Ice Cream, not ice hockey, for the Chocolate Apprentice this week. http://ow.ly/5fiUi #icecream #

Ice Cream, not ice hockey, for the Chocolate Apprentice this week. http://ow.ly/5fiUi #icecream

Even though I have been both a chocolate lover and an ice cream lover my entire life, I never used to like chocolate ice cream. Insipid chocolate flavour, sugary sweet, melting in an unattractive greyish puddle, there was no way I was going to eat that. I preferred almost any other flavour, and would pass it up entirely if it was the only thing available. Have I mentioned I was a picky eater, as a child?

Discovering the taste of Japanese chocolates in my own backyard – well – Richmond BC http://ow.ly/59Wgf #

Discovering the taste of Japanese chocolates in my own backyard – well – Richmond BC http://ow.ly/59Wgf

Enough of the sweet stuff. I am exploring chocolate’s savoury side, this week. I think it has to do with me being fascinated with chocolate’s roots, before the sugar was added, and those fascinating people:  the Mayans and the Aztecs.

The fascinating story of Shawn Askinosie's journey from criminal lawyer to chocolate maker. http://ow.ly/4ZbKX @askinosie #

The fascinating story of Shawn Askinosie’s journey from criminal lawyer to chocolate maker. http://ow.ly/4ZbKX @askinosie

I first became acquainted with Askinosie Chocolate, when Pam Williams of Ecole Chocolat gave me a sample of a single origin white chocolate bar, made from Trinitario beans grown in the Soconusco (Chiapas) region of Mexico. I don’t really love white chocolate.  I have always considered myself a “the darker the better” type, but I am slowly learning that this is not always true, and that I have been shutting myself off from a whole palate of wonderful flavours.

Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and chocolate. The Chocolate Apprentice goes completely nuts this week: http://ow.ly/4Ua7B # Going a little nuts this week – hand panned chocolate covered hazelnuts and Gianduja. http://ow.ly/4Up3W #

Going a little nuts this week – hand panned chocolate covered hazelnuts and Gianduja. http://ow.ly/4Up3W