Byline: Kathleen Pierce
Feb. 7--WESTFORD -- A double, no-foam latte was an effete order a few years back. Now UPS drivers sail into Starbucks in their brown uniforms and rattle off the request with the ease of a well-heeled soccer mom.
Coffee is not the only everyday staple going upscale. This year, it's chocolate's turn. The suddenly gourmet indulgence that has been around since Mayan times now carries the cache of wine. Notice the '70 percent cocoa' stamped on your Hershey's bar. That wasn't there a year ago.
Hershey just released a line called Cacao Reserve that comes in percentage points according to cacao quantities. Cacao, pronounced 'ka-kow,' the central ingredient in cocoa and chocolate, entered the lexicon as sneakily as words like macchiato did.
'I went down the candy aisle at Market Basket the other day and was shocked by all the chocolate that is stamped with percentage points,' said Geneva Schult of Westford, who is coordinating the St. Mark's Episcopal Church Chocolate Festival in Westford this weekend.
The availability of great quality chocolate at your corner pharmacy has made this suddenly gourmet item accessible to all. At the same time, chocolate's personality makeover is making the shopworn treat highbrow.
'I have noticed a lot of snobbery. People are saying I can't eat that if it's not 60 percent cacao,' said Schult.
Bringing chocolate back down to earth are people like Schult, who is as comfortable making a mock truffle as a decadent chocolate torte. On her kitchen island last week were products purchased at the supermarket, such as fudge mix, Oreo cookies, cocoa powder and candy melts. Zapping the melts in the microwave for 60 seconds, Schult dips the cookies in the chocolate and the dessert is done and looking fabulous.
Alongside her is 12-year-old LillyAnna Kuehl, perfecting her raspberry brownies. Extolling the virtues of working with chocolate in the kitchen, Kuehl said: 'I like the taste, it's easy to deal with.'
But more importantly, 'it gives you that happy feeling.'
Schult and Kuehl took home first and second place respectively at the St. Mark's Episcopal Church's Chocolate Festival last year. Now in its 17th year, the festival, happening this weekend, was ahead of its time.
'People have always liked chocolate, but now it is being considered a great idea for an event or party,' said Schult.
On the other end of the sweet spectrum is Maribel Lieberman. The owner of MarieBelle is doing for chocolates what Tiffany did for jewels, elevating them to a work of art. Coming in sea blue boxes, and in flavors like cinnamon, Earl Grey and cardamom, her chocolates are exquisitely decorated frills that are being gobbled up globally.
'I sell them at Bergdorf's, the Four Seasons Hotel, Japan, France, all over Europe,' said the former fashion designer who trained herself to be a chef.
She opened MarieBelle in New York in 2001 at a time when most stores were closing. Right away, she struck gold.
'I was never pleased with the chocolates sold around here. I felt it was cocoa powder. If it is chocolate it should be cocoa, not powder,' said Lieberman.
Like a chemist, she experimented with Aztec chocolate and found its lack of sweetness pleasing to her refined palate. At the same time, she heard from European chocolatiers that Americans would not take to dark chocolate. By touting its health benefits, she proved them wrong and helped spark dark chocolate's renaissance. According to WebMD.com, dark chocolate lowers high blood pressure and is loaded with antioxidants
Her sophisticated designs are highly graphic, as well as intricate and fun. Sweet Peas in Westford carries the artisanal treats and shop owner Wendy Lepore says they are selling briskly for Valentine's Day, even though the higher price tag, $35.99 per box, would be prohibitive for many.
'They go for it. The concentration is higher and it's just a nicer quality of chocolate,' said Lepore.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church's Chocolate Festival takes place Sunday with seatings at noon and 3 p.m. at the Westford Regency, 219 Littleton Road, Westford. Admission is $12 in advance, $14 at the door. For more information, visit www.st-mark.org.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business
News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
TICKER SYMBOL(S): NASDAQ-NMS:SBUX
