Food, Passion, and People: Web Reviews of Intrigue Chocolates

Experts make for great bibliography references and their schooled evaluations can be highly prized. But much of the time we are interested in hearing from the great cocoa masses (that’s a pun: cocoa mass is unadulterated ground cacao beans), or in this case, bloggers who have a different day job. The cool thing about this is that regular people have no agenda but pure enjoyment. You can evaluate their evaluations of Intrigue Chocolates by visiting their posts:

The Chocolate Cult. The self-annointed High Priestess of Chocolate gives a quirky, blow-by-blow reaction to 10 Intrigue flavors. She reminds us that some people are perplexed by the lack of a hard shell on our truffles, but we find that most people recognize it for what it is; honoring the French original and appreciating the uniqueness that lets them really taste the flavors present.

The Chic Ecologist has us listed with a brief review because of our dedication to sustainable living, with our eye always to leaving out preservatives that would tangle with real flavor and our use of natural and organic ingredients whenever they are available.

More in the vein of “see what the Chocolatier looks like in his natural habitat” is an on-camera interview with an all-smiles Aaron by Shona Milne of Woodinville Wine Update.

Intrigue Chocolates got together with with other food professionals, self-described “foodies”, and food critics this past July at Foodportunity for a little inter-foodie socializing. Foodportunity is a new series of networking events and workshops for the food industry, produced by Keren Brown, the Seattle-based blogger known as The Frantic Foodie. It was an occasion of making new connections, learning how to use the “new media” to promote our businesses, and sampling lots of incredibly good food. Folks were tweeting and twittering all over the place, but three attendees were impressed enough to blog about their reactions at:

The Food Giraffe’s Guide to Eating

Seattle Swirl Blog

Loving Local Food

Find out the unvarnished, no-preservatives (or advertising dollars) added truth about these bloggers perceptions of Intrigue’s chocolate truffles. Then, decide for yourself and choose your own favorite flavor!

Bloggers Loved the Seattle Chocolate Salon 2009

If you couldn’t get to this year’s Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon, reading posts by some of the lucky ones who did make it might be the next best thing.  By reading their blogs you’ll get lots of valuable personal insight with their review opinions, and none of the calories!

These taste testers give their evaluations of Intrigue Chocolates and many other samplings. Check out their links to get a feel for the event and catch their personal take on Intrigue’s presentation. Among those moved to blog about their immersion into the world of chocolate are:

You  will find lots of cool photos showcasing beautiful chocolates of every stripe, and get a general sense of what it was like to be there.  Someone was even inspired to record a twitvid if you want a quick glance of Intrigue in action.

Find out who received awards across all categories at the Seattle Chocolate Salon website, or view a summarized list of the blue ribbon winners at blogcritics.org.

There were lots of awesome chocolatiers at the Salon (and a crowd of passionate chocolate consumers).  We were in great company and are proud to be in the rankings among such talent.  The Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon should definitely be on your calendar for next year!

Intrigue Luxuriates at the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon 2009

Playing off of the triple meaning of the word “salon”, the organizers of this 2nd annual event set us up for a fashionable gathering of industry leaders, with a nod toward the arts, as well.  Chocolate as art and art inspired by chocolate.  It does seem to work, doesn’t it?  And of course, the enlightened realize all the wonders that chocolate has to offer!  The Chocolate Salon is a chance for the public to find many purveyors of fine chocolate all under one roof.  For the price of a ticket, the assembled get to taste the wares of the chocolatiers present and get tons of information about how the vendors craft their goods.  Along with the chocolate tastings came chef demonstrations and author presentations.

The Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon 2009 saw a big jump in the number of chocolate companies represented, no doubt due to the fabulous success of last year’s event.  With over 30 notable chocolate makers in attendance, Intrigue was thrilled to walk away with some very fine awards, as follows;

  • 2nd Place: “Most Luxurious Chocolate Experience”
  • 2nd Place: “Best Flavored Chocolate”
  • Honorable Mentions: “Best Truffle” and “Most Gifted Chocolatier/Chocolate Maker”

(To see all of the judges’ picks visit (www.seattlechocolatesalon.com)

Seattle’s 2008 Chocolate Salon was extra warm with the Bell Harbor Conference Center’s air conditioning on the blink, but everyone managed to keep their cool and enjoy themselves.  Last year Intrigue Chocolates came in 1st with “Best Flavored Chocolate”, 2nd with “Best Truffle”, and brought home Honorable Mentions for”Best Chocolatier” and “Best Chocolate for Wine”.  With the field of competitors growing this year, the innovation bar seemed to be raised high.  You may have found a few standards, but there were many flavors that were at the extreme cutting edge of creative!

Intrigue’s table had a great support team with several friends volunteering to help out.  A big Thank You! to all of you who gave us lunch breaks, took pictures and did your own taste comparisons!  Hope to see everyone there next year!

Collaborating with Woodhouse Family Cellars and Chef Missy Will

Woodhouse Winery Interior

It’s been awhile since the blog has been up and running, but we’ve been busy making new friends! Teaming up with Woodhouse Family Cellars and Chef Missy Will has been a lot of fun. We’ve participated in cooking classes, team-building events, and public tastings. Aaron has been spending an occasional Saturday there, encouraging Woodhouse customers to cross the taste threshold and pair chocolate with wine.

Woodhouse Family Cellars—snuggled in the Woodinville, WA winery community—has five successful labels. Woodhouse’s facilities feature an events space for large gatherings, corporate functions, wine-blending parties, and now Chef Missy is offering cooking classes in their beautiful kitchen.

Missy Will, Executive Chef and Events Director for Woodhouse, invites guests into the Woodhouse kitchen for guided, hands-on classes with flavors from around the world, healthy cooking, and organic menus. Aaron says that Missy is very passionate about food and likes sharing her expertise, putting the art in culinary through her ability to adapt a recipe to fit the class. She has a flair for inspiring others and find a “feel” for their creative endeavors. She knows her techniques and has students work from a recipe, but always has extra ingredients on hand and encourages them to improvise as the spirit moves them, to make the dish their own. For the dessert course, Aaron shares his chocolate truffles and leads the guests through paired tastings with the wines.

Aaron will be at Woodhouse again on Saturday 26th, from 1:00pm-5:00pm. Intrigue Chocolates’ truffle samples are free as Aaron guides you through the sensual taste experience of pairing wine and chocolate (the wine tasting portion is at a cost).