Gary Guittard is a chocolate genius. Fourth-generation CEO of Guittard Chocolate Company (founded in 1868), Guittard is obsessed with quality chocolate and never tires of exploring the possibilities of the cacao bean. While the best cacao is grown far from the U.S., close to the equator, California is certainly an ideal place to craft its most beloved by-product: chocolate.
On roasting days, residents of Burlingame, south of San Francisco, are treated to the sweetly nutty aroma of Guittard’s transformation of raw cacao to the beginnings of what will soon be chocolate. The company makes several types of chocolate for baking, drinking, and simply eating. To celebrate its 150th anniversary, Guittard developed an anniversary bar to pay homage to the West-Coast style of chocolate that founder Etienne Guittard, and other West-Coast chocolatiers, would have created with the cacao most readily available in the mid- to late-19th century, during the Gold Rush and before the Panama Canal was built.
The Eureka Works bar was developed over five meticulous iterations of blending, tasting and adjusting. Guittard says, “The process involved tasting all the individual chocolate masses first, then building the blend based on the strengths and balances of each.”
Guittard explains the difference between this style of chocolate and the East-Coast style: “East-Coast chocolate makers sourced mainly from Africa and the East Coast of South America, and their chocolate had a different taste. Eureka Works is made with beans sourced from Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia and Hawaii, the latter standing in for Samoa, which is suffering a cocoa shortage due to drought.”
While Guittard says California doesn’t consume as much chocolate as places in colder climes, he also sees the food scene as “very advanced and creative.” “And of course,” he adds, “chocolate is a fun food that can be used as an ingredient in many inventive ways.”
His company delivers liquid chocolate by tanker truck to longtime customer See’s Candies on a regular basis. And the Eureka Bar will be available at Williams-Sonoma online on November 15th and in stores on November 23rd for $39.95 for 500 grams. A portion of proceeds will go to the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund. Not coincidentally, it’s beautifully packaged, perfect for gifts.
Buy one for yourself and surprise your family with Alice Medrich’s remarkably easy recipe for Eureka Hot Fudge Sundaes:
Ingredients
10 ounces Guittard Eureka 62% chocolate, coarsely chopped
¿ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Vanilla (or coffee or coconut) ice cream
Directions
Put the chocolate, milk, and butter in a stainless steal bowl and set it directly in a wide skillet of almost simmering water. Stir from time to time until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth and warm. Test the sauce by spooning a little over a scoop of ice cream. If it stiffens more than you like, add an extra tablespoon or two of milk, or a little more butter. Serve warm over vanilla or coffee or coconut ice cream.
