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Tasting Italy’s Trentodoc Sparkling Wine, Giacomo Malfer reveals their Secret

Italy’s Trentodoc has a history of producing incredible sparkling wine, Giacomo Malfer reveals their tasty secret.

We had the chance to sit down with Revi Trentodoc’s Giacomo Malfer to talk about the Italian Trentino region, their multi-generational family business, favorite foods, and of course their legendary sparking wines.

 

Listen to the podcast here:

 

 

Giacomo, Can you share some of your favorite memories that include a wonderful sparkling wine celebration?

 

I’m very happy to talk about Revi and my family and my world. One of the best memories that I remember with sparkling wine Trentodoc was my 30th party. I invited a lot of friends. The bottles, one by one [were poured and put] on the floor [lined up] around the house. But, the most important thing was the joy, the happiness, to enjoy that party.

 

 

In history, Trentodoc sparkling wine is the best product for celebrations. So celebrating my birthday or other important things in life is one of the best things that we produce of that kind of product can make because We work our life to produce something people enjoy the best highlights of the life. So what’s better? And one of my best memories is my 30th birthday party.

 

 

You mentioned celebrating with your family. Tell me what it’s like growing up in a winemaking family.

 

Paolo, my father, for me is a common star because when I was young, I never wanted to go on with the winery. It’s funny to know because today it’s my life. Sometimes [I feel like] it is my girlfriend. Francesca is my real girlfriend. So it’s matches perfectly now with my life and with my private life.

Courtesy of http://www.revispumanti.com/

 

Someone said that if you love your work, you’ll never work a day in your life. I think that idea is very important. As I said earlier, there is something very beautiful about making something that people used to celebrate.

I remember when my father Paolo would talk about wine and producing wine, his eyes would shine. That shine was one of the first things that was useful for me to start and work in the wine industry. I remember that Paolo said to us to do what we wanna do, not follow the winery. Because it was his passion, not his first job. He said, ‘this is my passion. I want to work with Revi as a passion.’ In fact for 30 years that was not his job. He started when he was 13 years old.

He was in a classroom with only females.  He found a book with an article on Dom Perignon. He came home and asked my grandfather [for] some white wines because we were an agriculture family. And he said, I wanna make champagne now. And my grandfather laughed, because my Dad was just a young boy. But you know what? He said, okay, you can try a very small batch.

My grandmother made bread each week, so Paulo asked my grandmother for some yeast, and put it inside with the sugar.

And on Christmas of 1963, my family enjoyed the holiday with methodic champagne noir. Because in Italy at that time we could name the methodic champagne, the classic method with the second fermentation in the bottle. And so after that, he studied at school, and then he started with Revi in 1982. And for 30 years it was his hobby.

I believe it was one of the most important things, to grow up with passion, in my father, in my brother Stefano and in me, because he’s never forced us to follow that.

We both studied economics. But I remember many memories about when my grandmother would take the broth to the people who helped my father in the winery. I have some memories that is between the brain and the heart. I believe that premise was the first seed to grow the passion. After that, my brother Stefano, the producer and manager; we followed because we were tasting all the time with my family together. We are looking for a very clean, very fresh identity wine of our region.

The best thing that I believe our father gave us is a way to read the wine world. This is the identity. We always want to find in Revi our territory. He was one of the first to produce the zero dosage. We have been producing zero dosage or pas dose, you know, that is the same since 1983. The first harvest of the first vintage of pas dose Revi was 1981. It was very, very uncommon for that period, even just five years ago it was uncommon. But 40 years ago.

I believe inside that particular label is the philosophy of our winery, and we want go on with that. So the second generation, me and my brother Stefano, for sure, we wanna follow that.

 

There’s a lot less magic in economics than there is in sparkling wine. Was there a moment when you realized, ‘I need more magic?’

 

Yes, I remember. When I was 13 or 14 years old, and I was helping my father in the vineyard, I didn’t like it because it was very warm and some activities were very slow. My friends would go to the swimming pool, and I was with my father. So I said, I want my office, with my shirt and air conditioning and not be here.

But at the end, I really love the people and finding magic. Because it all starts from a piece of wood and arrives at the end in a bubble, in the most beautiful moment that you put that wine in a glass and enjoy with your friends and your family.

There was not a very clear moment when I changed my mind and said no economics, but wine making for sure.

I made the commercial part of the winery. So economics is important and now it’s the economics of a winery. I found a very good way to have a little bit economics and stay in the best [wine] world.

I always tell my friends and my girlfriend, we are working for something that others work for the Saturday night or the Friday night. That is super beautiful, because celebrating is the best thing. To enjoy life is to celebrate the big things and the small things. The small things could be simpler, pizza with friends.

 

I think the theme that I’m learning is the magic of celebration. Let’s seque to the magic of your region.

 

Yes, for sure. The [Dolomite] mountains area is one of the important things. And thanks to the mountain region, we can have the freshness, the aromas that come up from the difference in temperature between day and night.

At the same time, we have a region that goes from 200 meters in altitude over to 700 meters. More than 70% is over 1,000 meters in altitude. So it’s a very mountain region. And the valley also is a mountain valley, because the fresh air comes down from the mountains and goes through our vineyards. That’s increases the performance and the structure we find in our glass of trentodoc.

Wine Enthusiast awarded us as one of the best wine areas for Trentodoc because we can have the maturity of the grapes, and at the same time we defend the freshness. So we have a balance between the complexity, the perfumes, the aromas thanks to the mature grapes. We don’t forget and lose the freshness, the acidity freshness, very important to enjoy, because at the end, one bottle, one glass, you have to drink to enjoy it.
Another thing that is important here is the soil, limestone, there are different soils. And that gives us some different shades about Trentodoc. This is one of the most important things not only here in Trentodoc, but in the wine world.

Drinking is a way to take a trip in your life. It’s very nice to drink the same wine, the same grapes in the same area, but at the same time, find something different. Not only because its comes from different wine growers, but because the soil, the terroir.

For example, Albano, the small village where I come from, where Revi was born.
Re Vino [translates to] “king wine”, because it was one of the best areas in Albano, my village, to produce grapes for wine. Albano was named from Veronelli, one of the best and most important, wine journalists in Italy.

Why? Because many private people in the area made their own classic method, sparkling wine. It was an agricultural village, but they didn’t make only still wine. They made sparkling wine. So that is the terroir. That is the the know-how, the idea of one place, not only the type of soil or the wind.

 

Here in Trentino, in our vineyard we have some of the best soil, Cavaliere Nero.
Cavaliere Nero is 100% Pinot Noir, it’s clay and red marble. Now red marble was the motherstone. And we have clay. It is a very important Pinot Noir. It is a very important red pinot noir dressed by the bubbles.

 

Sticking with the region for a moment, tell us about what’s it like living in that area today?

 

It’s a mountain region so we have ski slopes we can enjoy in the winter season. But the mountains are really magic during the summer. On my summer holidays, I want to go to the sea. We have one of the best lakes in Italy, Llago di Garda.

 

 

A few weeks ago there was the Gambero Rosso event, where I tasted your sparklers for the first time. Let’s talk about the bottles.

 

You tasted the classic one, Revi Brut Trentodoc, the Revi Reserve 2012.
Revi Brut Trentodoc has 40 months on lees. Both are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The Chardonnay grown here in Trentodoc gives very good aromas, good acidity, good freshness. Pinot Noir in more in altitude, gives us the body.

