Switzerland’s first Salon du Chocolat is in just two months, in Zürich on March 30th, 2012.  You may think I can’t possibly have chocolate on my mind any more than I already do, but… everything is possible.  Helping to organize this delicious event, meeting with chocolatiers and pastry chefs, and talking about chocolate around the clock brings on even more cravings than usual.  Luckily my chocolate stash is always overflowing with new bars to taste.  While most of these tastings are of Swiss chocolate, I thought I would highlight a few non-Swiss wrappers that are now part of my collection.

There is no better place to start than with a current favorite of mine.  I have always been a fan of Henri Le Roux’s silky salted butter caramels (he’s the inventor of the famous CBS – caramel au beurre salé) and individual chocolates with buckwheat, but I have only more recently discovered his bars, thanks to the Salon du Chocolat in Paris.  One word, people: Goviro.  Fleur de sel, crêpes dentelle (super thin, crispy golden butter biscuits) and caramelized almonds in smooth dark chocolate – that is the recipe for a stellar bar – and an addiction.

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The visual of handsome dark horses, racing at impressive speeds on an all-white backdrop is simply stunning.  More over, the white isn’t just the snow-covered Engadine mountains in the distance, yet the frozen lake of St. Moritz that they are racing on.  White Turf, a unique and truly extraordinary sporting event in Switzerland, is a series of horse races on snow.  Need I say more ?!

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I love vintage food packaging (especially sweet, of course), kitchenware, tins, signs, molds…   One of my many collections is, surprise surprise, old kugelhopf molds.  I find myself still thinking about one in particular that I saw in Paris last year.  While many people may walk in to the new Meert shop and head straight for the gaufres (more on those below), I found myself ogling the inedible displays just as much as those signature waffles – and tempting chocolates and pâtes de fruit.  There’s Denis Wozny below, holding a gorgeous copper kugelhopf mold from the 17th century, with fabulous antique Meert labels behind glass on the wall.  (Of course I asked, but no, it’s not for sale.)

This beautiful, sweet boutique in Paris’ Marais neighborhood is simply a jewel of a shop, and worth spending time in to appreciate the finer historical details of la Maison Mère Meert.  Be sure to say bonjour to Denis – and merci for filling his car with gaufres every morning in Lille before driving to work in Paris.

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