Toronto Life

Advertisement

Return of the Dark Knight

Chocolate pasta? Chocolate duck? The addictive confection is showing up in some unlikely places By Signe Langford



Image credit: Christopher Stevenson

One of the most widely enjoyed mood-altering substances, chocolate is so much more than a sweet temptation at the grocery store checkout. As the Mayans well understood some 2,500 years ago, it can add depth and warmth to savoury dishes. Here’s how three chefs are slipping cocoa into our dinner.

Chocoholic: Tawfik Shehata, Vertical, 100 King St. W., 416-214-2252.
Dish: Shehata adds organic cocoa to his pasta dough to make wonderfully dense chitarra (spaghetti-like noodles). He tops it with a delicate ragoût of lamb, celeriac, carrots and a tomato concassée. $26.

Chocoholic: Claudio Aprile, Colborne Lane, 45 Colborne St., 416-368-9009.
Dish: Aprile likes to send out autumn-inspired mole ice pops—savoury chili-spiked dark chocolate with a basil bud–studded pumpkin purée—in the middle of a tasting menu. “Just to throw things off a bit,” he says. $5, on request.

Chocoholic: Matthew Kennedy, Sequel, 3362 Yonge St., 416-480-0996.
Dish: “I like to make sure every dish is balanced,” says Kennedy. He pairs Muscovy duck with chocolate sauce. The bitter sauce counters the richness of the duck and the sweetness of the accompanying sour cherry preserves. $26.

Related:
Best Chocolatiers: The top 12 in the city
Mature Content: Sugary treats are evolving, taking on a range of flavours more palatable to adults than sweet-toothed tots
Hot Chocolate: A new shop-resto-lounge hybrid caters to Yorkville’s Valrhona addicts
Sweets Hereafter: Sales of confections remain strong even when the economy tanks. Chris McDonald figures now is the perfect time to open an haute dessert shop

Comments

Comment on this story

Neither Signe Langford nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy

Some articles on this site require that you have a Torontolife.com account in order to comment, and this is one of them. If you do not have an account, you can register now.

Username:
Password: (Forgotten your password?)

Comment:

Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Contests
Most shared stories today

Advertisement