2 Days Chocolate Course By Chef Vincent

Different type of chocolate cremeux	Different type of chocolate mousse
Different type of creme anglaise mousse	Sour/Sweet/Salt/ Bitter/Umami/Nasal	Coco Bean/Grue Sugar/Vanilla
Different Origin and % of chocolate	Oil/Shortening/Cocoa Butter/Butter	Cocoa Power/Cocoa Butter/Sugar

I am so glad that we have these 2 days with Chef Vincent from Valrhona, he is very knowledge and very glad to answer all out question, mine esp. cos I hah always like chocolate making. Well I had actually did my chocolate tempering course from BITC long ago, this act not only as a refresher course for me but it also give me a more in depth knowledge of chocolate. First day we have our theory together with “SOME” chocolate tasting. Why I stressed on “SOME” … well cos think we have more then we can handle. Total we had 5 type of different % of chocolate (Araguni @ 72% from Venezuela, Guanaja @ 70% from South America, Caraibe @ 66% from Caraibeans Islands, Manjari @ 64% from Madagascar Island and Equatorial @ 55% from Different Origins), 6 types of different taste (Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Salt, Umami and Nasal), 4 main components of dark chocolate (Cocoa Bean, Grue, Sugar and Vanilla), 4 types of different fats (Oil, Butter, Shortening and Cocoa Butter), 4 different Cremeux using different chocolates, 3 different type of Chocolate Mousse and 5 different type of Crème Anglaise Mousse. It is really chocolate overdose!!!

We also learn that Taste is a combi of 4 different information, 2 from the Nose (Direct Olfaction – Smell and Retro Olfaction – Aroma) and 2 from the Mouth (The Taste and The Kinaesthetic Sensation which mans the physical reaction that creates sensation in the mouth which is not the taste) Also usually Sour will be taste at the front of the tongue, Salt is slight behind Sour near the middle of the tongue, Sweet is almost the whole surface of the tongue and Bitter usually at the back of the mouth and in the throat.

Chef Vincent also point out that a good dessert should have 3 Texture ( Creamy, Crunchy and Crispy ), 3 Temperature ( Hot, Cold and Room Temp ), 3 Distinctive Flavor ( e.g. Chocolate, Passion Fruit and Spices ) which he thinks in Chinese desserts actually lack of these … which in a way quite true but guess we are Asians so we still like our own local stuffs ☺ . And he gave us a quote “ To change your point of view, change the point of view”