Talking Artisan Chocolates with Master Chocolatier Eric Cayton
The holiday season is sweet. Not only full of memorable moments spent with friends and family, holiday cocktail parties, and oodles of joy, the season is also literally “sweet” as it tends to be packed with dessert-y treats, and maybe none finer than the holiday chocolates that appear this time of year. Which is why it was so much fun that I recently got to talk to master chocolatier Chef Eric Cayton from Derry Church Artisan Chocolates. Not only is he known for his chocolates in general, but he’s also known for interesting flavor combinations in his bon bons, combinations that bring together spices and ingredients from a particular place, such as the Montego Bay, which features coconut, rum, and raisin blended in with a European milk chocolate ganache and enrobed with an intense bittersweet couverture. The fact that a good number of these bon bons feature liqueurs and spirits only made me more excited for the conversation (this shouldn’t come as a surprise, with my well-known love of cocktails). Listening to Eric talk about his chocolate history, holiday chocolate choices, the world's greatest Irish Coffee recipe, and making chocolates with intriguing and delicious flavor profiles, it’s easy to see he takes making chocolates seriously--but also realizes that eating chocolate is a whole lot of fun (and for a visual example, just check out the Derry Church Bento Boxes full of chocolate, putting a whole new spin on this Japanese lunch tradition).
Amazon.com: How did you start making chocolates?
Eric Cayton: I started working in the culinary arts the day I turned 15, in 1980 . . . and that's pretty much all I've ever done. I worked both as a savory chef as well as a pastry chef for over 25 years, but my heart was always with chocolate! I was born and raised in Hershey, PA, so naturally, I was always fascinated with the actual BUSINESS of chocolate, and all the wonderful variations and combinations you can create with the stuff. I can remember exploring and creating small chocolate treats in my Grandmother's kitchen even as a small boy, so chocolate has just been a natural part of my entire life. Professionally speaking though, I guess I actually began making what you could call rustic chocolate truffles (i.e. unfinished ganache dusted in cocoa) back in the late 1980's working for a local caterer. I also later sold rustic truffles through my own catering company throughout the 90's. After about 2000, I began developing the more complicated French bon bon formulations that would later evolve into the Derry Church Artisan Chocolates concept.
Amazon.com: What was the impetus behind mixing liqueurs into your bon bons and in matching up certain cities or regions with them, too?
Eric Cayton: Some of the most interesting and impactful combinations can be derived from the different chocolate ganaches created with the artisan wines, beers, spirits, and liqueurs that can be found in practically every corner of the globe. Even just a limited search at your local Wine & Spirit store will turn up all kinds of possibilities, and the deep, complex, and concentrated flavor profiles of many of these alcoholic beverages pair surprisingly well with different chocolates. It seems that every great city or region in the world has some wonderful indigenous ingredients and food products they're famous for. In some countries, like France or Italy for instance, there are quite literally, hundreds of different specialty food products, such as wines, beer, spirits, and liqueurs, herbs, spices, and produce, cheeses, and many other types of ingredients dispersed throughout the different regions. When I was doing my initial research for the Derry Church Artisan Chocolates concept, I was looking for some truly unique flavor profiles to pair up with the different types of artisan chocolates available out there, and I kept finding all these interesting and unusual ingredients from all over the world--so then it dawned on me: why not just name the different bon bons after the cities and regions from which the main ingredients come from?
Amazon.com: How hard is it to combine a specific chocolate with a specific liqueur, and is there a lot of testing involved?
Eric Cayton: Yes, you definitely have to test the formulas out, because some liqueurs can simply overpower even an assertive flavor like chocolate. The most important thing to consider when pairing liqueurs, and other types of alcohol, is balance. If the liqueur is light and fruity, such as Chambord or Limoncello, then it may be fine to pair with white chocolate. If the liqueur is an intense and complex flavor profile, such as Anisette or Drambuie, then you will need to pair it with an equally intense bittersweet chocolate to attain balance in the formula. Milk chocolates tend to like nut or coffee based liqueurs, such as Frangelica or Kahlua. This is quite similar to how chefs will pair big, bold "reds" with hearty, spicy, red meat dishes, and refreshing, fruity "whites" with things like poultry, and seafood. Of course, rules were meant to be broken . . . so always taste, taste, and taste again, to make sure that there is balance in the finished bon bon.
Amazon.com: What’s your favorite holiday drink and which bon bon or other liqueur infused chocolate do you like nibbling best when sipping that cocktail?
