Jacques Torres

The enormously talented and exuberant Mr. Chocolate, Jacques Torres of Jacques Torres Chocolate, has had a career rich with many firsts, lovingly wrapped in chocolate. (World-class pastry chef, Dean of Pastry Arts at the French Culinary Institute, James Beard Foundation Award Winner, TV host, author, humble chocolatier, to name a few.)

Why chocolate? “Chocolate is a magical product, the food of gods and lovers,” he says.

When asked: What is the best training to follow to become a chocolatier?

He answers: “Education trains your mind. Practice trains your hands. You have to be willing to make lots of mistakes and that will undoubtedly lead to many discoveries. Work in the best quality places—start where you want to end up.”

And: What advice do you have for someone looking to follow your footsteps?

He responds: “Work hard, stay late, arrive early, never compromise on quality, try to learn from the people who are already in the profession and are having success, ask questions, listen to the answers.

You must have passion for this business. You can’t learn to have passion. You either have it or you don’t. Don’t get into this business unless you have that passion. If you do, then the long hours and hard work won’t matter to you.

Always stay positive. Your mind has great power. If you continually think positive thoughts, you will be more likely to succeed. Never let those around you know when you’re stressed or tired. Take control of your emotions by focusing on the good.”

Jacques Torres shop, NYC

According to a 2009 Forbes article, Jacques Torres Chocolate, launched in 2000, today comprises 50+ employees, two factories and five retail stores in New York, Atlantic City and Michigan, while pulling in $10 million in revenue in 2008, up 43% from 2007.

Forbes further reports: “That’s some tasty growth in a crowded $16 billion industry, especially at the high end where Torres plays. Small gourmet shops have caught fire in the last decade. About a dozen niche chocolatiers have popped up in New York City in the last five years. Even Hersey has piled on: spending $60 million to acquire Joseph Schmidt Confections and Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, two San Francisco chocolatiers, and a year later, scooping up Dagoba Organic Chocolate in Portland, Ore.”

If you think the sweet smell of chocolate  is calling your name toward pastry arts school, it is only a matter of finding a place to learn.

Matters Of Fact:

• Many Americans believe that chocolate has a positive influence of their psychological and physical well-being — 52% say chocolate boosts morale and 46% say it revitalizes them.
• New advertising messages suggest that chocolate is heart-healthy (especially on Valentine’s day).
• When people say they’d kill for a chocolate bar, they don’t actually mean what they say: strictly speaking, an addict may kill for a fix but chocoholics experience a craving — not an addiction.
• Video game makers have developed a series of chocolatier adventures with sweet success similar to the Farmville experience.
• The Lindt chocolate company has annual sales of $2.1 billion. The Barry Callebaut company has annual sales of $3.5 billion.

As I peer into the future, I can already begin to make some forecasts about the elements of a meal in 2010.

A
American Cuisine will continue to be ‘IN.’ Every one, (or at least some people) believes New American Cuisine is the future. (Though trying to define American Cuisine is as difficult as trying to pet a porcupine.)

There will be an App for appetite control. New diet drugs may kill you but what a swell corpse you will make.

Appetizers will morph into little meals.

Researchers at Emory University will make significant progress to finding a solution for the 11 million Americans suffering from allergies.

B
There no longer will be a clear definition between foods that are eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Instead, we will eat what we want to eat when we want to eat.

Single servings will continue to be the new darlings on supermarket shelves. Singles bars will morph into communal tables.

Boneless. Everything we eat will be boneless and pre-cut into bite-size pieces, so there will be no need for knives and forks on the table.

C
Chocolate business cards will be the new thing: they will be either white and sweet or dark and bitter.

Chic is a concept that is no longer fashionable. Cash, as in casual-ization, will be the new mantra.

Cakes decorated with real-life photographs of the honoree at the moment of triumph will become all too familiar.

Cookies: some wishful thinkers will believe that two little cookies don’t contain as many calories as one regular one.

D
Durian fruit will become the new kiwi now that scientists have removed the odious smell of unwashed socks from it.

Do It Yourself (DIY) will be the even more popular new mantra.

E
Eating Utensils. We will carry our own collapsible chopsticks in tiny perma-sterile compartments inside the latest version of an iPod.

F
French fries will become the new “health” food. They will be sizzled in “good-for-you” oils.

