What exactly happened to February is a bit of a mystery.  It somehow passed by in the blink of an eye, lost in a flurry of deadlines, diapers and a whole lot of chocolate.  (Not complaining at all.)  And now here we are in March, which in Zürich is a confusing ping pong game of long gray wintery days and rejuvenating sunny spring ones.  Whatever the weather, March is a time to indulge.  In chocolate, that is.  It’s time for Zürich’s second annual Salon du Chocolat, March 22-24 at the Messe in Oerlikon.  Who’s ready ?!

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Happy New Year to all !

2012 was simply an extraordinary year.  It was incredibly exciting on both a personal and professional level.  Best and most important of all was my newest and most delicious sweet indulgence that I continue to devour every single day… our little girl !!  A happy and healthy baby who will absolutely have a sweet tooth like her mother when she’s older !  With her in my belly or with her in the baby carrier, my discoveries continued throughout the year: Swiss villages untouched by modern technology, chocolate brands from around the world, markets near and far and local sweet specialties wherever our travels took us.

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Tables and tables of “slow food” approved products once again filled the Messe event space in Zürich.  Recognizable by its logo of a snail, Slow Food continues its mission of “good, clean and fair” (bon, propre et juste / gut, sauber und fair), promoting food that satisfies the senses, is environment-friendly, health-friendly too, is at prices both accessible to consumers and fair to workers, and most of all, is fresh, local and delicious !

It was a true feast for the eyes and taste buds at the inaugural Slow Food Market in 2011, when I discovered (and tasted !) so many new products from various regions of Switzerland.  One year later, some of those items are now cupboard staples in my home.  So back to the market I went to see what other delicious finds I would make, with my eye on the sweet stands, but of course.

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Over the course of a year (and even just a month), my chocolate stash fills up, empties, fills up again and re-empties itself many times.  There are always new bars to taste and brands to discover near and far.

I’ll start with the one bar that impressed me the most this year, so far. And… it’s from an American chocolate maker, which may surprise some. More and more American artisans are showing their talents in the chocolate world, many going from bean to bar; Patric and Askinosie both in Missouri, Dandelion and Theo in California, Taza in Boston and my latest find, Xocolatl by David in Portland, Oregon. A bar made with olive oil was certainly intriguing, and when I saw fleur de sel on the ingredients list too, I knew that was for me (my favorite way to eat dark chocolate – with salt).  A light bar at just over 60g, it was also extremely light on the palate, an incredibly smooth bar, with a great snap despite the oil. To me, it was the perfect balance of sensations – creamy, dark, thin, sweet, salty – if a tad too addicting.

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When I learned that my fellow sweet toothed dessert blogger, Brian Jaeger, and I share not only the same passion but the same birthday, two things were very clear.  There would be a celebratory meal.  And there would be many desserts.

To add even more sweetness to the table, my friend and baking guru Nick Malgieri happened to be in town visiting.  So off the three of us went, on the train to Hägendorf for a pilgrimage to Reto and Anni Lampart’s restaurant.

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To some people, Sicily conjures up images of endless citrus groves and fields of olive trees, blood oranges and golden olive oil galore.  To others, it may be all about the wines (especially dessert wines and fortified ones like Marsala) and the abundance of fresh fish.  To me, as you know, it’s all about the sweets.  I already plan on returning one day to experience those other delicacies too – notably the wines and the island’s king of fish, swordfish… when I’m not 6 months pregnant ! (How’s that for a surprise – and total disclosure ?!)  Thankfully though, gelati, granite and marzipan are not on any lists of foods to avoid.

And Sicily is truly a heavenly place for us sweet lovers.  Let’s put it this way, ice cream sandwiches (literally, ice cream in a sandwich) are a way of life; and brioche dipped in sweet, icy granita is common for breakfast.

And so, without further ado, the highlights of my sweet discoveries in Sicily… Read the rest of this story >>

It probably begins about three weeks before my arrival to New York City. The emails start coming in at a more rapid pace, and a recurring theme is unmistakable. What do I want for dinner ?

My parents count down the days to my arrival, as do I.  And they want to know…  Any special places I want to go to ? Any reservations to be made in advance ?  But to their disappointment, each time, I don’t really have a list of the hottest restaurants of the moment that I want to go to, that they would need to call as soon as they wake up one month prior to the day for dinner reservations.

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I’m still smiling from all the excitement of Switzerland’s first Salon du Chocolat (could also be the sugar).  Well over 15,000 people visited this chocolate extravaganza in Zürich during the last weekend in March.  They gazed with open mouths and cameras in hand at dresses made of real chocolate; they tasted exotic flavored ganaches and strawberries dipped in a chocolate fountain; they watched pastry chefs plate sophisticated desserts before their eyes – that ended up in their stomachs thereafter; they listened to experts explain the subtleties of pairing chocolate with wine, whisky or even just water; and they discovered chocolate companies from around the country that they may not have heard of before.  For three days, it was a treat for all the senses.

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I announced the exciting sweet news back in November of last year, when I began working with the Salon du Chocolat team in Paris to bring the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate to Switzerland for the first time.  And now, the big moment is nearly upon us !  Chocolatiers, pastry chefs and industry professionals are all fine tuning the details of their chocolate assortments, boxes, bunnies, recipes, conferences and more.  And as promised, a little preview of who and what you’ll see at the show this coming weekend, from March 30th to April 1st.

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Dreams do come true…  The Salon du Chocolat is taking place in Zürich in a few weeks.  My Sweet Zürich tours celebrated their one year anniversary last month.   And a nougat shop just opened in Zürich.  Nougat !

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