At the Ritz-Carlton in Center City Philadelphia, hot chocolate sommelier Caesar Bradley blends custom cocoa from November through the end of February. How does he make the perfect cup of hot chocolate? "Think of your favorite truffle," he advises, "and try to reproduce it."
Photo: WILLIAM DEERING
Haute Cocoa Philadelphia's hot chocolate sommelierdispenses comfort in a cupBy Jen L KaretnickThe satisfaction derives from gaily striped cups of steaming hot chocolate, served tableside at the elaborately chintzy chair-sofa arrangements in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia. The charisma - capacious and winning - stems from James Earl Jones look-alike Caesar Bradley, the property's amicable, 54-year-old "hot chocolate sommelier."
As with the "tanning butler" at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach in Miami Beach, who rubs sunscreen onto your shoulders, and the "fire butler" at the chain's Boston property, who lays out fragrant fuel in your in-room fireplace to order, the hot chocolate sommelier was conceived as a seasonal, location-oriented enrichment. No doubt an ambassador of hot chocolate, oozing history and lore and enthusiasm, is a perfect match for the City of Brotherly Love.
"Plus, there's the growing availability and popularity of chocolate from the far regions of the world," notes program founder Wendy Gordon Reisman, corporate director of food and beverage public relations for the Ritz-Carlton chain. "Because the creative outlets for this are huge, why not have some aid in creating the perfect cup for winter?"
Less romantically, perhaps, the novelty is also designed to pull in area residents (this particular Ritz-Carlton is situated in Center City, the city's premier shopping, theater and museum district), as well as keep on-premise customers amused and captive. "It is an extra bit of service and personal luxury to offer our guests," Reisman says.
Yet what could have been a mere gimmick has ballooned into a trademark curriculum that is now in its third year. In fact, the program, not to mention its promoter, has performed so much beyond expectation that a hot chocolate sommelier has also been installed at the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch (in the Rocky Mountains) for the pleasure of chilled guests who have perhaps taken the hotel's resident pooch for a hike, courtesy of the "loan-a-lab" program.
Back in Philadelphia, beginning in November, Bradley sets up his station on Wednesdays and Saturdays in The Rotunda and mans it from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. His assistants, who scurry with the eagerness and intensity of court minions, position silver urns filled with dark, milk and white (no cocoa) hot chocolate between poinsettias and nestle white bowls filled with condiments, ranging from toasted almond slivers to raspberry powder, on a linen-draped counter. When everything is arranged to his satisfaction, he nods once, spreads his hands and announces, "Okay, folks, showtime," and proceeds to take orders on a note-pad while his associates concoct and distribute the actual brews around the lobby, along with some much-welcome ice water on the side.
Though he is not a formally trained sommelier (in wine terms), Bradley's title, as opposed to "butler," is both deliberate and meaningful. "[Cocoa beans are] like grapes in a vineyard," Bradley explains. "Different soils [and] climates...have a role in the flavor of cocoa. Each area's bean provides a different experience."
Former sparkling wine winemaker John Scharffenberger and partner Robert Steinberg, who cofounded San Francisco's premier Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker in 1997, agree that the qualities that define fine chocolate, including terroir, are similar to wine. "Most wine tasting terms can be applied to chocolate," Scharffenberger says. "I discovered that the artisan aspects of making chocolate are very much like wine production."
Thus, Scharffenberger and Steinberg are particular about where their cocoa beans are nurtured. During an early scouting trip to Venezuela, Steinberg connected with growers of the sought-after criollo cocoa bean; Scharffen Berger now uses up to 50 percent of small plantation Venezuelan beans in its signature products. Other beans for blending are hand-selected, like fruit for reserve vintages, from cocoa plantations located in Ghana, Madagascar, the Caribbean and Indonesia.
Additionally, recent studies have shown that chocolate, like wine, contains certain chemicals that are beneficial to well-being - theobromine, for one, which is chock-full of antioxidants, and phenylethylamine, a substance also produced by the brain when it's happy and in love, which helps control stress. Eaten regularly as part of the Dutch-dubbed "Polymeal," along with wine, fish, garlic, almonds, fruit and vegetables, dark chocolate is said to lower the chance of developing heart disease and prolong life span for an average of five years.