Courtesy of http://www.revispumanti.com/

 

In the Pinot Noir of the brut, it’s only for the body. Not for the structure.

With aging, the wine comes out with notes of Pinot Noir. In fact, in the Reserva 2012 or other Revi, when it stays many months on the yeast, you find the perfumes of the Pinot Noir, we have the classic line: Revi Brut, Revi Rose, Revi Dosaggio Fero. They are all made with a cuvee of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 20% white and more in the rose, because we have 70%, helps us to give a lot of structure and body.

Chardonnay is a major part of it and that is very important for the Brut as for the Reserva, because it gives us the freshness in the Reserva.

People always ask me which is my favorite, the Brut or the Reserva?

It really depends. It depends on the time of day and my mood. In the summer when it is warm, I like really a glass of fresh Brut classic, because it’s simple. I want to chill out a little.

Then on the same day at dinner we drink a glass or a bottle of Reserva tasting and pairing with some foods.

With the Brut, the tasting notes are apples. One of the classic notes. Toasted nuts. All very light and delicate.

If you ask me what to expect if you taste a glass of Revi Brut, you have to expect some fresh apples, some flowers, a little toast, and freshness and joy on the palate.
For the food pairing, some salami or fromage, very simple aperitivo that you can have in your house.

One of the best pairings that I really love is with pappardelle or a pasta with white ragu and parmesano, because it’s delicate and a little bit salty. Parmesano’s taste is not so aggressive, it’s also delicate. And with the Brut I love a lot.

I love pappardelle, I love pasta for sure. I’m Italian, you know, so… I’m a pasta lover.
Thinking about Reserva, you can really go all over the world with the taste. You can also pair with fusion cuisine, you can have some more taste.

In our Reserva, we have the structure, the body, the complexity at the same time, the very freshness. So you can enjoy that glass with some fatty foods, because it’ll clean up your mouth and have structure. Carpaccio, branzino, fresh fish.

Is there a unique or surprising food that you wouldn’t traditionally think pairs well with your wines and yet it did?

I love surprising myself with pairing foods. As you were talking, I was thinking of risotto with porcini, with gouda.

During the [pandemic] lockdown I stayed with my family and during our Sunday meals, we had a violet rosemary [herb sprig] inside a glass was amazing.

I believe, one of the best important things, if you are in a winery, in a restaurant, you have to taste and try. Be curious.

Something we really aim for with our audience is helping someone who’s curious and eager, helping them understand what they’re trying so they can have more appreciation for the taste and the flavor.

 

 

 

Can you walk us through the process of the classic method?

 

The first part, it’s common, like still wine. You grow the grapes. It’s very important to have high quality raw materials at the start. Then you have harvest after one year. Then you press, you have the first fermentation, that is the vinification.

The very important different thing about sparkling wine and a classic method, for example, in 100% Chardonnay is when you want to have a chardonnay for a base of sparkling wine, you have to have more acidity. So your harvest is a couple of weeks [earlier]. It depends on the velocity of the maturation.

But we can say between one and two weeks before, because you have to preserve the freshness, the acidity.

Then after harvest, you have a different vinification. It depends if you want to, to make a rose or a white wine. In that case, you have a maceration on the skin of the grapes of Pinot Noir. If you want a Blanc de Noir, a white wine from Pinot Noir, you have to separate the skin of the grapes, from the juice.

After the first fermentation we make the cuvee. We sit with my family and taste, and discuss which kind of chardonnay goes inside with some percentage of Pinot Noir.
For example, we talked about the Revi Brut and 80% of Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir. So [a blend of] Chardonnay 1-2, and 7 with 20% of Pinot Noir or a [blend of a] couple of Pinot Noirs, it depends on the vintage of the year.

After that, we put inside the Liqueur de tirage, so yeast and sugar, like [if you] make bread. You put all inside a bottle and you cork. So, the yeast starts eating the sugar and give us the bubbles.

That activity let’s the yeast work.

One important thing for Trentodoc it it’s made with only grapes of the Trento area: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc.

First of all, we use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In Revi we use only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

To be Trentodoc, it has to stay on the lees, for a minimum 15 months. To be Vintage Trentodoc, it has to stay for two years, 24 months. We have two years on the grapes of just one harvest.

For example, the 2018, to be Reserva Trentodoc has to stay minimum three years on lees, so 36 months with just one harvest.

After that, we have the bubbles inside the bottle, also the yeast. So we have to make the. [Years ago] we made it all by hand, today is automatic. It’s useful to clean up the wine from the yeast to have at the end of this activity a brilliant sparkling wine. Then we have the disgorgement. The isgorgement is made with glass, so we freeze that part of the yeast.
And with the pressure between six and seven bar with the disgorge. So we open the bottle, the pressure pulls out that cork freeze of yeast, and we have a very brilliant, sparkling wine.

If we don’t add [anything] because, sparkling wine is special wine, because we can add sugar, and with the sugar, we can define the type of Trentodoc sparkling wines who had, for example, de Natura, de Dossagio Ferro, after we have the extra Brut Brut, and go on with more sugar wine.

We can add something to create a very secret recipe of each winery. At the end, a couple of month minimum to recalibrate the sparkling wine, with this liquor disposition. We have the magic done. From some grapes to a glass full of emotional, nice moments and full of bubbles.

Outstanding. The magic and the science involved,.

Our payoff is when magic and technique meet, because that is sparkling wine.

 

As we wrap up, where can we find Revi, browse and shop?

 

I wanna ask your audience to be our ambassador. You have to go and ask [restaurants and shops] about Revi. When you find Revi, you have to try Revi.

When you don’t find Revi, you have to ask for it.

You can find us on Instagram and on our website Revi.com.

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, ODESZA and more! Headline Austin City Limits Music Festival 2023

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, ODESZA and more! Headline Austin City Limits Music Festival 2023

The legendary Austin City Limits Music Festival returns in 2023 with an incredible lineup featuring headliners

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Shania Twain (Weekend One only)

The Lumineers, ODESZA, Alanis Morissette and The 1975 (Weekend Two only)

 

along with Hozier, Kali Uchis, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maggie Rogers, Labrinth, Cigarettes After Sex, Niall Horan, Tove Lo, Thirty Seconds to Mars and many more.

 

The nine-stage, two-weekend extravaganza will take place October 6-8 and October 13-15, 2023, at Zilker Park.

3-Day Tickets for both weekends will go on sale today at 12pm CT at www.aclfestival.com.

New in 2023: No surprises at checkout – all fees and shipping costs are included upfront. Layaway Plans are available starting at only $25 down.

 

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, ODESZA and more! Headline Austin City Limits Music Festival 2023

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, ODESZA and more! Headline Austin City Limits Music Festival 2023

 

nine-stage, two-weekend extravaganza

 

Austin City Limits Music Festival’s stages are where the next generation of headliners are born, and where music fans can experience an abundance of artist discovery across the diverse and inclusive bill.  2023’s roster features 45% female performers, LGBTQ+ artists, allies and icons, multiple Latin stars including Ivan Cornejo, Kevin Kaarl, Eddie Zuko, and much more.

