Chefs Table Dinner with Rose Street Patisserie, Minneapolis, MN

On December 5th, 2016, Cacao Barry held a chefs table dinner hosted by Chef John Kraus of Rose Street Patisserie featuring a handpicked set of eight Minneapolis area chefs. Each dish featured a Cacao Barry product, and the meal was created by chefs, for chefs. Rose Street Patisserie provided a modern yet rustic ambiance, which perfectly complemented the courses. Nick Rancone of Corner Table showed off his sommelier skills to beautifully pair wine with each course.

For the first course, Chef Erick Harcey of Upton 43 balanced delicate sweet and savory flavors in his dish, "Roasted Beets with White Chocolate & Passion Fruit." A dusting of Cacao Barry Zephyr 34% white chocolate was perfect finishing touch to this dish.

Our chefs table's second course was Chef Thomas Boemer's "Game Tart with Cherries," featuring a variety of textures, flavors, and ingredients, including Cacao Barry Saint Domingue 70% dark chocolate. This dark chocolate was perfect for complementing his choices for savory ingredients.

While not the main ingredient, chocolate plays a big role in flavor of mole sauce. For the third course, Chef Jorge Guzman of Surly Brewing Company created an especially flavorful mole sauce for the pork in this dish, "Mole Puerco en Mole Negro." Chef Jorge fittingly used Cacao Barry Mexique 66% dark chocolate for an authentic flavor.

Chef Paul Berglund of the Bachelor Farmer prepared a hearty pork dish for the fourth course of. His dish, "Red Wattle Pork Dolce Forte" featured wine-braised pork atop creamy polenta sprinkled with fresh parsley. Chef Paul is the recipient of the 2016 James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest.

Chef JD Fratzke of The Strip Club Meat & Fish created the last savory dish for our chefs table. In his entree, "Braised Boar & Beans," the boar gets its color from Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder. The dish also features fresh parsley, carrots, and homemade hand-rolled gnocchi.

Chef Adrienne Odom of Parasole Restaurant Holdings presented this creation for the first dessert course. Dark chocolate perfectly complements the sweetness of roasted pears in Chef Adrienne's recipe for "Chocolate & Roasted Pear Cake." This dessert featured Chef John Kraus’s Or Noir chocolate, Rose Street 72% dark chocolate.

Chef Shawn McKenzie of Minneapolis restaurant Burch Steak crafted this tart with luscious layer after layer using seasonal flavors, like pears, cinnamon, and cloves. She topped the tart off with Cacao Barry Brilliance Noire glaze for a glossy shine. Her creation, the second dessert course, was "Chocolate Pear Tart."

Host Chef John Kraus of Rose Street Patisserie was the last, but certainly not the least, course of our co-hosted chef table. His frozen dessert, "Chocolate Vacherin Finger,  featured creamy, crunchy, and fruity layers. The exotic flavors mixed seamlessly with chocolate. The dessert wouldn't be complete without his signature Cacao Barry Or Noir chocolate, Rose Street 72% dark chocolate, which he blended himself.

Our chefs table with Chef John Kraus and Rose Street Patisserie was an event to remember. The collaboration and celebration of the night was thanks to a wonderful group of chefs.

During this event, Chef John was able to speak about his Or Noir journey. His chocolate, Rose Street 72% dark chocolate, is used in many of Rose Street Patisserie’s creations. The blend features beans from around the world, and the unique taste gives his creations the special signature they deserve.

This event with Chef John Kraus was especially wonderful because it not only gave us a chance to highlight his Or Noir experience but also his most recent accomplishment. In 2016, Chef John was admitted to one of the world's most prestigious group of pastry chefs, Relais Desserts. After a career of accomplishments, he can add this one to the books. It is especially impressive, as he is the first American to become a member.

It is not often chefs get to prepare a spectacular meal for themselves, much less for chefs in their community. This event was full of appreciation and spurred great ideas for the future.

For more photos and details, visit the Cacao Barry US Facebook page.