Much like a master sommelier's, Bradley's job is to be thoroughly educated in these matters but not didactic, and discreetly guide patrons toward making the most discerning decisions. "Not only do I want to help my guests create the perfect cup, I also want them to learn a little about the art of enjoying fine chocolate," he says.
Hence his opening rap to first-time customers, who are frequently confused by the details of this afternoon ritual, is practiced and knowledgeable as he explains the vast differences between cocoa sourced from Africa or Mexico and chocolates such as, say, Hershey's and Valrhona. He often advises: "There's no such thing as the 'typical' hot chocolate here. Think of the best truffle you've ever had and try to reproduce it as a drink." If you're having white chocolate, for instance, you might want to think about dropping some fresh, sweet strawberries into it. For milk chocolate, he recommends adding liqueurs, such as Frangelico, for extra intensity, and he has a pretty good idea about how a cup of dark chocolate should be doctored: with Chambord, fresh raspberries and shaved white chocolate.
Of course, you don't have to drink it as richly made as possible, and can opt to have your chocolate thinned with milk instead of cream, forgoing the homemade marshmallows that are courtesy of the property's pastry chef. Upscale hot chocolate brands that are available commercially, such as Cortes Caribbean Ground Chocolate, hailing from Puerto Rico, advise to heat milk, water or both for mixing with sweetened, powdered cocoa and melting shaved chocolate. If you have unsweetened cocoa on hand, try adding a teaspoon to ground coffee before brewing for an additional flavor boost without a lot of calories.
Then again, enjoying a low-fat cup of hot chocolate Bradley-style is like having a banana split with hot fudge, nuts and sugar-free ice cream - sort of pointless. Indeed, Bradley freely dispenses his opinion on pairings with an eye for flavor and texture, not weight. "Really," he says, "you have to choose between having hot chocolate and lunch." Especially when he insists on piling hazelnut chocolate on the side for additional munching.
Until January, his stage is backdropped by a soaring evergreen tree gilded with shimmering ornaments. Yet there's no post-holiday letdown here: After the round of season's greetings is over, Bradley enchants customers until the end of February, albeit on Saturdays only, with custom-mixed mugs of creamy, aromatic chocolate.
It's an arrangement that is fine with Bradley, who also works for the hotel in restaurant reservations. "I used to be a bartender at The Grill, the property's signature dining room, but I'm getting too old to stand like that," he admits. "I do this because there's an end in sight." Even if it is only a seasonal respite from the warming task of delivering what Bradley calls "happiness in a cup."
Features Editor Jen L. Karetnick also writes the "Sexy Tastes" column for Citizen Culture magazine and the "Kitsch'n" column for The Drexel Online Journal.
The bitter truth
Cocoa is no longer limited to sweets or an after-dinner mug of something. Nor is it as unfriendly to wine as connoisseurs used to believe; it was the sugar content in cocoa-rich desserts that skewed pairings.
"[There is] a dark, deep, savory side of [cocoa] that we rarely get to taste," says Chef Joey Altman of The Food Network's Appetite for Adventure and Tasting Napa. "It pairs well with full-bodied Merlots and Cabernets, especially ones with slightly exotic notes."
Unsweetened cocoa has many uses that do not call for the addition of palate-impairing sugars. For including cocoa-based recipes in wine-matched courses, take a leaf from the mole chapter of a Mexican cookbook and think of it as a small but significant part of a multi-faceted whole.
Altman also advises cooks to view cocoa as an element for tenderizing mixtures: "When blending unsweetened chocolate with spices such as cumin and dried chilies, the chocolate adds a profound dimension of depth and richness." He rubs a cocoa-spice mixture on duck breast, though he notes that it works equally as well on pork tenderloin, turkey breast, a whole chicken or even game. He then pairs the dish with Beaulieu Vineyard's Dulcet: "The 20 percent syrah adds complementary spice and fruit. For a more austere pairing, BV's Georges de Latour really picks up the cocoa, the chocolate, and the duck's richness softens the tannins and makes this classic wine softer and more accessible."
Cocoa-Chili-Rubbed Duck Breast
From Chef Joey Altman of The Food Network's
Appetite for Adventure and Tasting Napa
For the Cocoa-Chili Rub:
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh toasted cumin seed, ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 pounds duck breast, trimmed of excess fat
- 4 ounces arugula
- Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Serves 4 - JLK
