Jacques Torres Chocolate Tasting & Cocktail Party

Last Thursday, thanks to my obsession with checking Gilt City at precisely 10 AM every other morning, I had the privilege of attending a chocolate tasting and cocktail party hosted by Jacques Torres at his Upper West Side boutique. When I purchased my ticket for the event, I didn't really know anything more about the event other than what the title suggested, but knowing that there would be a chocolate tasting, cocktails, and the chance to meet Jacques Torres in person was more than enough for me!

 

Upon walking in, I was greeted by a friendly woman who then proceed to check the guestlist for my name via iPad - look how awesome technology is nowadays! The barista/bartender had a glass of chilled champagne already poured and ready for me, so grabbing my glass, I proceeded to explore.

 

Admittedly, the Jacques Torres Chocolate store on 74th and Amsterdam is not exactly as grandiose and spacious as his store on Hudson Street, but it definitely made for a more intimate setting. I made a quick circle around the room, spotting Mr. Chocolate himself chatting with a few of that evening's attendees, and beelined towards the spread of canapes I spotted in the back of the room!

After tasting each and every one (oh yes, I was hungry), I began to wonder exactly what format the chocolate tasting would be. Until I noticed...

Alas, people were requesting to sample the chocolates behind the display case; the opportunity to test out all of the chocolates on display was the chocolate tasting! Why did I have to eat those canapes??

Glancing at each of the chocolate descriptions, I was filled with excitement. There were SO many flavors I had always wanted to try - I was like a kid in a candy shop. Well, I literally pretty much was a kid in a candy shop. Anyways, I knew I had to quickly act on this golden opportunity before my stomach would realize it was too full to allow me to continue. 

I was able to get through maybe over a dozen chocolates (I know, it sounds even more gross when I write it out) before my stomach caught up with me. But I'm glad I at least made it through nearly all of the flavors I wanted to try! The European peanut butter was a lovely and oh-so-creamy blend of peanuts, hazelnut and milk chocolate. The menage a trois was delicious and exciting - even more so because they do not tell you which 3 flavors are being combined, though none are overly strong in flavor so that this chocolate can appeal to nearly all tastes.

 

The love bug was a pleasantly surprising mild yet delicious blend of key lime ganache and white chocolate; oftentimes key lime chocolates end up being overly tart or possess an overpowering lime flavor, but this chocolate maintained a good balance of sweet and sour. The chai tea was one of my last chocolates, and despite that I was already four chocolates past sugar and chocolate overload, the exotic blend of the Indian spices was really able to mix and complement the milk chocolate ganache.

There was no way I was ending the evening without sampling some of the infamously rich and sensational Jacques Torres cookies either. He so innocently described these cookies as being just an ever-so-slight deviation on the Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe, but with more butter and different chocolate chips. Delicious!

As a side note, the donuts served that evening (which I believe is also sold in stores), was so deliciously light and fluffy with heavenly vanilla cream filling.

Afterwards, I took a luxuriously stroll around the room and admired all of Jacques Torres creations with a warm cup of satisfying illy cappuccino in hand.

 

At the end of the evening, I left with my parting gift from Gilt City - a Jacques Torres milk chocolate bar - and a stomach full of sugar (followed by a nice stomachache). If I were to ever get this chance again, I think I would have better paced myself and limited my chocolate consumption and probably thought of more brilliant conversation topics to discuss with Jacques. But even so, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be welcomed into Jacques Torres chocolate store for a cozy evening of confections and champagne and to spend an evening in the presence of an amazing pastry chef.