Paris to New York

While Paris sizzles under 30C+ temperatures, it’s a bit hard to not feel like you’re melting into the trottoirs with nary an air conditioned space in sight. What happened to the jackets & sweaters we were all wearing less than 2 weeks ago? It’s a well known fact that the french are not big on air conditioning or climatization, and honestly neither am I. But once the thermometer hit’s the 90F mark, there’s exceptions to every creed, n’est-ce-pas? So if you’re on your way to Paris right now… pack light. Very light…

Alors, this post is well overdue. It was meant to be posted way back when. I hoping the notion of ‘better late than never’ may still hold true here, and my sins might be absolved on judgement day.

~Daniel Sklarr … Fine & Raw~

A while back while living in NY, I read an article in the NY Times Wednesday food section about the Brooklyn food scene. I was intrigued by not only the artistry and slow foodism of the group of food artisans, but the sense of community that seemed to have been built up. I went to the Brooklyn Flea that Saturday, where many of them sell their products, to check it out.

On arriving at the flea the first thing that hits you is being greeted with the cool & creative atmosphere. The market was buzzing with intriguing items & people to match, a haven for foodies, vintage junkies & craftspeople. Fascinated by just about everything, in the midst of the hurly-burly, I was fortunately able to speak to some of the artisans about their products and what drives them in their work. One of the artisans I spoke to was Daniel Sklaar...

Originally from South Africa, Daniel came to the states about 5 years ago, working as a financial analyst in Manhattan. Becoming a bit disenchanted with the financial world, he decided to pack his bags and moved to Arizona, where he followed one of his personal passions and worked as a raw foods chef. During this time, while working with raw foods, he decided to combine it with one of his consuming passions, chocolate. But his research into the complex subject led him to want to produce it, not in the traditional way, but to bring the revered cacao bean onto another level, by producing a raw chocolate.

According to Daniel, he heard ‘chocolate voices’ in his head, which lead him to research the subject for 1 ½ years, before establishing his company Fine & Raw. His chocolate is not only a healthy product, because it does not roast the bean, therefore retaining much of the nutritional quality of the bean, but he uses agave nectar as his sweetener. He indicated that in some ways this was a bit of heresy in the traditional methods of producing chocolate, as water or any liquid is the enemy to it’s flavor and consistency.

But more than producing a healthy, sumptuously dark and rich chocolate, Daniel sources his beans from a coop in Ecuador which is fair trade and practices equitable labor practices. He uses an heirloom cacao bean and adds no sugar or dairy to the product. Among the special ingredients that are added are dried fruits, and spices. Because he is working with raw cacao, he must use a higher quality bean since any blemishes cannot be masked by the roasting process. His special technique involves temperature controlled techniques in order to achieve the exact flavor and balance that he is after.

His product line includes 2 types of bon bons and 6 different bars.

I was able to visit his production in the factory which is housed within Jo Mart chocolate factory, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He had just finished a shoot for the website Daily Candy before I met up with him. On the production line was his specialty bon bon: a deep rich center of raw chocolate enrobed in more dark chocolate.

New products to savor are his lucuma and vanilla bar ( a Peruvian fruit with a burnt caramel flavor). What's in the works? Development of an orange-spice chocolate, ancho and chipotle bar. Oh Yum!

You can visit Daniel’s website and blog here and learn more about his delicious work.

If you‘re in the NY area check out the Brooklyn Flea !

Have a super weekend tout le monde and Happy 4th of July!