Don't Miss The Sixth Course

Judging a Chocolate Salon is no easy task. Yes, it's lots of "free chocolate," but not all of it is good and after an hour you'll long for salad and a spin class. But what keeps me coming back is discovering new chocolatiers who have something special to offer a competitive Bay Area chocolate scene. At Taste TV's Fall Chocolate Salon on November 13, I had the pleasure of tasting some decadent truffles from Bridget Labus and Gianina Serrano of Sixth Course. Coming soon, to the Mission district!

Bridget and Gianina have solid experience in Pastry at fine hotels and restaurants in San Francisco. Bridget has been Executive Pastry Chef at several 5 star luxury hotels, including the Four Seasons and the St. Regis. Gianina has had similar experience, focusing on Pastry at high volume fine dining restaurants (with the addition of courses in cheesemaking). It's no surprise, then, to find Sixth Course on the truffle cart at the always elegant Acquerello. But soon Sixth Course will be making the leap from luxe to edgy, as they are in the process of building out a boutique at 15th & Capp in the Mission. Not confined to truffles, the spot will sell petits fours, entremets, semifreddos, tea and coffee. (Stumped on "entremet"? see here.) Since San Francisco has seen more chocolate shop closings than openings in the past year, I am excited about the new space. Before long, our Chocolate Tours will be heading from Hayes Valley into the Mission and beyond.

For a new company, Sixth Course has a wide array of tempting flavors in three categories: Caramels, Wine & Spirits, Chef's Choice. They are sold in boxes of six, in simple brown packaging made from recycled materials. Most are round and generously sized. Booze and chocolate lovers, this is the brand for you. They work with premier local distilleries (like St. George) to create some delectable flavors, including the Whiskey, Neat and Raspberry Cosmopolitan. There are 6 different caramels on the menu, and we sampled both the Chai Tea and the Ceylon Cinnamon. The most unusual was Honey Fennel Pollen, a balanced blend of seasonal Bay Area flavors. The classic Hazelnut Praline was also delicious, flavored with just a touch of Frangelico.

The other Salon judges must have agreed with Gourmet Walks, because Sixth Course ended up taking home 2 Gold Medals (including Best in Salon), 4 Silver, and 3 Bronze. I caught up with Bridget after the salon to get a better sense of their inspiration:

1. What chocolatiers have inspired your work? (Bay Area or beyond)
Ewald Notter, Stephane Leroux, Andrew Shotts (Garrison Confections), Paul A. Young (London), Ramon Morato (Spain), Jean-Pierre Wybauw (Callebaut).....the list goes on and on....

2. Where do you find some of your favorite desserts in SF? What restaurants and pastry chefs?
Depending on the mood, a soft serve ice cream cone at Bi Rite ( can't be beat !) or plated dessert at Redd in Yountville ( always a pleasure to see and taste). Our go-to cake shop is Miette in SF ( love the look of their classic cakes, and the taste and textures are always right on the money!). Bouchon macaroons are also one of our favorites.

3. What are your favorite dessert cookbooks?
Chez Panisse Desserts. love love love fruit in a dessert!

4. What is the significance of your company's name?
The sixth course is typically the dessert course and our logo is the place setting. This idea came from one of our Grandmother's cookbooks from the 30's.

5. What is the biggest challenge to starting an artisan food business in SF?
Getting your name out there. Exercising patience and realizing that everything takes 5X as long as you think it will. Navigating the bureaucracy of the permitting system for our build out.

Have you tried Sixth Course? For now, look for them online and at Avedanos, Rainbow Grocery and the 24th St Cheese Company. Let us know what you think!

Chocolate for Singles

My husband wasn't too worried when I told him I'd be checking out the Singles Chocolate Salon at Fort Mason Friday night. It'd be 95% women, or so he thought, especially with a fashion show as the main attraction. Yes, but if all men assumed, as he did, that the event would be packed with chocolate loving women, why wouldn't they show up and take advantage of those odds? And some would be sophisticated, able to taste the nuanced differences in single origin dark chocolate, not batting an eye at the $8 price of most fine bars. Or so I told my single friend Sue.

Well, my husband was right. Aside from a group of fraternity brothers in identical navy jackets who lingered by the door and then left, the pickings were slim and unappealing. But the chocolate? Fantastic. I hope Sue came to understand one of my favorite chocolate quotes: "Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate."