Eric Cayton: Well, anyone that knows me knows that I'm addicted to two things: chocolate and coffee. Plus, when it comes to cocktails, I'm a bit of a traditionalist, So every Christmas when we have all our family and friends over, usually on Christmas Eve, I always go for the Irish Coffees . . . but I do them MY way:
1) First, I start with large, thick coffee mugs, and warm them up with boiling water until the mugs are very hot, so they hold their heat. Then dump out the boiling water, dry out the mugs, and put about two tablespoons of excellent, warm milk chocolate ganache in each one. (FOR GANACHE: just melt together 3 parts excellent milk chocolate to 1 part excellent heavy cream, keep warm and fluid til service).
2) Then I fill the mug half way with extremely hot, strong black espresso bean, brewed coffee.
3) Then for each mug, I mix 1 to 2 ounces of a good authentic Irish Whiskey (it can be a good blend, like Jameson, since there's no point in ruining single malt with other ingredients!) with about a tablespoon of sugar, and warm it in the microwave for a few seconds to dissolve the sugar (or use simple syrup, your choice) then put the warmed Irish Whiskey/sugar solution into the coffee (do NOT stir, just dump it in).
4) Then I top the Irish Coffee with room temperature 50% butterfat cream, GENTLY, over a spoon, and dust with French cocoa.
This is killer Holiday cheer--chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol, what could go wrong? And for an excellent bon bon to go with the Irish Coffee, I like the Dublins from our Derry Church Artisan Chocolates website: Bailey's Irish Cream & 100% Arabica coffee, a match made in heaven!
Amazon.com: Two of my favorite drinks to have at a holiday party are hot spiked cider and my basic (but beautiful) Champagne punch, which has bubbly, orange juice, simple syrup, lemon and lime juice, and white and dark rum. What bon bons or chocolates would you suggest to go with each of these drinks?
Eric Cayton: Well this is a perfect example of where balance is key--with the hot spiked cider, you have the added dimension of heat. Heat almost always enhances and heightens the flavors of foods, not to mention that warming up your mouth with a hot beverage, and hastens the melting point of the chocolates, so you have a real opportunity for a flavor sensation here! I have made a rather fine Pays D'Auge Calvados apple brandy, paired with 72% French bittersweet ganache bon bon that I would say should go quite well with your hot spiked cider. As for a light, delicate Champagne punch, with the added citrus notes and rum, I would most likely tend to call for a white chocolate bon bon here. The Palermo from our website pairs Limoncello with lemon zest into a light, soft white chocolate ganache . . . I'm thinking something like that would be exquisite with your Champagne punch.
Amazon.com: Derry Church, your chocolate company, is a maker of “artisan” chocolates. How does being an artisan chocolate maker differ from other chocolate makers?
Eric Cayton: Well, I guess the word, "artisan" is thrown around a lot these days in all sorts of industries and endeavors, but to me, being an artisan chocolatier means that I truly take pride in the chocolates I create. To be honest, even if I never made any money selling artisan chocolates, I'd still be making them every chance I get! Just like any artisan, I make my chocolates (my art) more for me, than for other people. It's not that I don't care what other people think of my work, but if I can't take sincere pride in my craft, then what's the point? That is the major difference between an artisan chocolatier and the mass market chocolate manufacturers. When the big chocolate corporations create their products, it's all about the bottom line, and if they can make an extra nickle per unit by using a less expensive, and inferior ingredient, generally they are going to go for that extra nickle. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to the “mega chocolate complex,” because of course they fulfill the chocolate needs for the masses, but it's really like comparing apples and oranges. An artisan chocolatier would NEVER dream of compromising the quality of his or her products in the name of profit. It's not that I don't like making money, but for me at least, I make artisan chocolates because I actually love to make them from the bottom of my heart.
Karthik Kumar on August 18, 2010 at 02:58 AM
Send flowers to India , Gifts to India, Cakes to India, Birthday Gifts to India, Birthday Cakes to India, Gift to India, Flower to India, Cake to India, India Florist
Madhu on August 19, 2010 at 05:17 AM
Order online to send flowers to Bangalore, Gifts to Bangalore, Cakes to Bangalore. You can also send flowers and gifts to bangalore for different occasions like Birthday, Anniversary , wedding etc. on any desired date or on same day. We have cheap gifts and flowers to select from to send them to Bangalore.