We had a fabulous time pairing our chocolates with cheeses from Vermont and Québec! Beth Chevalier, head monger and cheese enthusiast at the Brattleboro Food Coop, provided the cheeses and her expertise, and we provided the chocolates and guided the tasting. Our cozy, elegant back lounge space behind the shop was the setting where guests tasted and compared notes, and the cheese and chocolate flowed. We had so much fun and learned so much, we definitely want to do it again!
Below are the pairings we tasted, all available at the Brattleboro Food Coop, or when adventuring around Vermont and Québec.
Withersbrook blue from Jasper Hill Cellars Greensboro Vermont.
Raw cow’s milk. Traditional rennet. Natural rind infused with Eden ice cider. Aged 4-8 months.
Named after a brook that runs near the Cellars. After aging 60 days the cheese is placed in a
sealed pouch with the Ice Cider and allowed to drink up the concentrated appley boozyness.
JHC flavor profile lists grassy, herbes de Provence, sweet cream, malic acid, sweet apple cider,
dirty martini.
Withersbrook has notes of honey, roasted hazelnuts, and exhibits a fruity, lactic finish. Try with
dulce de lèche, or lemon curd! And chocolate!!
Summer Berry
This gorgeous bar is New England summertime in a bite, made with creamy single origin
Ecuador 30% cacao butter white chocolate strewn with dried cranberry, raspberry and blueberry.
Fireside
This cozy, smoky bar transports you to a campfire under the stars. Made with single origin
Ecuador 65% dark chocolate studded with toasted slivered almonds, Ecuador cacao nibs, and
hickory smoked sea salt.
Grey Owl from Fromagerie Le Détour, Québec Canada. Delicate, geotricum vegetable ash ripened goat’s milk soft cheese. Pasteurized. Traditional rennet.
This fresh, young, surface ripened goat cheese is named for conservationist Archibald Belaney
whose nickname Grey Owl is a nod to his interest in Native American culture.
Crumbly and cakey in the center when young, it ripens from the outside in, creating a thin
creamline beneath the ash and geotricum rind. This is a truly decadent cheese, lemony and
lightly acidic, creamy and dense. Grey Owl is a stunner.
Rouge
Our best-selling bar is made with single origin Ecuador 65% dark chocolate, dappled with tart
freeze-dried raspberries, ground piquant hibiscus blossoms and pops of pink peppercorn.
Firefly
This beauty of a summery bar transports you to a field full of flickering fireflies. Made with
single origin Ecuador 65% dark chocolate flecked with house candied orange zest, Massachusetts
bee pollen, and Vermont marigold (calendula) blossoms.
Savage from Von Trapp Farmstead, Waitsfield Vermont. Made with raw farmstead, certified
organic cow’s milk, and traditional rennet. This is a hard, alpine style cheese similar to Gruyere.
And who better to make this style than the Von Trapps? It has a dense, rich, elastic paste,
delightful crystallization, and a natural rind. It is aged 8-12 months and during that time develops
characteristic savory notes of roasted onion, toasted nuttiness, beef broth and butter. The finish
on this cheese is epic. The terroir is savage (haha), grassy, and sometimes weirdly pineappley.
Savage is the namesake of Samuel Savage, the original settler of the Von Trapp Farm in the
1700’s.
Maple Macaroon
This smoky bittersweet bar is a Vermont-y take on a classic chocolate dipped coconut macaroon.
Made with single origin Ecuador 65% dark chocolate studded with coconut flakes candied with
Vermont smoked maple syrup and smoked salt.
Bear Hill from Grafton Village Cheese, Grafton Vermont. Considered a true American
originalcheese. Made with thermized sheep’s milk, microbial rennet, it is a washed rind similar to
an alpine like Gruyere or a washed/cooked curd such as Gouda.
Grafton Village Cheese is familiar to most of us here in SoVt. Recently purchased by Vermont
farmstead of Windsor. Bear hill is the creation of Mariano Gonzales, head cheese maker at
GVC. It is rich, firm, dense, and mild (for a washed rind), sweet and fruity, with notes of toasted
hazelnuts. An aged Gouda and Ossau Iraty (French sheep’s milk) had a baby cheese and this is
it. Bear hill is a geological landmark overlooking the cheesemaking campus in Grafton Vermont.
Sugar Shack
This cozy, toasty bar transports you to a sugar shack redolent of maple syrup boiling and
pancakes on the grill. Made with single origin Ecuador 40% milk chocolate studded with roasted
hazelnuts, Vermont maple sugar, and cinnamon.
Triple Crème de Charlevoix from Laiterie Charlevoix in Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec Canada.
Pasteurized cow’s milk, microbial rennet. A fluffy, bloomy, surface ripened soft young triple
cream. Aged only 14-21 days.
This is whipped butter, clotted cream decadence. White button mushroom notes on the rind,
rich, silky, and unctuous, go in with a spoon.
Mont Vert Pâté Chocolat
A brick of blended Latin American dark & creamy milk chocolate chocolate ganache enriched
with tangy Vermont chèvre, Singing Cedars Apiaries raw honey, & a whiff of organically grown
dried french lavender blossoms, creating a nuanced and balanced spread that hits tasty bottom,
middle & top flavor notes on its own, and pairs with so many of your favorite wines, cheeses,
beers and condiments for an out-of-this-world taste experience.