Hasta La Ideas

Buddhas, lips and turtles abound in a California chocolatier

While walking along the shady tiled walkways to the quaint shops of La Arcada in Santa Barbara, a peek inside Chocolats du CaliBressan reveals a candy case filled with tiny turtles, ruby lips, glistening buddhas and classic truffle spheres.

After studying at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie, Chocolatier Jean-Michel Carré moved to California with his wife (who was originally from the Santa Barbara area) to focus his career on his love of chocolate. Now at Chocolat du Cali Bressan in Carpinteria and downtown Santa Barbara, Carré spends his days making ultra-rich handmade truffles and bon bons.

Among the store’s most popular items are the French Bisous—red lips made with dark and milk ganache chocolate with tangerine—and the Buddha Beauty, a truffle amulet filled with soft salted caramel that comes with instructions to lick his belly for good luck. Influenced by 30 years in the kitchens of restaurants in France, Switzerland and the U.K., each day the self-professed “passionate chocolatier” can be found experimenting with surprising ingredients like avocado, curry, Sichuan pepper, balsamic vinegar and lotus—a special request of the local estate and public garden Lotusland.

If we had to pick a favorite, it would be the La Arcada Turtle with cajeta, Mexican milk caramel—it was almost too cute to eat, but after biting off the tasty little legs of the shiny green treat, an intense craving for more took over. Time to plan another visit very soon. Chocolats du CaliBressan’s La Arcada location is located at 1114 State Street, #2; there’s also a store at 4193 Carpinteria Avenue, Suite 4 in Carpinteria, CA.

Gli ammerigani insistono con queste caramelle al sapore di bacon. Vorrei assaggiarne una per capire se vomitare all’istante o leccarmi i baffi. Agli amanti del genere consiglio il sapone, il filo interdentale, il lucidalabbra, cerotti e persino il deodorante per ambienti.
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French-inspired, exotically-flavored caramels handmade in Los Angeles

When Justin Chao of Le Bon Garcon discovered caramels in Paris, he learned that crafting classic handmade French caramels can be a labor of love. I first tasted his buttery confections at Artisanal LA, and was so taken by the mango-passion fruit combination I reached out to Chao to learn more about his process for making such deliciously sweet caramels. To get your hands on some, visit the online shop where they sell in variously sized packages spanning $5-18.

How did you come up with the name Le Bon Garcon?

When I lived in Paris, I lived near Rue des Mauvais Garcons, which translates to Street of the Bad Boys. When I started thinking of names for my company, the name “Mauvais Garcon” kept coming to mind, but I wanted something that reflected my personality, and the truth is, I’ve always been more of a good boy than a bad boy. The name also reminds me of my childhood, when my grandma would take me to the Chinese grocery store to buy French pastilles for special occasions or as a reward. When I started thinking about the concept for Le Bon Garcon, I wanted my customers to feel as special as I did when my grandma would take me to buy candy.

Why did you decide to focus on caramels after working at L.A.’s Water Grill?

When I was in Paris, I discovered what a caramel could be. French caramels were buttery, flavorful and melted in your mouth. When I returned to L.A., I found myself missing those caramels more than almost anything else about Paris. After searching and searching for something similar, I finally decided to make the caramel myself. For months, I spent practically every evening after work in my kitchen, making batch after batch of caramel until I finally found a formula that I was happy with. When I perfected the recipe, I started giving the caramels out to friends and family. As soon as I saw their reaction to my caramels, I knew I had to start a company.

What did it take to launch your company?

Launching Le Bon Garcon was not an easy process. The logistics of finding a kitchen and getting all the permits for a food business is complex and took me a while to figure out. When I had finally found a kitchen and finished all the administrative and legal paperwork, I still needed to find a place to sell my product. I went to a performance at the Broad Stage with my mom and some family friends. I brought some caramels for our friends who happened to know the director of the Broad Stage, Dale Franzen. Dale liked them so much that she asked me to start selling them at the next show. From there, I was able to slowly expand through word of mouth and participating in the Artisanal LA show this past April really helped propel Le Bon Garcon to the next level.

Where do you make the caramels?

I make the caramels at Chefs Center of California, which is a communal commercial kitchen located in Pasadena. The manager, Larry Bressler, an instructor at the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, has given me several pointers about how to improve my caramels.

Is there a different technique for making fruit caramels than classic caramels?

