Volo Chocolate, Cheese, and Pinot Noir
| Theme | Volo Chocolate, Cheese, and Pinot Noir |
|---|---|
| Venue | Zoom |
| Date | Apr 07, 2021 |
| Time | 7:00 - 9:00 |
| Host | Phil Lyons |
| Chef | Jeff and Susan Malls |
| Wine Selection | Members |
Volo Chocolate, Cheese, and Pinot Noir
On April 7th the Miami Branch had a Zoom Chocolate, Cheese and Pinot Noir evening. We teamed up with chocolate makers Jeff and Susan Mall of Volo Chocolate of Sonoma County to host the meeting and walk us through pairings of their exquisite chocolates along with Pinots from Sonoma and cheeses.
Jeff and Susan ran the Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar in Healdsburg for almost 15 years before they accepted a job as Co-Chefs for a boutique resort in Baja California Sur, Mexico, Rancho Pescadero. It was while working there that they learned to make chocolate from the readily available cocoa beans. Eighteen months later they returned to Sonoma and launched Volo Chocolates in March 2017. They are now producing over a 1,000 bars a week. All made with locally sourced ingredients other than the cocoa beans which are sourced from Haiti and Guatemala. They source the highest quality sustainable cocoa beans to make delicious dark chocolate.
The Malls suggested three different chocolate bars that members had shipped directly to their homes. 1) 60% Dark milk chocolate with Figs & Hazelnuts; 2) 70% Mexicali with Chiles & dried cherries; 3) 73% Deep Dark Chocolate. They also suggested various cheeses that we could source from our local Whole Foods store that would be readily available. Cheeses such as a Triple Cream Brie, Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery, Comte, and Cave Aged Gruyere to name a few. Wines were members choice from their own cellars. But, it was suggested to try and have a selection from Sonoma since the chocolate and cheeses recommended were available in Sonoma.
Though we only intended to keep the Malls on Zoom with us for an hour time got away with questions from members about the various chocolates and their story of going from chefs by night to chocolatiers by day. It turned out to be a fine evening and though we planned a dinner with vaccinated friends at the house, I believe we were all pretty satisfied after trying all the chocolate and cheeses. Covid has interfered with our getting together in groups but as they say when you have lemons you can make lemonade. In our case we made a meal of cheese, chocolate and wine.
Phil Lyons