Truffles, Women and Art
My beautiful friends Art and Angela Curley invited me to join them in making chocolates at Xoxodiva last Friday. And not just chocolates, but t r u f f l e s. So chocolates stuffed with ganache. AND, they were hand-painted.
Six of us willing students were met by Xocodiva owner Laura Story at their coffee shop across the street from their workspace. We were debriefed outside the chilly production room, as our next four hours unfolded into the history of chocolate and its infinite persnickety-ness regarding humidity and temperature. We learned why chocolate is so expensive and why we should revere it by carefully tasting (and happily devouring) six different flavors of Xocodiva’s outrageously tasty Truffles.
We were gloved and aproned, given our choices of plastic molds, organic paints, and various ganaches made from fresh ingredients. Mine were a mix of mezcal and peanut butter with salted caramel—six of each—rich, dark chocolate covering everything.
Cleanliness was stressed constantly, and absolutely no waste was allowed with the chocolate. Every droplet and extraneous scraping of chocolate is recycled.
First, we cleaned our molds – an exacting process that ensures everything that goes into the mold comes out in one piece. Making these chocolates is the most labor-intensive thing I have ever done. There are no shortcuts to creating a perfectly formed, glossy chocolate truffle.
As a candle maker, I was used to creating things inside out and upside down, but it’s tricky painting anything that’s only an inch around! The paints are special and very expensive, and care was taken not to mix the colors. Again, nothing gets thrown away.
An extraordinary class – thanks to Laura Storey, Art, and Angela Curley, Rob Burton, Jan Dorland, and Rovere Victoria. More on Xocodiva is upcoming!
Happy International Women’s Day! Three extraordinary women were celebrated yesterday at the Third Annual IWD luncheon at El Dorado Restaurant on the beach in Old Town. Stolie, Amy Armstrong, and Gloria Fiona each spoke for about 20 minutes about their lives, what brought them to Vallarta, and what they are doing now. All three are musicians who are clearly passionate women who give back to our beloved community of Puerto Vallarta in various ways. I learned a lot about all of them, and my respect soared across the board; I am deeply honored to count these three outspoken divas as my friends. The food and service were exemplary, with many thanks to the volunteers and the President of the IFC, Peggy Nelson.
The First Saturday of the Month for Arte Museo again took place at the sister property, Art Vallarta, high up on Pilitas. Director Nathalie Herling cooked up some gumbo with rice that smelled divine! A trio played in the Art Vallarta Speakeasy, while Randy Lee and I caught up on all kinds of back news, and Susan Jeremy stayed upstairs in the theatre fine-tuning the sound for her final show in Vallarta, ”Robert Will Show You The Door,” From Here.