 

At the heart of Austin City Limits Fest is its Texas pride

 

At the heart of ACL Fest is its Texas pride, and this year the festival is proud to showcase a long list of amazing homegrown artists including Cigarettes After Sex, The Mars Volta, Tanya Tucker, Ben Kweller, d4dv, Jimmy Vaughn, Asleep At The Wheel, Penny & Sparrow, Randall King, Abraham Alexander, Angel White, BigXThaPlug, Katy Kirby and Goodnight, Texas, Calder Allen, Kathryn Legendre, Arya, Grace Sorenson, Sunrose, Blackchyl, We Don’t Ride Llamas, Jane Leo, Ellis Bullard, Rattlesnake Milk, Shooks, QUIN NFN, Caramelo Haze, Die Spitz, Nemegata, Huston-Tillotson Jazz Collective, The Moriah Sisters and The Disciples of Joy.

 

 

While taking in all that ACL Fest has to offer, be sure to slip into the shady grove and enter the world of Bonus Tracks, the biggest party on the smallest stage at Zilker Park.  Programming at Bonus Tracks creates a hub of culture, connection, and positive vibes between music performances.  Past appearances include beloved local Austin favorites Kate Waitzkin, dance parties with Outdoor Voices and DJ Mel, drag shows curated by Extragrams!, and a hilarious and lively swearing session with legends Brett Goldstein and Brené Brown. Stay tuned for the 2023 programming announcing later this summer.

3-Day General Admission Tickets, 3-Day GA+ Tickets, 3-Day VIP and Platinum Tickets and Hotel Packages will go on sale today at 12pm CT at www.aclfestival.comwith all fees and shipping costs included upfront.  Layaway Plans are available starting at only $25 down.  1-Day General Admission Tickets, 1-Day GA+ Tickets, 1-Day Tickets will be available at a later date.  Music fans ages 8 and under will be admitted free of charge. Austin Kiddie Limits programming information will be announced soon.

GA Ticket Holders will experience a new amenity this year!  For the first time, premium cocktails will be available on bar menus throughout ACL Festival, not just in select areas.  GA+ will include a full-service bar with preferred pricing for all beer, seltzers, wine and cocktails. VIP guests will enjoy complimentary beer, seltzers, wine and cocktails in two private lounges, which also feature viewing decks offering elevated sightlines of the two main stages.  Platinum guests will receive complimentary beer, seltzers, wine and cocktails, as well as the best seats in the house with exclusive viewing at six stages.  A full list of GA, GA+, VIP and Platinum amenities can be found at www.aclfestival.com/tickets.

Hulu returns as the Official Streaming Destination of ACL Festival! Catch three days of select live performances, interviews and much more during Weekend One, October 6-8! Full broadcast lineup and schedule to be announced later this summer.

Austin City Limits Music Festival is proud to call Zilker Park home. Since 2006, ACL Festival, in partnership with Austin Parks Foundation, has generated nearly $55 million towards improvements to Zilker Park and parks across Austin. In 2022, through a percentage of ticket sales, fans of ACL Fest contributed $7.2 million to improving Austin’s public parks, trails, and green spaces.  In the coming year, APF will utilize ACL Fest funds to help design and complete park improvement projects across Austin including projects at Earl J. Pomerleau Pocket Park, Rosewood Neighborhood Park, Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, and McBeth Recreation Center. For more information about Austin Parks Foundation’s work in the Austin community and how fans have contributed to Austin’s parks, please visit https://austinparks.org/acl-music-festival/.

Fans can sign up for the ACL Fest SMS and Email Lists to be the first to get new information at www.aclfestival.com and follow social media to stay in the loop on all festival announcements.  Instagram || Facebook || Twitter.

Austin City Limits Music Festival 2023 thanks American Express, Honda, T-Mobile, Miller Lite, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, BMI, Karbach Brewing Co., and Hulu for their generous support.

Post Malone Returns to DC Area July 26 with the ‘If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying’ Tour

Post Malone Returns to DC Area July 26 with the ‘If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying’ Tour

GRAMMY® Award-nominated 8x diamond-certified global superstar Post Malone unveiled his anxiously awaited fifth full-length offering and one of the most anticipated albums of 2023, Austin, will arrive on July 28th, 2023. You can pre-order/pre-save—HERE.

Additionally, Post will release his next single entitled “Mourning” this coming Friday May 19, 2023 via Mercury Records/Republic Records.

Post also announced his return to North America with the ‘If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying Tour following his highly successful trek across the US and Canada last year and Europe this year for his long awaited ‘Twelve Carat Tour.

The 2023 North America run will give fans his signature exhilarating performance with music from his upcoming album as well as fan-favorites in a completely reimagined show.  Produced by Live Nation, the 24-date run kicks off on July 8 at Nobelsville’s Ruoff Music Center, making stops in Detroit, Toronto, Charlotte, Tampa, Atlanta, Dallas and more before wrapping up at San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Amphitheater on August 19.

“I love y’all so very much and I’m so excited to get out and do some more shows for y’all. Help me put a baby through college and come on out. Some cool new production, new songs, and a very very handsome man up on stage. Sending love to you and yours.” Says Post

TICKETS: Tickets will be available starting with a Citi presale (details below) beginning Wednesday, May 17 at 10am local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, May 19 at 10am local time on livenation.com

PRESALE: Citi is the official card of the Post Malone tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Wednesday, May 17 at 10am local time until Thursday, May 18 at 11:59pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com.

VIP:  The tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, access to the World Pong League VIP Lounge, exclusive VIP gift items and more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

IF Y’ALL WEREN’T HERE, I’D BE CRYING 2023 TOUR DATES:

Sat Jul 08 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center

Sun Jul 09 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center

Tue Jul 11 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre

Wed Jul 12 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake

Fri Jul 14 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Sat Jul 15 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre

Mon Jul 17 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater

Wed Jul 19 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage

Sat Jul 22 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center

Sun Jul 23 – Hartford, CT– XFINITY Theatre

Tue Jul 25 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

Wed Jul 26 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live

Sat Jul 29 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion

Mon Jul 31 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

Tue Aug 01 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

Thu Aug 03 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre

Sat Aug 05 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion

Tue Aug 08 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Thu Aug 10 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater

Sat Aug 12 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

Sun Aug 13 – San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre

Tue Aug 15 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre

Wed Aug 16 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre

Sat Aug 19 – San Bernardino, CA – Glen Helen Amphitheater

 

GRAMMY Award-nominated phenomenon Post Malone

 

A 8x diamond-certified GRAMMY® Award-nominated phenomenon, Dallas, TX artist Post Malone regularly rewrites history, blurs boundaries, and incites internet-breaking conversation with every move.

Emerging in 2015 with a genre-less brew that inspired a movement, he delivered the diamond-selling “Congratulations” [feat. Quavo], achieved back-to-back #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, received countless multi-Platinum certifications around the world, and smashed one record after another with his Hot 100-topping hits. In 2022, he pushed boundaries again with his fourth full-length offering, Twelve Carat Toothache, which marked his fourth consecutive Top 5 bow on the Top 200.

It also paved the way for his biggest headliner to date, The Twelve Carat Toothache Tour, taking over arenas for multiple dates in major cities throughout the year. He even scored “the highest-certified single in RIAA history” with the 17x-platinum “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)” [feat. Swae Lee], netting the biggest single of his generation.

In 2023, he garnered a GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” for “I Like You (A Happier Song)” [with Doja Cat], marking his tenth career nomination in six years.

