Episode 13 : Chocolate Fashion Show

There was a time when chocolate was for kids, but in these days of gourmet, vintage, fair trade, rare bean bars, chocolate has become a distinctly grown-up affair. In this episode Bob must master the tempering and blending of his own unique chocolate creation under the watchful eye of his mentor, a master chocolatier. Bob learns the ins-and-outs of the world’s favourite confection and then enter his unique wearable chocolate creation into a Chocholate Hat Fashion shown in the Salon Passion Chocolat & de la Gourmandise in Montreal. Along the way, Bob submerges himself into a complex world of chocolate and millinery! Think Willy Wonka meets Project Runway.

Recipes:

Duck roasted with a mole poblano sauce- served with a salted chocolate cake and crystallized kumquats

Courtesy of Chef Giovanni Apollo at the Restaurant Apollo, Montreal QC.

Ingredients:

2 duck breasts – around 400 grams each

Sauce:
1 Tablespoon hot red pepper
Ginger 1 large piece
1 cup of poultry boullion/stock
½ stick cinnamon
A handful of torn Coriander
Garlic 1 clove

For the cake:
4 egg whites
100 grams of melted chocolate- 65% cocoa minimum
Fleur du Sel (can be replaced by table salt)
Kumquats for garnish

In a pan, cook the duck skin in a hot flame for 2 minutes. Turn it over and cook again for 1 minute. Put the fatty side of the duck down in the pan again and then add water to middle height of the meat and cook 10 minutes without turning over. Finely slice the duck.

During this time, put all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan. Heat to a light boil and reduce the sauce by half. Strain the sauce and take off the heat.

For the small cake:
Whip up the egg whites. Add the chocolate and cook in a small ramekin for 12 seconds in the microwave. Turn upside down tapping the ramekin to release the cake.

Pour the sauce onto the plate, and add the duck on top. Place the small cake on the same plate and garnish with kumquats or crystallized citrus fruits.

Bon appétit!