Chuao Chocolatier founders Michael Antinorsi and Brian Vandenbroucke both have classical training in chocolate making from the esteemed Ecole Lenotre in France, and are working hard to merge classical French and Belgian chocolate-making techniques with New World chocolate (El Rey) and flavors. Although a relatively new company, the pair (Michael hails from Venezuela and Brian from Belgium) craft many very good chocolates with some delightfully surprising flavor combinations and unusual choices for fillings.

Type(s): Prestige Chocolatier
Style: Nouvelle American
Taste Rating: Very Good
Overall Value Rating: Very Good

Top Picks: Grignottines (roasted caramelized almond slivers, chopped pistachios, and orange peel enrobed in dark chocolate); Chevere (goat cheese, Poire William liqueur, and crushed black pepper butter cream enrobed in dark chocolate); Picante (California raisin fondue and Napa Valley cabernet caramel spiced with pasilla chili and cayenne pepper enrobed in dark chocolate); Cardamon (cardamom infused ganache enrobed in dark chocolate); Cambur (soft banana and brown sugar caramel enrobed in milk chocolate).

At the very beginning of the year, I noted that flavored caramel would be a favorite filling for New World chocolate artisans. Of the roughly 25 pieces in Chuao’s current collection, fully a third of them use caramel in the filling, often in unusual ways, and mostly very successfully: two of our Top Picks have caramel centers.

The Picante combines a red wine caramel with raisins and two different chili peppers in an enticing combination of sweetly sour spiciness that beguiles the mouth with a mildly lingering burn. This piece was included in an article on Extreme Chocolate in a Texas newspaper where the reviewers did not like it at all, surprisingly because Texans tend to like things hot. This piece inspires strong reactions, and may not only be the best piece Chuao makes but also its most original.

The Cambur explodes with roasted banana flavor in the mouth followed by the taste of the buttery brown sugar caramel, then the caramel flavors of the milk chocolate in the enrobing, and finally a lingering taste of banana on the finish. Each taste was distinct with one following the other in quick succession.

Many chocolatiers make cardamom ganaches, but few wring out the intensity of the flavor the way that is done in the eponymous Cardamon. There is a freshness to the cardamom that is brought out by not shying away from the bitter components of the spice. By capturing all of the essence of the cardamom the full flavor is revealed.

In the Chevere, the full balance and expressiveness of the filling can only be appreciated by eating the piece in such a way as to crush some of the grains of black pepper. The goat cheese is not very assertive in this piece, which is a good thing (as it’s too often the over the top dominant flavor), but the black pepper makes the combination work in a very different - and much more appealing - way.

Finally, the Grignottines are a slightly deconstructed version of the classical rocher. Chuao’s version contains both almond slivers and pistachios, adding orange zest to liven things up. Nice and crunchy with a nice citrus tang in the aftertaste.

While all of the flavors are crisp and clear out of the mouth cleanly, the balance of some of the pieces still needs work in our opinion. In the main, the pieces with almond paste (marzipan) were among our least favorites texturally speaking (when compared with other Prestige Chocolatiers) and the nuts in several of the pralines tasted like they could have been roasted longer. This lack of distinctiveness and clarity marred an otherwise elegant take on the venerable Almond Joy bar - the humorously named Coco Cannelle. The almond in the center was a little soggy and the piece lacked the authoritative crunch to complement the texture of the creamy and just-right sweetness of the coconut that would have made it truly stand out.

I also really liked the thinking that went into the pairing of the raspberry pate de fruit and slightly grainy almond praline in the Framboise and the strawberry caramel with balsamic vinegar pairing in the Modena (or, as some might say, mmmmmmModena). 

The Chuao web site is appealing and basically easy to navigate and use, providing some background information on the company, its founders, and their work. A brief but interesting FAQ section provides one of the better descriptions of the difference between a bon bon and a truffle. But finding out the answer we’ll leave as an exercise for the dear reader.

Tip: Share with a friend: Go ahead and splurge on the larger 50-piece box so there are two of each piece.

* Note: The rating refers only to the bon bons, not the truffles or other items the company makes.

Company Information:
Chuao Chocolatier
The Lumberyard, Suite C-109
937 S. Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92025
888-635-1444
http://www.chuaochocolatier.com


Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday 11am -6pm
Sunday 10am-4pm