Three years prior, his 2019 third full-length, Hollywood’s Bleeding [Republic Records], represented an audience and critical high watermark.

Not only did it arrive at platinum status and eventually go triple-platinum, but it also reigned at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 for four weeks and returned to the chart for a fifth week, making for the longest run atop the chart of 2019 and the first release to do so in over a year.

The quadruple-platinum lead single “Circles” seized #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. It notably occupied a spot on the chart for a record 39 weeks in total. Speaking of making history, he performed a massively popular Nirvana tribute concert on YouTube, raising over $10,000,000 for the World Health Organization in the fight against COVID-19. Hollywood’s Bleeding followed the immense success of the triple-Platinum beerbongs & Bentleys, which also landed at #1 a year prior.

In the wake of beerbongs & bentleys, Post crushed a record in place for 54 years. He charted nine songs in the Top 20 of the Hot 100, notching “the most songs in the Top 20 of the Hot 100 ever. Moreover, he also trounced the record for most simultaneous Top 40 Hot 100 hits with 14.

As of 2023, his catalog comprises the GRAMMY®  Award-nominated “rockstar” [feat. 21 Savage” (Diamond), “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)” [feat. Swae Lee] (Diamond), “I Fall Apart” (5x-platinum), “Psycho” [feat. Ty Dolla $ign] (5x-platinum), “White Iverson” (5x-platinum), “Better Now” (4x-platinum), and more. Not to mention, he sold out numerous arena tours and hosted and curated his own mega-popular Posty Fest in 2018 and 2019. It all started with his quintuple-platinum influential 2016 debut, Stoney. With records under his belt that will likely never be surpassed and a generation of artists and audiences worldwide under his spell, Post Malone simply doesn’t stop.

DC Father’s Day: Le Portteus Wine Decanter offers Flavor and Class for Dad [Gift Guide]

This Fathers Day, Le Portteus Wine Decanter, pours flavor and class for your foodie, wine-drinking Dad (and the whole family).

Father’s Day is around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with a unique and elegant gift for the wine-loving dads in your life? 

 

Father’s Day: Le Portteus Wine Decanter offers Flavor and Class for Dad

Father’s Day: Le Portteus Wine Decanter offers Flavor and Class for Dad

 

Le Portteus Red Wine Decanter is a perfect choice that rethinks the wine sipping experience.

 

Its thoughtfully designed hand-blown glass piece increases oxygen exposure, releasing natural aromas and deep flavors, which improves the taste by softening astringent tannins and releasing fruit and floral notes.

 

“I’d been envying a friend’s decanter for ages, so finally broke down and got one. It comes with cleaning beads, a cork stopper, and a cleaning wand.

Decanting really does make a huge difference

with medium-to-heavy reds.”

Debbie Adams, Amazon buyer

 

According to the experts at Portteus, wine enthusiasts have long known the importance of decanting wine to enhance the drinking experience, and Le Portteus takes it to the next level with its high-quality crystal, slanted spout, and wide-bottom design that makes pouring effortless without wine drips and stains.

 

Le Portteus Wine Decanter offers Flavor and Class for Dad

With a capacity of a full 750 ml wine bottle, it also doubles as a chic decoration on kitchen counters, bookshelves, bars, libraries or serving areas, and is sure to be a conversation starter.

 

“Beautiful design. Made a very good statement at our dinner table!

Also looks great sitting at the counter as decoration.” 

MJ, amazon buyer

 

Moreover, what sets Le Portteus apart is its convenient cleaning beads that come with a cork and stopper ball for efficiency, making it easy to clean without worrying about scratches or grime.

Plus, high-grade steel pellets are an easy cleaning solution that can be used repeatedly, giving peace of mind to the dad who loves wine but doesn’t like the hassle of cleaning his decanter.

Father’s Day: Le Portteus Wine Decanter

 

“Le Portteus Red Wine Decanter is the perfect gift for the wine-loving dad who will appreciate the enhanced wine-drinking experience and its chic design.”

 

Browse the Le Portteus Red Wine Decanter here and find out more for this perfect Father’s Day gift.

A Must for Wine Lovers

 

This wine decanter is an essential edition to your wine accessories.

Decanting wines will increase the oxygen exposure thereby releasing its natural aromas and deep flavors. As a result, improving the taste by softening the astringent tannins and letting the fruit and floral aromas come out.

 

Superior Quality

 

The lead-free crystal wine decanter is handcrafted with highly durable crystal, and guaranteed to withstand the test of time!

With the capacity of a full 750 ml wine bottle. In addition to our high quality crystal vase, our decanter set also includes a fine cork ball stopper.

 

Spill and Stain Proof

 

The slanted spout and wide bottom of this wine aerator decanter makes it an effortless and elegant pour, eliminating the frustration of wine drips and stains. Making this the perfect wine gift set for aerating red wines, releasing satisfying flavors and aromas, and indulging your taste buds with peace of mind!

Clean Easily

 

These cleaning beads are uniquely designed to be gentle on delicate decanters for alcohol and tough on dirt and grime, removing any buildup without leaving a scratch. These high-grade steel pellets are an easy cleaning solution that you can reuse repeatedly.

 

Gifts with Class

 

Every Le Portteus crystal vase wine aerator goes through a quality assurance product inspection and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Le Portteus Decanters and Carafes make great gifts for friends or wine lovers, and you can be sure they will love them!

An excellent idea for birthdays, housewarmings, anniversaries, wedding registries, and more!

 

The Future of Coffee has More Flavor, reveals Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee

The Future of Coffee has More Flavor, reveals Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee

Just about everyone has their coffee preferences.  But the truth is, most of us aren’t enjoying coffee the best it can be and we don’t even know it.  The beans, the grinding, the flavor (or lack thereof).

 

And before you ask, nope, good coffee doesn’t need to be expensive.  Actually most great coffee is more affordable than the bad stuff you’re currently drinking.  True story.

 

But I wanted to get answers and advice from a coffee expert, so I had a conversation with Maurice Contreras from Volcanica Coffee.

Maurice Contreras Volcanica Coffee

Maurice Contreras, Volcanica Coffee

Native Costa Rican Maurice Contreras started Volcanica Coffee to import excellent-tasting coffee from volcanic regions, such as his homeland, to consumers. He started the company in his garage and now operates a coffee plant near Atlanta with 20 employees, including his wife and two adult children.

 

What is your favorite thing about coffee?

 

My favorite thing I like about coffee is really the flavor. That actually was how I got started. I’m from Costa Rica and for a long time I would do annual trips with the family. It was a family vacation. One of our trips we did a coffee farm tour. And just got to learn about coffee. And this is back in 2004. One of the things that dawned on me is how coffee in Costa Rica was so much better than coffee in the United States. I just didn’t understand why a 3rd world country had better coffee. The quality of coffee in the United States has really come down over several decades. So that’s when I thought that there was an opportunity to bring better tasting coffee or specialty coffee as it’s known today to the United States. That was really how it got started. It really was more about the flavor and just enjoying the richness of a Costa Rican coffee.

 

Is there a simple reason why first world coffee just isn’t as good?

 

Yeah, the general sense was because it became more of a highly produced, big production, big coffee house; and I’ll tell you a quick story. A lot of people don’t know this, the word Maxwell House, it actually is a chain of hotels. Some of them are still in existence. And so Maxwell House started from the Maxwell House Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. They served breakfast and they had really good coffee and it became really popular. It became very famous, and then eventually it became its own brand Maxwell House, and then it ended up getting acquired by corporate conglomerates. And that really good tasting coffee just turned into [not-great] coffee.

