30-11-2012

The cocoa anthropologist

Cecilia Tessieri and a new bar of extra dark chocolate. Straight from the work of Peruvian Indios

Cecilia Tessieri, first woman maître chocolatier

Cecilia Tessieri, first woman maître chocolatier in the world.

While Latin America has the world restaurant scene dancing its samba, dropped for a Marquezian effect in the magic realism of a plethora of fantasy ingredients, suspending the disbelief of the palate, the anthropologic drive of Latin chefs has blown strongly in Via dei Giardini in Milan, among the luxury furniture of the Angelina Promemoria showroom. The occasion was the presentation of the new Amedei chocolate bar, the work of Cecilia Tessieri, first woman maître chocolatier in the world.

It’s called Blanco de Criollo and it’s a 70% extra dark chocolate made with a blend of rare cacao varieties from Peru (among which the totally white criollo stands out), discovered during a thorough exploration of the territory. Pure anthropology, as we said, because Cecilia acted as a researcher, building relations with the campesinos, so much so that she keeps on receiving sachets of beans from the native people who live on the edges of the Amazon Forest.

Blanco de Criollo, a 70% extra dark chocolate made with a blend of rare cacao varieties from Peru

Blanco de Criollo, a 70% extra dark chocolate made with a blend of rare cacao varieties from Peru

Even though tireless dedication and ethic approach have always characterised the brand, the cru and the spirit of this work are completely new. Peru, in fact, despite producing 60% of the world’s cacao, has never been properly valorised and is thus particularly interesting. This is a new entry that gives new life to the elite of world origins. Moreover, this bar (vintage and sold in a limited edition of 20 thousand pieces) represents the movable target of a research in progress: work in this country will continue in the next years, in order to bring into focus the perfect recipe for this local raw material. The next appointment is in March, after the January harvest. The tasting was nevertheless exciting thanks to balance of tastes, freshness and aromatic elegance. The intense notes of red fruits are followed by rare tones of underwood and liquorice which, together with the pleasant acidity, invite to taste some more.

Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte directed this event. General director Alberto Cavalli spoke on their behalf, setting this bar within their promotion of Italian masters in view of the next Expo, and in general of a redemption of the “made in Italy” that starts from the judicious work of those artisans the world envies us. These are skills one should put to use with hard work, following the Gospel’s parable of the talents, because the soul of a product descends from the hand of he who makes it. "Every beautiful thing has infinite precedents and thousands of invisible knots and a small needle of patience with fingers that were pricked a thousand times", in the beautiful words of the poet Ghiannis Ritsos.


Dolcezze

Previews, personalities and establishments in the sweet side of the food planet

by

Alessandra Meldolesi

Umbra di Perugia con residenza a Bologna, è giornalista e scrittrice di cucina. Tra i numeri volumi tradotti e curati, spicca "6, autoritratto della Cucina Italiana d’Avanguardia" per Cucina & Vini

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