- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Chocolate for the Six Senses
Vosges Adds a Little Spice to the Sugar
By Belinda Clarke
Looking for something a little more exciting than plain chocolate this Valentine's Day? If so, it's time to bypass the Hershey display and go for something more exotic, more adventurous and, believe it or not – spicy.
Katrina Markoff is working to master the art of unconventional chocolate-making by incorporating exotic spices and seasonings into her one-of-a-kind chocolate products. Using ingredients such as curry, sesame, paprika, green tea and even flower blossoms, Vosges Haut Chocolat is a new twist on everyone's favorite.
"We want people to experience chocolate through the use of their senses – all six!" exclaims Markoff, who founded her Chicago-based company Vosges five years ago. "Best sellers include Naga (with coconut and curry), Black Pearl (ginger, wasabi and fresh cream) and Absinthe (with fennel and anise). "Initially, people are very reticent to try curry and chocolate; however, we dare them," says Markoff. "And then it's a cult classic."
Markoff takes great care in selecting the ingredients for her exotic truffles from all around the world and says she is responsible for personally choosing every spice, flower and chocolate that is flown into the company's kitchens in Chicago.
"My heritage is Macedonian, and my love of cooking has been with me from childhood," says Markoff. "My time spent in Southeast Asia brought me to spice markets with such colors and fragrance that I had never seen before. I began to dream up sweet/spice concoctions, and that was the start of it all!"
