EASTER-09-BOX
Christopher Elbow was in St. Louis on Saturday promoting his line of what he calls "artisanal' chocolates...a respectable adjective, certainly, but one that falls short of doing proper justice. (If you could combine refined, elegant, ambrosial, sinfully-good and work-of-art into a single descriptor, you'd be getting closer.) The February issue of Food & Wine gave it's #1 ranking to Elbow's No. 6 Dark Rocks chocolate bar, the one that features 61% dark chocolate blended with a "popping" candy.
Elbow is a culinary chocolatier who works in small batches, crafting each piece by hand. What really sets him apart, though, is his wild and crazy combinations of flavors: like ganache with lime zest or black tea or yuzu; or caramel with passion fruit or lavender or chili-spice--27 in all. The one that blew my doors off combines fresh banana with curry...incredible and unforgettable.
Gourmet chocolatiers are springing up across the country, but you have to pay obscene shipping charges (special boxes are needed to control the temperature) along with the already obscene base prices just to get the goodies to your door. Not so with Elbow.
Although based in Kansas City, Christopher Elbow Artisinal Chocolate has partnered with a handful of retailers, but only one locally: Nadoz EuroBakery & Cafe (the Boulevard location only), where you can purchase a piece, an assortment or a gift box. On Saturday, Elbow was at Nadoz touting his new Easter Egg Collection , which will be available there by April 6. (Mail orders will ship from KC on Apr 6 as well.)
Check out his Easter collection below...we've come a long way from those hollow, waxy, soon-to-be-headless Walgreen's chocobunnies. -- George Mahe
