Top Five Chocolate Experiences
By Christina Hovland, Author of The Honeymoon Trap
I’m a professional artisan chocolatier. As such, I’m kinda picky about my chocolate. It rubs off on my characters—they also become chocolate snobs. Below are my professional chocolatier picks and my top five chocolate experiences.
5.) Generally, when I’m going to go for a good chocolate, I pick something beautiful with a unique flare. Something from a boutique chocolate shop. There are other times where I just need my fix. What’s my go-to grocery store chocolate brand?
Dove Milk Chocolate.
Not even kidding. Now, I could go into how Dove selects their cocoa beans and how they are a higher quality than most grocery store brands. I could also give a long history of chocolate and how M&M/Mars (owners of Dove) plays into that story. Instead, I’ll just say… Dove Milk Chocolate makes my top five because it tastes freaking good.
4.) Alice Medrich’s French Truffles.
I first made this recipe when I was in chocolate school. The use of egg yolks creates a silky smooth, indulgent confection.
https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Alice-Medrich-Truffle
3.) David Lebovitz’s Drinking Chocolate.
It’s chocolate that you drink. Enough said.
Casanova used to seduce women with a rich hot drinking chocolate. I can only imagine it tasted something like this: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/parisian-hot-ch-1/
2.) Compartes Chocolate in Los Angeles. Their flavors? To die for. Their presentation. Gorgeous. And, not even kidding, sometimes the chocolatier working in their window looks exactly like Robert Pattinson.
1.) And my top chocolate choice? Well… this is easy. A decadent bar of Valhrona Jivara Milk Chocolate. Melt that bar down and dip pretzels into it? Heaven.
How to Survive Your Next Relationship Disaster 101
Step 1: Get pumped. Your new house, in your new town, comes with a sexy and shirtless man next door. Score!
Step 2: Don’t let your freak-out show when Mr. OMG Shirtless turns around—and it’s your old crush.
Step 3: Hold your head high when you run into him again on the first day of your new job—literally—and spill coffee all over yourself.
Step 4: Stay calm when he introduces himself as your new boss…and then announces that your first assignment is to go on a fake honeymoon together.
Step 5: Keep your $h*t locked tight when the new boss/old crush and you are forced to sleep in the same room…with one bed.
Step 6: Try to ignore just how freaking hot he is, and how much you want to touch him…
Christina Hovland lives her own version of a fairy tale—an artisan chocolatier by day and romance writer by night. Born in Colorado, Christina received a degree in journalism from Colorado State University. Before opening her chocolate company, Christina’s career spanned from the television newsroom to managing an award-winning public relations firm. She’s a recovering overachiever and perfectionist with a love of cupcakes and dinner she doesn’t have to cook herself. A 2017 Golden Heart® finalist, she lives in Colorado with her first-boyfriend-turned-husband, four children, and the sweetest dog around.
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