 

So that’s really what happened to coffee in the United States. At one time, back in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, people would really appreciate good coffee and then just kind of lost sight of what good coffee was.

 

 

From a coffee lover’s point of view, what would you say to convince them to give your coffee a try?

 

That coffee really is an enjoyable drink to be appreciated and enjoyed for the flavor of what it is. It’s not just something to wake you up. But really coffee and all the different varieties, there’s a lot of flavor notes, a lot of different flavors to be enjoyed. A lot of it depends upon the different regions. My recommendation is try it out and get some good coffee with some flavor notes that you enjoy. Like, for example, Ethiopian coffees, they have a lot of berry notes, a lot of fruit tones, even red wine notes. Some of those things can really open up people’s perspective on coffee.

 

 

Before we jump more into coffee, I wanted to ask you about your background as far as the work you did before Volcanica Coffee

 

My career was in marketing specifically I was in the wireless telephone industry. It really was just about creating a brand. I was part of the startup team at TracFone Wireless which is now a part of Verizon. I was the National Director, I created the brand. In fact, there’s still a lot of things in the brand that I created. I had a passion for marketing.

 

It was kinda like, “Hey, gee whiz, what if I created my own brand and just created a business?”

 

And so I actually was on a hunt for a couple of years thinking what would be a good business? And then I just kind of stumbled on coffee because it was staring me in the face.

 

There’s such a message in there. The success you’re currently riding is because you took industry knowledge of marketing, a personal passion for coffee, and took the risk of putting them together in a business start-up.

 

Yep, that’s true. It was a risk because I was making a good living, I had a young family, I didn’t wanna affect any of that. It was something part-time, working nights and weekends, that’s how it all started out. I

 

How did your family feel about that?  Was there anxiety?

 

It was definitely a struggle and I loved spending time with them and being with them. But part of how I resolved that was I would just wake up early in the morning and spend 1-2 hours before I had to go to work doing this. I didn’t want to neglect my family and I didn’t.

 

There’s so many people out there who aspire to take those steps and they always find reasons not to, but you found a way.  When people are drinking your coffee, they’re not just drinking delicious coffee, they’re supporting someone who took a huge chance, who followed his passions.

 

So segueing to the actual coffee part now.

Your website mentions coffee regions and how the region’s soil contributes to the taste.  A lot of our audience who’s into food and wine will realize the terroir aspect is very familiar to that.

 

 

Can you pick two or three regions and explain their soil and how it contributes to the taste?

 

I’ll start with African coffees. Their soil is very unique. Coffees from Africa tend to have a lot of berry notes, a lot more flavor of fruit which is very unique and very different compared to coffees from Indonesia.

 

Indonesian coffees tend to be lower in acidity. Acidity provides flavor but they’re still very good tasting coffees, even though they’re lower in acidity.  

 

Also the coffee in Indonesia, Sumatra, for example, Papua New Guinea, and even Hawaiian Kona coffees, those tend to have a lot of boldness. When you taste the cup, your mouth just tends to [recognize] that bold flavor, which you don’t get in African coffees. So those are a couple examples.

 

So really it is like old world wine versus new world wine. A noticeable difference in mouth feel depending on what region you’re going after.

 

When people ask, Hey, what kind of coffee should I buy? I always ask, what kind of flavors do you like? Start there. Then for people that are experimenting, try different coffees from different regions.

 

 

 

 

You mentioned that you’re from Costa Rica.  So tell us more about the Costa Rican volcanic regions.

 

It’s the most popular coffee growing region in Costa Rica, the Tarrazu area, which is very mountainous, goes up to 5,000 feet above sea level south of San Jose. Very steep. 

 

The coffee beans, because of the volcanic soil, have a lot of flavor. It’s a very mild flavor, but very flavorful as well. And because of the elevations, the beans are also very dense. They’re a harder bean. In fact, there’s a designation strictly hard bean that is used in the industry because of that. 

 

Being from Costa Rica I came here [to the U.S.] when I was a baby.  My mom would tell stories about how she would assist with her father, which is my grandfather, in the harvest. Because my grandfather was a teacher, he would work out in the rural areas of Costa Rica where the coffee bean farmers worked. They would assist during harvest time with picking coffee beans off the tree. There was the connection going back a couple generations in our family.

 

There has been a coffee influence throughout generations of your family.

 

Yes. For decades, maybe even a century, coffee was the number one product for Costa Rica. Today it’s tourism.

 

I’m glad you brought up tourism. We cover a lot of travel. If somebody wanted to visit Costa Rica, maybe even a specific coffee lover, is there a place you can recommend to come visit?

 

One of the farms that we work with actually has an Airbnb right on their plantation. We’ve had several customers that have made trips there and have gone and stayed at the house. It’s gorgeous.

 

 

More people are working from home and making coffee at home. A lot of us making coffee wrong. Can you just walk us through step by step the best way to grind and brew your coffee?

 

The single largest improvement in the freshness of your coffee is by grinding your beans at home.  A lot of people don’t know this: buying ground coffee, because it’s in smaller particles, tends to deteriorate very quickly. So you’re not enjoying the best of what coffee can be. 

So first of all, grind at home and it’s the type of grinder.

We recommend a burr grinder. The other type of grinder is a blade grinder, which is a cheap type grinder, which does not do as well as a burr grinder. 

Second thing is you wanna match your grind type to how you’re brewing. So there’s different levels, how fine or how course you want the coffee.  If you’re doing a French press, you want to have a coarse grind.  The opposite spectrum is an espresso grind. It’s almost like very fine sand. So if you had coarse coffee and an espresso maker, you’d have a bad cup of coffee. And the opposite too.  If you had a French press where you’re using espresso ground coffee, you would not have a good tasting coffee. A lot of it has to do with the extraction and this is the chemistry behind coffee.

Then in the middle of that would be like a traditional drip grind, which most people have which is a medium coarseness of a grind type. That works best to pour over or a drip grind.

 

Once you buy the equipment, you’re saving quite a bit of money by doing this all at home. More value and quality out of doing it at home?

 

Oh yeah. A cup of coffee outside can cost $3-6. At home, 50 cents per cup. Plus you’re controlling the flavor, how hot it is and how fresh it is.

 

How many cups do you think the average coffee person drinks per day?

 

The average is between one to two cups per day. Wall Street Journal says 66% of Americans have had coffee within the last day.

 

 

So with volcanic, you’ve mentioned low acid. Tell us more.

 

Low acid coffee is actually a natural occurrence. There’s no additives that need to be added, at least we don’t add anything to our coffee. It’s just how it’s sourced. How it’s brewed also affects acidity. 

 

So for example, the cold brew method tends to lower the acidity of coffee. Even more than if you brewed it traditionally in a drip grinder. It benefits people who suffer from acid reflux; and different types of indigestion abnormalities can benefit from low acidic coffee just because the pH is a higher number. 

 

We have a lot of customers thanking us because they could not drink coffee before they heard about our low acid coffee, so now they can drink coffee again. 

 

We have a blend of different coffees called the low acid coffee, plus 12 or 15 other coffees that are also rated as low acid. We rated them, we’ve done the pH levels on all of them, and all of them fall into that category of being lower in acidity.

