My name is Stephanie Zonis, and welcome to the April, 2005 edition of For Chocolate Lovers Only! Each month, you’ll find a recipe or two, tips, and recommendations on great chocolate specialties. Happy Passover and Happy Beltane. Let’s get into the kitchen!

Chocolate Recommendation of the Month: Are you a chocolate adventurer? Do your tastebuds delight in exotic chocolate combinations? If so, allow me to introduce you to blackflower chocolate. Cheryl Robbins-Dooley, a chef who got bitten hard by the chocolate bug, creates flavor combinations that are distinctly unusual in her bark, bars, and truffles. She sells a variety of flavors, as you might expect, but I’m fairly certain you won’t expect her blending of ingredients. How about an Australian wattleseed truffle, for instance? Or perhaps a wasabi and ginger? Maybe you’d prefer a curry, saffron, and coconut dark chocolate bar?

blackflower chocolate is a very young company that does things a little differently from many others, but I like their way of thinking. For instance, they sell no preset arrangements of truffles; you select the types and number you desire. Only the bark, a blend of dark chocolate, organic hazelnuts, and organic dried fruits, is sold in specific quantities (eight ounces or one pound, and the clever packaging resembles nothing so much as a black Chinese takeout carton). Incidentally, if you’re not into cutting-edge tastes, Ms. Robbins-Dooley can still accommodate you, perhaps with her fresh mint truffle or an espresso bean and cacao nib dark chocolate bar (take my advice and try the latter!). Yes, blackflower does corporate gifts and wedding favors, and remember them for Mother’s Day next month…but order early! There’s no assembly line production here. The very first blackflower chocolate retail store has just opened in Shelburne, VT, in the Shelburne Shopping Plaza. If you don’t live near Vermont, you can phone in your order to (802) 425-5434. Meantime, check out the website for a complete listing of alluring flavor fusions, at www.blackflowerchocolate.com.

Do you have a comment, question, or suggestion? I’d like to hear it. E-mail me at: sdziadwm@nac.net. Please specify that you’re writing about chocolate, or I might think it’s spam.