For those whose response to an all chocolate dinner was “Lead me to it,” PCA’s program on March 3rd at the elegant Restaurant Bleu at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts was an opportunity not to be missed. However, the indulgent part of the evening’s program was deftly balanced by Dr. Miles Hassel, author of Good Food Great Medicine, who treated members to a lively presentation on the benefits of eating chocolate.
With a series of slides, starting with “Chocolate: Because we need to be serious about good health,” Dr. Hassel delivered a fascinating talk on chocolate, its history, how it works in the human body, and its many health benefits. These include positive effects on diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. My favorite was the study on happy babies. It appears that Finnish babies, whose mothers eat more chocolate, smile and laugh more often!
We didn’t need much convincing but Dr. Hassel recommended eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate, on a regular basis. The caveat, to be sure, was not to overeat, and to be mindful of the calories.
The menu prepared by David Briggs of Xocolatl de David produced a lot of smiles as well. “I love cooking savory foods with chocolate and salt,” he said. Using the cacao bean in many forms, Briggs came up with a series of courses from a terrine of chocolate with foie gras to roasted pork with “Xoxolatl” sauce. The crab bisque with a preserved Meyer lemon garnish was emulsified with a roux made with cocoa. Vinaigrette made with cocoa nibs was lovely and intriguing over a blood orange and chicory salad.
Our chocolate evening ended on a sweet note with Raleigh Cake, an extraordinary confection of chocolate, pecans, and caramel sauce.. We all agreed: this was a delicious, informative, and memorable evening for PCA.
-Mary Bartlett