 

 

Volcanica has built up a really strong community on your social media avenues.  What have the results been like?

 

We’re on all the major socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. It’s very easy to find us.  We take customer feedback really seriously. We’re always looking for input and ideas. 

We’ll get a request [to] carry a type of coffee or coffee from a region and we’ll always look into it. 

We offer 100% customer satisfaction. We take returns, even when the customer just didn’t like a coffee, which is no fault of ours.

 

When someone does suggest a new bean, a new region, is that an easy outreach to investigate, or is that a whole process?

 

It is a whole process.

 

 

 

What’s a great online shopping strategy for finding the right coffee beans?

 

Align yourself with a brand that has a quality product. Look at customer reviews, their roasting technique.   Then it’s a matter of what type of coffee do you like? What flavor notes? Something mild? Berry notes? Lower in acidity?

 

So I go onto your website to buy some beans.  What’s a safe way to pick a bean that I’ll probably enjoy?

 

We carry over 150 different coffees, which is a lot. Visiting our website you have to know your preferences. Having some [filtering/search ] tools out there would be beneficial to people helping the selection process, that’s actually on our roadmap for the future.

 

Part of the reason why we have 150 coffees is because we’ve been listening to our customers over the years.

 

Tell us something about Volcanico Coffee that not everyone knows.

 

We love to give back. We’ve been blessed, we’ve been very successful, so we donate 1% of our website sales to an organization called Charity Water. They build water projects in impoverished communities around the world. This year we’re actually sponsoring a well in Ethiopia for a particular town. We know that we buy a lot of coffee from Ethiopia and we’d love to give back to them.

 

 

What is the future of coffee?

 

The future of coffee is specially curated lots. We call them our “Private Collection”. Farmers that are actually fermenting their coffee with mango, peach, different types of fruits. We have a few of them right now. We’re hoping to be carrying more in the near future.

 

Our audience is listening right now. What would you like them to do?

 

If you’re interested in finding out more about coffee and experiencing coffee, start exploring. We offer a great cup of coffee. Great different flavors and varieties. We even offer decafs, flavored coffees, something for everybody.

 

Website: https://volcanicacoffee.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gourmet.coffee.beans

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VolcanicaCoffee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volcanicacoffee 

 

Evolution of Bees: Their role in making Plant-based Honey

Evolution of bees: Their role in making Plant-based Honey

Traditionally bees have a massive role in producing honey.  So, removing their support seems unrealistic, or does it?  And sure, scientists can try to explain it.  But can someone explain it in simple terms, in a way that a curious foodie could understand it?

Let’s find out in an exclusive interview with Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich.

Darko Mandich is a food entrepreneur in San Francisco. After spending almost a decade in the European honey industry as a business executive, Darko committed to reimagining the honey industry to become sustainable. Darko immigrated from Europe to California to launch Mellody, the world’s first plant-based honey brand. Darko is an advocate of saving the bees and wild pollinators.

Mellody Food's Darko Mandich

Mellody Food’s Darko Mandich

 

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Darko.

 

From a science point of view, how are you creating plant-based honey products?

 

The process has to start with philosophy. When people think about science, engineering and process, what comes to their mind is what’s the science? What’s the engineering behind that? What’s the process of making something?

 

But I would argue that every process, every science starts with a philosophy in the first place. So for us, our philosophy was there’s honey made by the bees in the market, the real ones, that product quality-wise is amazing, but has negative baggage in terms of how it’s made. Next to that, there’s fake honey. There’s basically adulterated honey that’s made by people taking fraudulent activities and blending a little bit of real honey and a lot of rice syrup.

That’s done outside of the US by people trying not to get caught. The third group are vegan honey alternatives, made out of tapioca, dates, maple, pure sugar. These products are just not honey. Trying to impersonate honey, but it’s not honey. It’s a legit product. It’s in the market. People can buy it.

What was missing is the fourth group, which is the category that we pioneered.

Honey, the product that has the composition of real honey but that doesn’t have any rice syrups, nothing that doesn’t belong to honey. But, it’s not made by the bees and therefore by default is vegan and plant-based. So that was the category that we started, and we didn’t start it only for vegans. Obviously vegans are our early adopters. They love what we’re doing. I’m vegan myself. But I want this to be an inclusive company and brand, and therefore we launched this for everybody. For everybody who likes delicious and nutritious foods. By choosing this you’re basically voting for those little creatures to survive on this planet.

You asked me about the process.

You wanna make honey only from something that in nature that touches bees and honey, it’s very strict. Our team studied a lot of different honeys, the different anatomy of the bees, the science behind honey production. Bees land on a flower, they suck up nectar. And there’s a couple of things in a bee’s anatomy. We came up with this proprietary process where we interact with the plants, we take different parts of the plants.

 

What’s really exciting and cool is we can take the whole plant, break it into different ingredients, and take parts of the plant that maybe bees don’t have access to, like its roots. So we take different ingredients from different plants. We have more than 30 different plants in our product that we launched and we created this process that is basically mixing all those ingredients in a food facility in a regular culinary approach, and basically create a product that looks, tastes, and behaves like honey.

Is your honey currently available at Eleven Madison Home?

 

This is the product from a direct to consumer collaboration. We just launched with three Michelin star, Eleven Madison Park in New York City.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Yeah, the honey is currently available. The Specialty Tea and Honey Box launched for the Mother’s Day collection and Earth Month.

It’s a specially curated box of artisanal teas coming from different parts of the world with honey and also amazing, shortbread cookies. All plant-based, also made with our honey. That’s available right now

Sometime very soon a standalone jar [of honey] will also be available to Eleven Madison Home.

Eleven Madison Home's The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

Eleven Madison Home’s The Specialty Tea and Honey Box featuring Mellody Honey

 

Tell us again what’s available, how to find it; and how to follow you and support you.

 

Yeah, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at MellodyFoods

In terms of purchasing, head to ElevenMadisonHome.com and you can purchase it there.

Saving the bees is learning more about them. Learning more about pollinators and you can do that on our social media.

And finally, if you’re equally passionate about bees and plants as we are, ask your favorite restaurant to reach out to us to offer Mellody in your favorite restaurant. It can be a vegan restaurant on non-vegan.

We are gonna work with all the restaurants that reach out to us where people ask to see our product offered, either on the menu, either within a meal, or just if you order a cup of tea and you want a side of Mellody.

 

DC gets inspired by ‘Chocolate Epiphany’  Honeymoon Chocolate Wants to Help you

Ever Get so Inspired you had a ‘Chocolate Epiphany?  Honeymoon Chocolate Wants to Help you

Have you ever felt better after a good meal?  The flavors that linger.  The euphoria that captures your attention.  You’re inspired.  You can’t help but smile.

 

Today we’re talking with Honeymoon Chocolates’ Cam Loyet.

 

You use the phrase ‘Chocolate Epiphany’.  What does it mean to you?

So up in Bloomington, Illinois, where Hayley and I met there’s a restaurant called the Epiphany Farms it’s farm to table. It’s expensive because you’re getting the highest quality meal. We were only college students. So we really couldn’t afford it, except for once a year. Every meal I had there, I had what seemed like this Epiphany with food where everything tasted better than any meal I’d had in the last 4 weeks. It was just incredible and we hope that you know our chocolate can do that for our customers. 