Every new food will be adaptable for serving in fast food outlets in a recognizable form, preferably shaped like a finger, though not necessarily a fish finger, as fish don’t actually have fingers. It must contain all four essential food groups, i.e., it must be greasy, salty, sweet and crunchy.

G
Goats, that will be got, will gallop onto many legislative agendas and restaurant menus.

H
Healthy Food Talk will continue to consume endless amounts of time and energy. Today most people are succumbing to degenerative diseases and the consequences of lifestyle choices. Death, despite the claims of some, is in fact not an option. Only plastic bags live forever.

I
I will be a guest speaker at cooking schools and colleges and the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) this year.

J
“Juicy” and “scandalous” stories will whet the appetite mainly because they allow us minor sinners to feel momentarily superior to our former idols.

K
Kimchee will be the new craze. It tastes so much better than kabbage.

L
‘Lovely’ will not be the word to describe the bacon martini craze.

M
Mood foods will maintain their popularity as consumers embrace emotional management strategies, including ‘purpose driven eating’.

N
“No!” will be the most popular dietary concept.

O
Onions that won’t make you cry will soon become available, brought to you by the biotechies.

P
The restaurant Per Se will continue to per-sonify the pur-suit of per-fection.

Q
Quote: “Anyone who thinks the way to a man’s heart is though his stomach, flunked geography.”

R
Robots will milk the cows, feed the chickens, plant the crops and gather the harvest. (Robots never need a break and require no benefits beyond an occasional kick-start and a squirt of motor oil.)

S
Sustainable cuisine is an idea that will continue to gather strength.

Sturgeon is now farm-raised along with spuds in Idaho. The new state license plate will be: Idaho, Land of Fish and Chips.

T
Twitter. The Top 10 tweeters were and will be:
Coca-Cola
Starbucks
Disney
Victoria’s Secret
iTunes
Vitaminwater
YouTube
Chick-Fil-A
Red Bull
T.G.I.Fridays

U
U won’t need echinacea to cure the common cold according to a published review in The American Journal of Medicine. (There was simply not enough evidence to say whether it actually worked.)

V
Valedictorian speaker Garrison Keillor is likely to say again, “Eat your veggies!” (It’s a good line.)

W
Wrapped. Everything will be wrapped. The objective is absolute food safety. The goal will be to produce all our produce in biodegradable materials, i.e., within a banana-like sterile peel.

White tablecloths will be disposed (of).

X
EXcellent reporting will continue to be found daily on Food News Journal.

Y
Yum! Brands, Inc. restaurants will expand to meet its customers’ eternal love in over 110 countries and territories for yummy pizza, tacos and fried chicken.

Z

Zealot definition: One who is zealous, especially excessively so. So (James Bond) let’s talk about my friend “M”.

Courtesy of http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/main/candy/old/the-best-salt-caramels.asp

The three little words hovering on every lip are: downsizing, local and green. It is essential to keep up with what’s happening in order to keep steering our own ship with the winds of change blowing our sails.

Almost every enterprise is struggling. Brides are buying gowns from thrift shops and inviting guests to backyard barbecues instead of grand receptions. Restaurants are offering lower priced family meals. Food services of all kinds are paring their choices. Six seems to be the magic number for items on menus.

The pendulum is swinging again. The more we try to economize, the more we justify our sacrifices by indulging in affordable luxuries. Just lately you may have noticed the new affection for salt with caramel. Of course this doesn’t mean any old salt, but salt harvested from a location as exotic as the source of the bottled waters we once drank. Caramel, always a sweet treat, has now soared into the stratosphere of our affections.

We are also “into” tea leaves and chocolate and coffee beans that have been harvested from a single plantation. An increasing number of commodities are falling under the umbrella of “fair trade“. The growing enthusiasm for farm to fork and our new affection for small (but exquisite) bed & breakfasts are all part of the same trend — away from big and yet bigger to small and yet smaller.

You will remember how this is merely an echo of what has happened before?

There was a time when a drink of fizzing brown chemicals held enough liquid to fill a child’s wading pool. A sandwich was as thick as as a copy of War and Peace and a decent size portion of mashed potatoes was one into which we could sink both buttocks.

Then we turned our attention to small: one bite bagels and one chew cheesecakes. Zucchinis became so small, we thought that soon they would just be painted on the plate as part of the pattern. Now we’re seeing small(er) doughnuts, small(er) cupcakes and vanishing endangered head waiters and fishes of all kinds. In short, sushi has become the new pizza.

So, with everything shrinking, how is it, nearly of us are expanding?