Absolutely. Each caramel has its own unique process to make the flavor an integral part of the caramel’s essence (rather than something added at the end). For example, to preserve the fresh mango and passion fruit flavors in the caramel, I use a gentler process for heating the caramel. Scorching is an issue with the fruit, so the caramel must be constantly stirred for about an hour in French copper pots. I use real mango and high-quality passion fruit puree to make the flavor of the caramels as close as possible to the flavor of a fresh piece of fruit.

What is the secret to making your caramels so smooth?

Unfortunately, there is no magic trick to making smooth caramel—it’s just hard, manual labor. The texture of Le Bon Garcon caramels comes from constantly hand-stirring the caramel while it is cooking so that the caramel heats uniformly and does not scorch.

Will you be adding more flavors or products to Le Bon Garcon?

I am constantly experimenting with new recipes. I hope to start releasing limited runs of seasonal flavors in the next few months, but I want to make sure that the new flavors are of the same high standards as my current flavors.

An all natural “supercandy” ups your game with its performance-driven ingredients

Recognizing that most people think about candy first and nutrition second, the just-announced line of Snap Infusion Supercandy seeks to provide snackers with both. Each biodegradable package of candy contains a daily dose of B vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes delivered via patented “Snap bead” microcapsules.

There’s no pretense that these are “health” food; the creators wanted to make candy, but candy that was healthier than most. Snap’s launching with five classic candy varieties: gum, tarts, caramels, gummies and jelly beans. Each is naturally flavored, colored and sweetened. There’s no high fructose corn syrup and no trans fats. And while they still pack a calorie punch, it’s around half that of most similar treats.

Snap is the latest project of Andover, MA-based husband and wife team Eric and Andrea Stoll, well-known personalities in the athletic industry. Eric previously worked as the Marketing Director of Finnish running brand Karhu, while Andrea had senior roles at both Converse Sport and Vans. This experience helped them form the concept, marketing strategy, design and packaging for the product.

Snap will be available in August 2011 for around $2 a pack at sports stores and natural food markets across the USA. It will also be available online at Amazon and the Snap site.

Five all-natural twists on the classic peanut butter cup

Since dairy farmer Harry Burnett Reese dreamed them up in 1928, peanut butter cups have been making mouths salivate for the salty sweet confection. Improving on the classic treat isn’t easy, but replacing unpronounceable artificial fillers with natural, organic ingredients makes the snack tastier and a tad healthier too. Below are five chocolatiers whose peanut butter cups deliciously rival convenience store norms.

Rich Belgian milk chocolate and peanut butter ganache work perfectly together in Nikid’s Peanut Butter Truffle Cups, our overall favorite. Top-notch cups housed in elegant packaging proves a keen attention to detail and a made-to-order production process guarantees each bite is super fresh. Purchase through Etsy where a 1/2 pound (6-7 cups) goes for $10—well worth every penny.

We’ve been a fan of Justin’s Nut Butter for some time now, so giving the brand’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups a try was a no-brainer. The combo might throw you off at first bite, but overall taste delicious. Their idea is simple—take the finest organic peanut butter and meticulously enrobe it with organic fair-trade dark chocolate for a delicious natural treat. Shop online to get a three-pack for just over $5.

Those raised by hippie parents will remember Nectar Nuggets as a favorite health food store treat. Recently reintroduced, Natural Nectar’s Nectar Nugget peanut butter cups boast zero trans fat and are made entirely with natural ingredients including homemade peanut butter and organic chocolate. Simple ingredients and a traditional look makes this classic appeal to everyone, though we’re lobbying for the brand to also bring back caramel, coconut and other variations we remember from our childhood. The three-pack sells online for $6 but candy addicts can buy in bulk, with a 24-pack going for $45.

Ococoa’s elegant take, a silky dark chocolate delicately filled with organic peanut butter and topped with a touch of Alaea salt, takes the concept to a gourmet level. The Classic Peanut Butter Collection is as beautifully packaged as it is delectable—perfect for gifting. Pick up a nine-cup box online from Ococoa for $22.

For a vegan option, check out Sjaak’s Organic Fair Trade Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites” With a name as long as its ingredient list (don’t worry, all vegan and organic), these gold foil-wrapped treats will satisfy the sweet-toothed without any of the dairy. While the peanut butter was a little liquefied, chocolate quality was right on point. Sjaak’s sells online in 1.5-pound tubs where $33 gets you over 50 pieces.