For the $25 ticket price, we had access to 7 different chocolate booths, all featuring local chocolatiers and plenty of free samples. We could also taste from some wineries and Hansen Natural Soda, a stop we returned to again and again since there was no water to be found. My favorite "non-chocolate" stop was Bliss Spa, a company I work with for my "Day of Beautiful Chocolate" private tour. Their interactive booth allowed us to sample 3 different brownies from local bakeries and vote on the best. The winning brownie, or so they claimed, would be served alongside the cucumber water as guests await their beauty treatments. Sue and I both voted for the cake-like brownie from Bittersweet Cafe; I don't know what chocolate they use, but it was intense and delicious.

It's too bad San Francisco Chocolate Salon did not find a more hip venue to host this event; the Fort Mason meeting room felt vast, damp and soulless. Lounge music lightened the mood somewhat, but I couldn't help but imagine how much cooler this would have been at a downtown spot like 111 Minna. Despite the lack of cool, I was still happy to talk to the different chocolatiers, all of whom were friendly and eager to share what makes their chocolate unique. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Cosmic Chocolate (Oakland)
I love the sexy appeal of Cosmic Chocolate's gorgeous chocolates. Their lines include "flavors that warm the heart," and truffles that are "spa inspired" and "cocktail inspired." The cocktail ones were my favorite, with tempting names like the "blushing geisha" (strawberry dacquiri flavored), the "beaming buddha" (limoncello ginger) and the "lucky leprechaun" (mint/chartreuse). Cosmic Chocolate's Founder, Carly Baumon, says she went to culinary school in New York but is a self-taught chocolatier. They have a small storefront in Oakland at 5002 Telegraph Avenue - perfect for my evolving East Bay Chocolate Tour.


2. The Xocolate Bar (San Rafael)
Malena and Clive, founders of San Rafael's The Xocolate Bar, put together the most compelling display in the salon. Chocolate skeletons (in honor of Day of the Dead), buddhas, Aztec shields and beautifully sculpted truffles with unusual flavor combinations. Malena and Clive, former rock'n'roll bandmates, say they try to honor chocolate's roots in Mesoamerica through their flavors and designs. The Xocolate Bar took two gold metals at this summer's SF Chocolate Salon and I can understand why. I sampled the mango tamarind truffle and it was fabulous. The Xocolate Bar is sold at Chocolate Covered in Noe Valley and online.

3. Rushburn Toffee (San Francisco)
"Men love it," said Stephanie Rush, founder of San Francisco's Rushburn Toffee. Dismayed by all the bad toffee out there, Stephanie's grandmother created "The Toffee Recipe" in the 70s and shared it with no one until a year before she died. Now we can all enjoy this coveted recipe in different varieties: English toffee with almonds, espresso toffee with almonds, and milk and dark chocolate toffee clusters. Though I'm not a toffee coinnosseur, my sweet tooth enjoyed the milk chocolate toffee cluster sample. And I love the packaging: a sleek, silver tin reminiscent of grandmothers and sweet treats.

4. Sacred Chocolate (San Rafael)
If you read my post on making raw chocolate, you'll know my friend Daniel (recent raw food convert) and understand why he would be enamored of Sacred Chocolate - the only company at the salon who focused on the health benefits to eating raw chocolate. With a bit of a cultish hippie following, David Wolf's Sacred chocolate was first unveiled at raw food retreats. He believes he's the only chocolatier who uses the nutrient-rich skin from the cacao bean. Yet even Wolf admits his chocolate is expensive - $10 for what looked to be a 2 oz heart-shaped bar. I liked the 65% mint bar and would recommend staying away from the 99%, no matter how healthy it is! Wolf doesn't appear to have a web site, but he does have a revealing My Space profile under the moniker "Soaring White Love Eage."

5. XOX Truffles (San Francisco)
Any San Francisco chocolate aficionado has got to be familiar with XOX Truffles. Now with a store in Montclair as well as North Beach, Chef Jean Marc Gorce has been in the business with his wife Casimira since 1997. They offer 27 different flavors of hand-made truffles, some dusted in cocoa powder, others coated in white chocolate, hazelnut or coconut. The chef himself manned the booth and I loved the caramel truffles we sampled.

If this event sounds appealing, visit the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon to read about what they've planned for 2008. Just don't expect "love at first sight."