Cacao Barry Flavour Dinners to inspire Chefs: Executive Chef Jennifer Dewasha and Pastry Chef Annegret Henninger from Colette Grand Café, Toronto, Canada

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Flavour dinners to inspire chefs: Colette Grand Café, Toronto, Canada

Cacao Barry® is honoured to announce that the third Flavour Dinner was designed by Executive Chef Jennifer Dewasha and Pastry Chef Annegret Henninger from Colette Grand Café.

Toronto, December 5th, at Colette Grand Café where the cuisine, décor and atmosphere celebrate the essence of French style, Cacao Barry invited 20 Chefs and journalists to discover an exclusive menu.

The evening started with the Absinthe cocktail which gave away the night’s secret flavor that Chef Jennifer and Pastry Chef Annegret had picked to design their menu : licorice. The cocktail was Vodka infused with Cacao Barry Ocoa™ dark chocolate, Dillon’s Absinthe from Niagara and Luxardo Maraschino Girolamo fruit liquor.

The licorice paired with Cacao Barry chocolates menu had just kicked off for the guests but the whole experience was actually initiated 175 years ago with a Scottish man named Charles Barry who started a quest for extraordinary chocolate flavours.

Cacao Barry is exited to continue this journey today by exploring chocolate flavour pairings. As we all know the most exciting journey means nothing if you cannot share it with someone. This is what Monday night was all about, an opportunity for the 20 selected Chefs and journalists to share experiences, discover an exclusive menu and get inspired.

The Menu took us from earth to sea and back to earth, starting with a Venison Tartare spiced with Tanzania Origin dark chocolate and crunchy cocoa nibs beautifully paired with a Spanish Vermouth. The first dish promised an interesting flavour journey.

Just when guests thought the pairing couldn’t be more harmonious, the Chef literally brought out the salmon. Clay backed, accompanied by a “to die for” parsnip and Zéphyr™ white chocolate purée, braised fennel and sauce Meurette; this dish was the hit of the night. The savory part of the 5 course menu was not yet over and the host Chefs still had a last dish to impress their guests. The Hare Civet Cavatelli got everyone to agree that cocoa is an amazing seasoning for wild meat. The desserts hadn’t come out and all guests were already in love with the chocolate pairings offered by the Chefs.

Pastry Chef Annegret perfectly paired the Alunga™ milk chocolate with licorice root and apple in her first dessert. Flavours and textures captivated all guests. The final touch of the menu was a delicate Cassette with a Haïti Origin dark chocolate cream and a cucumber aloe vera Jel. The fresh flavour of licorice mint ended the delicious dinner.

Nothing would have been possible without the fantastic team of Colette Grand Café. Chef Jennifer Dewasha accepted the challenge to play with chocolate flavours and imagine the most delicious pairings. Her team chose Licorice as the one ingredient to pair with Cacao Barry chocolates to design a five course menu. “Licorice is a great ingredient as it can come in many different forms” explained Chef Jennifer.

Again tonight the 20 guests enjoyed a fascinating dinner, sharing their experience and inspirations leaving the lovely French atmosphere restaurant full of new ideas for their creations.

See you soon at our next Flavour Dinner.

Cacao Barry®, Pioneer in Flavour™