As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of when I was researching for my novel, SUCH DEVOTED SISTERS, which is set in the world of gourmet chocolates. OMG is all I can say. Imagine having a valid (tax-deductible) excuse to pig out on your favorite forbidden treat. (Too bad the bathroom scale is less forgiving…sigh). I traveled all over New York City and Paris, sampling chocolates from various high-end chocolatiers. I learned how to store and eat chocolate, and the process of making it starting with the cacao pods wherever they’re grown. I met two elderly ladies, at Li-Lac Chocolates here in NYC, who had been dipping chocolates for 30 years and finally had to retire because they had soaked enough of it through their pores to become borderline diabetic (see, I always knew bathing in chocolate was not a good idea, tempting though it might be). I spent an afternoon hanging out in the basement kitchen at La Maison du Chocolate, in Paris, watching and tasting – there, vats of tempered chocolate were poured onto an old, salvaged door (knock, knock, let me in) for cooling. I think I gained 5 lbs. just inhaling the aroma!
If you want to read all about it, you can treat yourself to the Valentine’s Day gift of SUCH DEVOTED SISTERS, available on Amazon.com and other e-tail sites.
