If Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory met Top Chef, the result would be this Sunday’s Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment, a chocolate cook-off featuring signature dishes from twenty-four amateur chefs vying for top prizes.
From savory to sweet palates, the variations of chocolate infused samples ranged from Chocolate Chipotle Chili to Chocolate Souffle Cakes. The creations delighted the sold out crowd of 300 at The Bell House, a music venue in the Gowanus area of Park Slope.
I felt at home when I spotted Foodzie producer Taza Chocolate, later in the evening.
While none of the chefs from today’s show have made a creation for Foodzie yet, they might, or you could be the next chef to experiment with chocolate and join the other chocolate producers on Foodzie! Maybe this event will inspire you…
The masterminds behind the day’s festivities, Theo Peck and Nick Suarez, co-founded the experiment after competing against one another in numerous NYC cook-off’s. I caught up with them backstage where they talked about how their partnership began. “After a couple of cook-off’s, Theo contacted me and said, let’s throw our own cook-off’s, let’s make them bigger and better,” Nick Suarez said. And they certainly have, starting with this summer’s Brooklyn Beer Experiment, a beer cook-off and a home-brew off. To learn more from Theo and Nick, watch this video:
With celebrity judges, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs of Food52.com, Ben Van Leeuwen of Van Leeuwen ice cream, Nick Fauchald of Tasting Table, Richard Muszynskia of Ricard Chocolate and Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit, the competition also gave the audience the chance to vote.
Before casting my ballot, I sampled my way through the spectrum of tastes beginning with savory. My friend Rachelle, who tipped me off about the Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment, had been raving about her preview taste testing of her roommate Juliana Vail’s lamb sliders with its harisa infused chocolate sauce paired with slaw and fresh baked pita. Moving down the line, it was hard to top the energy of Righteous Burn, a team of brothers and friends, as they served their pirate mole pan-fried dumplings filled with a cocoa rubbed chicken braised in chocolate beer. In sweets, brother and sister duo Rebecca and Max Lando of Working Class Foodies brought back memories of sleep-away camp with their Deconstructed S’Mores while Courtney Yadouga at a bank by day and a baker at night was joined by her mom to serve their after school special, a dark chocolate and cherry preserve cookie with a shot of warm vanilla bean infused milk.
Before the winners were announced, I talked with judge Richard Myszynski of Ricard Chocolates whose company offered one of the top prizes: a $600 1-year Chocolate of the Month membership. “The creativity behind everyone is incredible and on top of that, to do it for practically for free is amazing. They all deserve to win something,” he said. But, ultimately, only one chef could win his prize plus $150 in cash and Bottle of Chocolate Stout.
In both audience and celebrity choice, first place went to Roopa Marcello for her Thai Chocolate Ice Cream (it must have had something to do with the spring like weather in November). None of my favorites won, but I did talk to Nick and Theo’s top choice, Pervais Shallwani’s Chocolate Hush Puppies earlier in the day.
For now, I can’t wait until Theo and Nick’s next food experiment. . .until then, relive the day with this video tour of the stations. Or check out photos from the event below!
Just heard about San Francisco’s Underground Farmer’s Market, organized by ForageSF, with all sort of interesting foods from “a mix of mostly unlicensed food and body products makers.” According to the San Francisco Weekly, it’s now a private event (speakeasy style?) after a visit from the Health Dept. Such an event is a great way for people thinking of starting a food business to get some more taster input! (Who me?)
