Special: Good Food Awards Marketplace, Part Deux
January 23, 2014 § 3 Comments
Coco Delice was my first stop on the Confections tour. Founder Dennis Kearney and I started our businesses at about the same time (he in the East Bay, me on the Peninsula). It was nice to have a few minutes to chat about his success and growth. His Bison Black Magic beer bonbon was a winner.
All smiles and so much fun to meet, the Miami-based Venezuelan confectioners Cacao Art won for their Tupelo Honey and Cardamom bonbons. These bonbons have a creamy, flavorful ganache and a nicely thin, crisp couverture.
Fruition Chocolate, from upstate New York, won in both the bean-to-bar Chocolate category (Dominican 70%) and the Confections category. Their Confections winner, Brown Butter Bourbon Caramels, are shown here.
Videri Chocolate Factory‘s winning product was actually their 90% Dark Chocolate Ecuador Camino Verde — a powerful, rich dark chocolate. Pictured here are three other chocolates in their product line: Dark, Dark Milk, and Dark with Sea Salt. And they’re located in my sister’s new hometown — Raleigh, NC. Hmmm… road trip?
What do building wood boats, making craft chocolate, Humboldt County, and letterpress packaging have in common? Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate! What a fun and interesting conversation I had with founders Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor. Not to mention several tasty samples of their winning 72% Belize, Toledo bean-to-bar chocolate. Their attention to detail is evident is every aspect of their work.
And a must-have closer look at the custom mold design for their bars:
After all of that chocolate, I needed something a bit savory on my palate. Loved the Downer Brown cheese from Blackberry Farm in Tennessee! Again… road trip?!
Of course, have to shout out to a local favorite, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company in Marin county. Their Toma is creamy and addictive.
650Food 
[…] Gourmet creations like this Bison Black Magic Chocolate helped put Coco Delice on the map (Photo: 650Food.com). […]
LikeLike
[…] This time of year, you’d be hard pressed to get me out of bed before sunrise on a chilly Saturday morning. Unless, of course, there’s an incentive, like a major shoe sale… or a perhaps a fest of award-winning food. This past Saturday it was The Good Food Awards Marketplace that had me up before dawn, under-caffeinated, and in the car heading up US 101 to San Francisco’s Ferry Building. For me, the event is a kickoff to a new year of food and drink and an opportunity to taste some of the best handcrafted deliciousness in the US without leaving the Bay Area. (Need a review of last year’s GFA Marketplace adventure? Clicky to read Part Un and Part Deux.) […]
LikeLike
[…] of this year’s Good Food Awards — you deserve it! Want to see what I tasted? On to Part Deux for the food porn […]
LikeLike