Chocolate: the Consuming Passion
Chocolate: the Consuming Passion
I stole these words. But I stole them from my sister and she won't mind; we always share. This is the title of one of her best-known books, a New York Times Best Seller almost thirty years ago. I was working for her at the time, and I will never forget the day she told me about the plans for our work on the book. "It is going to require a lot of research," she said with a grin. And research we did, for the next eight months (okay, we kept right on researching after the book was published... in fact we are still very in-depth researchers).
One of our first and favorite research trips was to Harbor Sweets just north of Boston. The business was started by an unassuming man named Ben Strohecker, who in 1973 challenged himself to create the "best piece of candy in the world", regardless of cost. After spending a day tasting every type of chocolate made at Harbor Sweets, we decided Ben had succeeded.There were not so many Ben Stroheckers back then, but today, chocolatiers abound. (Obviously my sister and I were not the one people out there researching.) The varying brands of chocolate seem to increase daily, and one can find chocolates these days combined with flavors one never would have imagined would be friendly with chocolate (and some, frankly, are not). Even your local CVS drugstore has an entire display rack filled with gourmet chocolates.
And what an opportune time to blog about chocolate... in a month that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever except... Valentine's Day... the perfect excuse for anyone to overspend on chocolate. In preparation for this upcoming holiday, I offer you some favorite chocolate picks for Valentine's Day from the staff of Rachel Ray.
B.T. McElrath Chocolatier 9-Piece Truffle Assortment
Godiva Limited Edition Mousse Collection
La Maison du Chocolat 18-piece Chocolate Box
Garrison Confections Valentine's Day Box
Last, but surely not least, Sandra Boynton's current pick for the Best of the Best in the contemporary world of chocolate: a small company in San Francisco called Poco Dolce.
These are not to be missed!
Last, but surely not least, Sandra Boynton's current pick for the Best of the Best in the contemporary world of chocolate: a small company in San Francisco called Poco Dolce.These are not to be missed!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Labels: charlestown, chocolate, coastal homes, oceanfront, Rhode Island Real Estate
POSTED BY
at
4:34 PM
5 Comments:
Pam,
I thoroughly enjoyed this blog and pictured myself researching for a book like this. Congratulations to your sister for being a successful author!
My closest similar experience was being part of a focus group once for ads for Lindt chocolate. They make us look at photos of chocolate for EVER before feeding us any! Loved the blog!
I love this post for two reasons:
1. Chocolate - Chocolate - Chocolate!
2. Sandra Boynton - In my house your sister is the equivalent of a rock star! Our favorite books are Snuggle Puppy and The Going to Bed Book.
I like Sweenor's in Wakefield and Goodies by the Sea in Newport. So great and yummy!
Your timing is right on! Chocolate is on our minds more than ever this time of year! Additionally, as I was reading the blog I noticed my dog was chewing on a small wooden book. Yeah, you guessed it, a Sandra Boynton book!
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