 

It’s this experience where only a single bite can tide you over or a little bit goes a long way, because not only was the flavor so incredible, but it lasts 5 or 10 minutes, the flavor in your mouth just lingers. 

 

That’s where “Chocolate Epiphany“ comes from being sweetened with honey. It doesn’t have to be sweetened with cane sugar.

 

Honey is as local as it gets and it’s as unrefined as it gets with the sweetener completely untouched, raw unfiltered honey.

 

A lot of our competitors use coconut, sugar, monk fruit or stevia, and those are all processed ingredients, one way or another.  Even cane sugar is processed. 

 

So we’re doing our best to create this experience through chocolate and communicate with our customers; and hopefully it becomes an epiphany in the process.

 

Honeymoon chocolate is a love story, a health story, a delicious flavor, story  and an environmental story.  What else can we add to that?

 

It’s definitely a love story, my girlfriend at the time, now my wife; we met at Illinois Wesleyan University, and started this crazy business of sweetening chocolate with local honey. Yes, we need chocolate with local honey.  And it’s a bittersweet journey. We instantly found out all of the trials and tribulations of owning our own business.  

 

Also the cocoa supply chain. It’s a lot like the diamond industry where there’s a lot of slave labor and a lot of issues with those who really do all the hard work and effort.  There’s a lot of effect we can have as we scale.

 

Yeah, a love story. It;’ sweet.  It’s romantic. That’s one of the main reasons why we named it Honeymoon Chocolates because it always has its place at romantic events.

 

We do our best to attract those who want to gift our product. A lot of our customers do gift our chocolate.  

 

It’s environmental as well. It’s all compostable packaging. We have a goal of using only clean energy in the future, but again, it continues to be bitter sweet because chocolate is a very power hungry industry. It takes a lot of effort and energy to manufacture chocolate. It takes a lot of effort and energy just to get the cocoa here.

 

There’s a lot of effort in our industry to be transparent on the energy that is being used in the emissions and our goals to be a bit more transparent on that as well. But we do our best.

I never want our Honeymoon Chocolates wrapper to be out on the streets blowing in the wind without the ability to biodegrade or compost. So we go a little bit more a little bit above and beyond.

Visits Honeymoon Chocolates at: https://hmchocolates.com 

On Instagram, at: www.instagram.com/honeymoonchocolates

On Facebook, at: https://www.facebook.com/honeymoonchocolates

 

 

 

DC Chocolate loves ‘Bean to Bar’ But do you understand it? Honeymoon Chocolates Cam Loyet explains it

Chocolate fans, Do You Understand ‘Bean to Bar’ ? Honeymoon Chocolates Cam Loyet explains it

Honeymoon Chocolates was founded in a dorm room back in 2016 making bean-to-bar craft chocolate sweetened solely with raw honey.

Years later, bean to bar is only getting more popular.  But what does it actually mean? Do you know where to go?  What to look for or ask for?

 

So we asked Cam Loyet from Honeymoon Chocolates

What does “Bean to Bar” Craft chocolate mean?  Is it as simple as a one sentence answer?  Or Is it more complicated?

 

It’s far more complicated.  In itself, it’s a little bit selfish in my opinion.  There’s a lot of benefit employing those who work in origin to also manufacture the chocolate. That’s something that we’d be interested in down the road. We just can’t afford it so right now we take all the effort, all the energy and time to do it here in St. Louis. 

 

It’s a really fun process. But you do end up taking a lot of the credit where the credit isn’t necessarily due. A lot of the credits due for the fine cocoa farmers at origin.

 

Can you walk me through the basic concept?

 

So in our industry it’s wherever you receive the dry, unfermented cocoa beans. and you roast them.  What you’re doing is crafting this flavor and you’re manufacturing a product that otherwise wouldn’t wouldn’t necessarily exist. 

 

If you have the ability to roast [in-house] and you start [you’re own manufacturing process] ]there, you’re ‘bean to bar’.

 

It just gives a little bit more local sense to chocolate. Whenever you open up a bar, and you don’t know where it’s manufactured and how it’s manufactured, you lose a bit of that local sense. It becomes more of a global or nationwide feel.

 

l got it.  So the beans come from somewhere else, they arrive under your roof and the manufacturing process happens under your roof. So beans come in and a bar comes out, but it all happens under the same roof.

 

Yes.  And it’s traceable.  That’s also very important.

 

So when I’m at a Whole Foods, or any high-end retail groceries, there are many craft chocolate bars.  What am I looking for to know the difference?

 

I love the idea of when a consumer looks at a list of 9 bars, they instantly go ‘is it a dark, milk or or white.  If it’s dark, what percentage do I like?’

 

It starts with, what percentage do they like? And then from there you go into this dialogue with the consumer when they try your product. 

But it really does start with what the consumer likes. You can’t necessarily force an 85% bar onto a consumer that enjoys white chocolate. 

But you look at the ingredients on them. There are some good makers that use Lecithin just because it makes the product easier to work with, but it does make it less of a clean label product. So you look at the clean label from nutrition. 

You are gonna look and see if it’s single origin to check to see where the cocoa comes from. Just because it does highlight the farmers’ work a little bit more. There’s some big makers that combine origins because they have more of a fruity flavor versus a more chocolate-forward cocoa bean. So then they combine them. But I do find that it kind of does take away from the efforts that do happen earlier on in the supply chain.

 

Thank you, Cam.  

Visits Honeymoon Chocolates at: https://hmchocolates.com 

On Instagram, at: www.instagram.com/honeymoonchocolates

On Facebook, at: https://www.facebook.com/honeymoonchocolates

 

 

DC Foodies: Manhattan’s La Grande Boucherie Chef Maxime Kien Reveals the ‘Simple Secret’ to a Great Dish

Manhattan’s La Grande Boucherie Chef Maxime Kien Reveals the ‘Simple Secret’ to a Great Dish

 

Chef Maxime Kien is the new Executive Chef of NYC’s The Group, responsible for La Grande Boucherie, Boucherie Union Square, Boucherie West Village, Petite Boucherie and more.  And by the end of 2023, they’re launching even more restaurants.  

 

But today’s conversation is about bringing the most flavor out of a plate’s ingredients

 

 

Chef Maxime Kien explains:

 

To me, the simpler the food on the plate, the harder it is to make. The food we see in some restaurants right now is over-complicated. 

 

Too many ingredients, too much mixing of flavors and sauce and garnishes. [Instead,] try to stay true to what you’re trying to achieve.

 

Executive Chef Maxime Kien

Executive Chef Maxime Kien

Let’s say you’re doing a scallop. Cook the scallop properly, season it properly, don’t try to hide the flavor of the scallop with something which is gonna be overpowering and then you’re gonna be left eating something and not being able to recognize what you have in front of you. 

 

Not looking at it and saying, ”What is that?” 

 

Everybody thinks cooking fish is easy. No, it’s actually really technical because the second you over-cook it, the fish is worse. 

 

The key is being able to take something nice, season it properly, cook it properly and make it the star of the dish, with something that is going to complement it. 

 

A nice sauce is as simple as that. That’s what we are trying to achieve here, not try to be too complicated.

 

La Grande Boucherie is the number one booked restaurant in New York City. I think we’re in the top five in the USA as far as the volume that we do.

 

There are some items, like I will not put a tomato salad on the menu in December, even if we can find them.  I want to make sure that I follow the seasons and follow nature. So tomatoes will come for summer. 

