Black Chefs on ETBP

Chef Michael Poole returned to Paris this fall. Tom and I caught up with him Tuesday night at Mococha Chocolats, where we attended a tasting of Erithaj chocolates from Vietnam.

Chef Michael D. Poole at Mococha Chocolats
© Discover Paris!
Our encounter inspired me to look up the last article that I wrote about him.  I was astonished to discover that I've written no fewer than five of them!


Seattle Firefighter Michael D. Poole Shows Parisians How to Make *Hot* Caramel-filled Chocolates


Chef Michael D. Poole brings Cayenne Caramel to Paris


Chef Michael Poole – Summer Sabbatical


Chef Michael Poole - Artisanal "Hot Chocolat"


Chef Michael Poole - Firefighter and Cordon Bleu Grad

This inspired me to look back through the blog archives to find other articles that I've written about chefs. Below are photos of some of them, along with links to their articles.

Chef Rougui Dia
Image courtesy of Laurent Guyot Communications
Rougui Dia Rules the Kitchen at Le Vraymonde

Chef Henri-Serge Manga
© Discover Paris!
Cameroonian Chef is King at Cuistance

Chef Alexandre Bella Ola
© Discover Paris!
Rio Dos Camarãos Restaurant: A Review

Of these three chefs, only Chef Alexandre remains at the helm of the restaurants described in these posts. I'm now inspired to revisit his restaurant in Montreuil and to find out where the other two have gone!

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

Seattle Firefighter Michael D. Poole Shows Parisians How to Make *Hot* Caramel-filled Chocolates

By Tom Reeves

Chef Michael D. Poole

Founder of Hot Chocolat

Artisan Firehouse Chocolates - Seattle, Washington

© www.DiscoverParis.net

 
By day he manages firefighters, by night he fires up the burners of his stove. Lieutenant firefighter-and-chef Michael D. Poole came to the City of Light from Seattle this month to show Parisians how to make spicy-hot caramel. If anyone knows about heat and flame, Chef Michael does!

Parisians stand transfixed as Chef Michael makes spicy caramel

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Last Thursday was the occasion for Chef Michael's masterclass at Mococha Chocolats. Roughly forty persons crowded into the boutique and stood transfixed as he deftly demonstrated how to make caramel and then use it to fill chocolate molds to create a caramel-filled-chocolate confection.  He made it look so easy!

Chef Michael's expert hands make caramel making look easy!

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Cayenne pepper gives the caramel its "kick"

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Chocolate molds are filled with spicy caramel

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Melted chocolate is ladled over the caramel-filled molds

© www.DiscoverParis.net

A tap on the table releases the cooled confections from the mold

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Finished caramel-filled chocolates

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Chef Michael poses with Mococha proprietor Marie-Hélène Gantois

© www.DiscoverParis.net

After the class, Marie poured a lovely crémant (sparkling wine) and attendees proceeded to devour the chocolates and line up to purchase more to take home.

They even helped themselves to what was left of the melted chocolate that was used to cover the caramels.

Pouring crémant

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Sampling melted chocolate

© www.DiscoverParis.net

Everyone had a marvelous time. We're hoping that Marie will ask Chef Michael back for another masterclass next summer!

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

If you like this posting, share it with your friends by using one of the social media links below!

Chef Michael D. Poole brings Cayenne Caramel to Paris

Chef Michael D. Poole is back in Paris!

Chef Michael D. Poole
© Discover Paris!
When I last wrote about Chef Michael, I mentioned that he presented some of his chocolate samples to Marie Gantois, owner of Mococha Chocolat in the 5th arrondissement, and that Marie expressed interest in inviting him to be a guest chocolatier during the summer of 2014. I promised to keep you informed of the developments.

I'm pleased to report that Mococha is hosting Chef Michael for a Master Class on the making of his signature Cayenne Caramel chocolates on July 10, 2014 at 7 PM. Michael will talk about the use of chiles in chocolate and demonstrate how he uses chile powder to flavor his spicy creations. The demonstration will be followed by an informal cocktail and tasting, during which he will answer questions.

Cayenne Caramel is one of three spicy dark chocolates that are part of Chef Michael's exquisite line of handcrafted, award-winning artisan chocolates. It is a vanilla caramel infused with Cayenne pepper and enrobed in 70% dark chocolate. Firehouse Chili (a white ganache infused with Chef's award-winning chili mix and enrobed in 70% dark chocolate) and Habanero Caramel (vanilla caramel infused with Habanero pepper and enrobed in 70% dark chocolate) are the other two.

Spicy chocolates
Image courtesy of Chef Michael D. Poole
Chef Michael has created a special French edition of these three chocolates in Red, White, and Blue:

Red: Firehouse chili enrobed in white chocolate
White: Cayenne Caramel enrobed in white chocolate
Blue: Habanero Caramel enrobed in white chocolate

French flag in white chocolate
Image courtesy of Chef Michael D. Poole
All six varieties will be available for purchase at Mococha Chocolat from July 4 through July 14th (U. S. Independence Day through Bastille Day).

Chef Michael has won numerous awards and accolades for his chocolates. Most recently, he won the gold medal for Best White Chocolate at the Seattle Chocolate Salon in May 2014 with his new mango-passion ganache enrobed in white chocolate.

The Cayenne Caramel Master Class demonstration is free, but reservations are required. Only a few places remain, so reserve your spot now by clicking on the link below:

Chef Michael D. Poole Master Class

See you there!

Mococha Chocolat
89 Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris
Tel: 01 47 07 13 66
Metro: Censier Daubenton (Line 7)

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

If you like this posting, share it with your friends by using one of the social media links below!