take a chance with that hoary jerk a few hours before our scheduled glutton-fest at Victoria & Albert's. So I ate very carefully, pulled out as many peanuts as I could, and gracefully assisted them in their migration to Jay's plate. I think everyone at the table enjoyed this - I know that Jay and I thought the chocolate ganache used for the tarte filling was incredible ... creamy and delicious ... and the milk / white chocolate triangle with portholes was lovely. It would have been even better with more wine.
As a final note, Jay and I have tried Moonstruck truffles and they really are amazingly delicious. The company does have a website that you can order from if you're so inclined; if you're lucky enough to be able to buy their products in person I urge you to give them a try. Chef Rose makes truly incredible chocolates!!
They sound incredible. Me want.