 

In spring, you’re gonna have spring pie and try to stay true to the roots and try to stay true to seasonal things. 

 

I wouldn’t put whole vegetable bread in the midst of summer because that’s something that you serve as food with venison in fall and winter. Mushroom season is mushroom season. Don’t try to do things ’out of season’ because the product is not gonna be the best. So if the product is not good, I don’t want to serve it. I’d rather not put something on the menu rather than put something on the menu that’s not gonna be to our standard. I don’t wanna do that.

 

 

 

Tell us about the next steps of NYC’s The Group launching several restaurants throughout the United States

 

The company [The Group NYC] started about 11 years ago with the vision of Emil Stefkov, the owner. He opened the first restaurant and the company grew pretty quickly after that. 

 

The company almost quadrupled its size within a few years. Then because of Covid, everything was touch and go. But now we have a few projects coming up. We have Miami, Washington DC and Chicago. We’re gonna add another eight restaurants to the portfolio. We’re gonna double the size of the company within a short amount of time.

 

Well, there’s a lot of moving parts between developing the kitchen and having a look at the plans — we need to do this, this is where the pantry needs to be here. You know, and they’re talking about many developments and research and the staffing. There’s so many components. It’s not only like ‘We’re gonna open the restaurant.’  There is so much work behind that. You’re looking at the location. You have to think back to seasonal and local [ingredients and menu]. 

 

It’s all different food scenes. Even if you have core items from the menu, because they’re your identity, you have to look at every single location as an almost separate entity and be able to say, ‘This dish might not work over there, but it’s gonna work right here.’ So develop all of that and being thoughtful about everything.

 

 

Manhattan NYC’s La Grande Boucherie Chef Maxime Kien Reveals inspiration from Past Generations of Chefs

Manhattan NYC’s La Grande Boucherie Chef Maxime Kien Reveals inspiration from Past Generations of Chefs

 

Chef Maxime Kien is the new Executive Chef of NYC’s The Group, responsible for La Grande Boucherie, Boucherie Union Square, Boucherie West Village, Petite Boucherie and more.  And by the end of 2023, they’re launching even more restaurants throughout the United States..  

 

But today’s conversation is about how the past has inspired Chef Maxime Kien’s work.

 

Chef Maxime Kien has over twenty years of fine dining experience but it all started as a young boy growing up in his family’s kitchens.

 

 

You grew up in kitchens.  Your grandparents loved to cook and your father was a chef.  How did these experiences inspire you?

 

Well, my Dad was a professional Chef in the South of France.  In Monaco, all my grandparents, both my grandmothers and my grandfathers were great cooks. One of my great-grandfathers was a professional cook in Paris at an open air market that was very famous in the early 1900s. There was a very famous French brasserie opened over there and the story behind that is that the gentleman that opened that place wanted to have a place where all the chefs [that worked there] could meet because there was the open air market that was right next to it. 

 

So you had a mix of late night partiers that would go out and party and wanted a place to be able to go eat and drink all night long.  Now you had a place for that.

 

All the people that worked until late at night wanted a place where they could go and eat something before they went home. And Chefs that had to go to the market very early, at four o’clock in the morning to pick up that day’s poultry, rabbits, quails and all the fresh fish coming from Britain on a daily routine. They would do that at four o’clock in the morning and afterwards they needed a place to go for breakfast. 

 

It was open 24 hours a day. It was always a mix of people from show business, like singers and actors.

 

You would have Mick Jagger sitting at the bar. Next to him would be a Chef.  Next to the Chef would be a 14 year old boy having an omelet for breakfast with a glass of red wine at six o’clock in the morning. So it’s always been a mix of everything. 

 

Unfortunately, my Dad passed away when I was really young. I was six. But I guess I was drawn to cooking and that lifestyle.  It’s chaotic. When you’re working in a kitchen, you never know what time you’ll get done. It might be quiet and you get home at night by 10 o’clock. 

 

If you start to get busy, you might not be done until two o’clock in the morning. So it’s a mix of adrenaline and being busy and it’s tough and it’s grueling and it’s rewarding and it’s a mix of everything

 

How did growing up in kitchens with your family inspire you to run your own kitchen?

 

Every chef is different. The way I run my kitchen is different from the way that other chefs I’ve worked with run theirs. It’s like a recipe. Everyone can interpret it differently.  You take bits and pieces from a recipe to take the same dish and make it your own. 

 

Someone’s management style is the same way. I’ve worked for some chefs who were very good at managing people, but in the kitchen they were not as great. And some of them were geniuses at creating dishes, but they were not the best at managing people. So you have to create your own style.

 

 

 

You graduated culinary school when you were very young.  Would you still recommend school or encourage new chefs to learn hands-on in a kitchen?

 

The hard part about school versus hands-on is being able to understand exactly what [a new chef] is trying to achieve. Meaning that when I went to culinary school back in the 1980s, you wanted to graduate and get a diploma. After that, you wanted to be able to get your foot inside the door of a three Michelin star restaurant, a very famous place because you knew the chef was someone you were gonna be able to learn from. 

 

And that [experience] was gonna take you to the next chef, that was gonna take you to the next chef, and so on.  Because it’s a close-knit community, like a family. All the big chefs know each other. So when you’re ready to make your next move, the Chef [at your current kitchen] would come and ask, ‘Where do you want to go next?’  He’ll make a call and help you get that next job.

 

Now, unfortunately, the way some TV cooking shows happen, they give a vision of what it is to be a chef that is completely different from the truth. 

 

So now you have cooks that go to very famous, very expensive culinary schools and they spend a huge amount of money to graduate. Then after two years of education, they expect to find a position of Executive Chef, making six figures and wearing Egyptian cotton jackets with their name on them.

 

But they don’t have the basics.  They’re trying to run before they can walk. The biggest difference with my generation is, we went through all the processes, we didn’t try to rush the steps before you actually tried to be a chef. 

 

You had to be a good line cook before you tried to become Chef de Partie and then [become] a good Chef de Partie before you become a Sous Chef, and then [become] a good Sous Chef, before you become an executive chef. So that’s the main difference.

 

Almost like an army style, you have to graduate through the ranks.

 

New chefs try to go too fast. Take your time. Find a chef you can learn from.  New York is very lucky for that because you’ve got so many great chefs. 

 

Daniel Boulud and all these great chefs brought the New York Culinary to the next level.  Daniel Boulud has been here for 30 years now. 

 

So go work for them, write everything down, taste everything, take pictures!

 

When I started, we didn’t have cell phones to take pictures, so it was whatever you could remember and whatever you could write down. Now we’ve reached a point where you can take a video of a chef doing a dish and afterwards you can write down notes. 

 

I would say the biggest advice to the cooks right now: find a chef, find your niche, go work for him for two years, three years, four years. Write everything down, taste everything, ask questions, and then learn as much as you can. 

 

Don’t think about being called “Chef” right away. Don’t think about making a ton of money. Learn as much as you can then, then after that, start to think about your next step.  But take your time.

 

If you have the financial ability to be able to afford culinary school, do it, but it can be pricey. You don’t need to go to a very expensive, very famous one; but go to get some good basic training in a culinary school. 

 

Then after that, go see a chef and say, “I just want to learn. I want to work for you. You’re the best in the business in your town.” It can be in New York.  It can also be in Chicago or anywhere else. Just say, “I want to learn. I want to work for you.”

 

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