Galloping Gourmet? Hardly. That would have required an English accent (I only have a Canadian one); running and leaping over chairs (I was wearing heels so that was out of the question); and copious amounts of wine quaffed during my guest chef stint at Bloomingdales SF (I talked about infusing wine in chocolate, but infused myself with none). At least not until later that evening….

Nicole & Candi in the kitchen at Bloomingdales

Chocolate lovers gathered to “chocolaj”, which means to “drink chocolate together” in the language of the ancient Maya, who first discovered this refreshing and delicious elixir of the gods. So, in honor of this lovely tradition, we “ate chocolate together.”

Dark chocolate raspberry truffles

To a standing-room-only crowd, I demonstrated how to make two hand rolled truffles–a chile pepper chocolate truffle gently rolled in cocoa powder and a dark chocolate raspberry truffle with raspberry sugar. Samples of both deliciously decadent chocolates were handed out to keep the crowd happy and full as well as recipes to make at home in time for Valentine’s Day. And a draw to win boxes of my signature chocolates filled in any lulls while we were waiting for cream to come to a boil or chocolate to melt.

And just to keep people on edge of their seats, I tempered chocolate right before their eyes. For those of you who know how challenging tempering can be, it was great fun to do it live.

Adding to the fun, were the quips (and oddly shaped truffles) by Candi Austin, Culinary Specialist at Bloomingdales; my handsome assistant and husband, Scott; and friends in the front row, who know me just a little too well…. I should be grateful that there weren’t any real hecklers.

We’re planning another event at Bloomies soon, this time with wine! I’ll be the Galloping Gourmet Girl before long. Look for an upcoming evening of wine and chocolate tasting featuring Essence by Chocolate and Regusci Winery.