Chocolate travel: Black Dinah Chocolatiers, Isle au Haut, Maine
High on the American eastern seaboard lies an island blanketed by tall pine trees and edged with rocky coast line — Isle au Haut. The island is 12.7 miles square, with a year round community of approximately 80, mostly working in the lobster fishing industry. Large portions of the land are designated as Acadia National Park. This protected beauty attracts seasonal vacationers and tourists; the population nearly doubles in the summer.
On a recent summer Sunday, I joined my mother, aunt, uncle, and two close family friends on a mailboat ride from the mainland to Isle au Haut. Our mission? To eat chocolate.
Here is our story as I remember it.
Our journey began early in the morning at the mailboat ticket office in Stonington, Maine. Riders stacked their belongings in line to ensure a space on the boat.
Sisters embraced and smiled on the dock.
The fine vessel, Miss Lizzie, waited patiently to escort her passengers across the sea.
Once aboard, we bid the small town a temporary goodbye.
We sighted a pirate ship on the horizon and were suddenly grateful for having left our treasures at home.
Postcard picturesque Stonington quietly watched us depart.
The mainland disappeared. Dark forested islands and blue sky welcomed us.
An hour later, we landed at Isle au Haut. “You’re almost there!” encouraged a weather weary note.
We walked along a sunny, tree lined road until we saw this sign.
And there, nestled amongst the sweet smelling pines
was a home, with a small cafe at its side.
Inside, we found a case filled with chocolate and topped with plates of buttery pastries.
There was cake,
a sweaty glass of iced sipping chocolate,
and a delightful, tasty bonbon.
In truth, there were several delightful, tasty bonbons.
Behind the cafe, we saw a shiny new commercial kitchen with solar roof panels.
Then we hiked several miles through the forest,
where we were spotted by a deer
not far from a babbling brook.
We rested on a beach
covered with rocks, shells, and driftwood,
and admired coastal Maine object collage.
We basked in the warmth of good company.
Eventually we reached the end of the island
and the faithful Miss Lizzie came to spirit us away.
At sea again, we passed rocky islets home to birds and seals,
and stopped at barnacled docks where the boat gently dipped and swayed in the water.
The world glinted and sparkled. A porpoise dove playfully at our side.
Wispy clouds waved farewell. And I thought, “This is the way life should be.”
Sometimes chocolate is as much about the experience as it is about the taste.
To learn more about Black Dinah Chocolatiers, see this article from the Boston Globe and visit the company’s website. The Farm Market Collection, truffles made with local Maine ingredients, is extra special. You can also pre-order the Black Dinah Chocolatiers upcoming cookbook Desserted: Recipes and Tales from an Island Chocolatier. I am grateful to Kate and Steve, the owners, for so kindly welcoming us into their cafe and home and for feeding us such lovely treats. And to my wonderful Isle au Haut travel companions, many happy thanks for the scrumptious memories.
Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Soul Control’s “Chocolate (Choco Choco)”
A chocolatey mid week boost — international dance hit “Chocolate (Choco Choco),” from Soul Control. The wacky music video celebrates chocolate along with a striking number of cultural stereotypes.
Wooo!
Everybody in the world likes chocolate
Mmm we love it!
Whoa it makes you happy
Yeah, it gets you sexy
It makes you fat!
But we don’t care about that!Uno, dos… uno, dos, tres!
Mama she said roly poly,
Papa he said holy moly,
Everybody wanna chocolate
(Choco choco)
All the girls were canny canny
All the boys get ready ready
Everybody wanna chocolateC’mon!!
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Everybody sayin’ chocolate
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Everybody sayin’ chocolate
C’mon!!Chocolate
(Choco choco)
(Repeat)Here we go… uno, dos, tres!
Mama she said roly poly,
Papa he said holy moly,
Everybody wanna chocolate
(Choco choco)
All the girls were canny canny
All the boys get ready ready
Everybody wanna chocolateC’mon!!
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Everybody sayin’ chocolate
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Everybody sayin’ chocolate
C’mon!!Chocolate
(Choco choco)
(Repeat)Uno, dos, tres!
Wave to the people on the left hand side
Now wave to the people on the right hand side
Now wave to the people with the pretty backsides
Now we do it all again and we feel alrightUno, dos… uno, dos, tres!
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Choco choco – clap clap
Choco choco – slap slap
Everybody sayin’ chocolate
C’mon!!Chocolate
(Choco choco)
(Repeat Till End)
Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Chocolate (2008): She’s Sweet But Deadly
Chocolate, a film released in 2008, features a main character who is an autistic martial arts prodigy. Her most important training food? Chocolate.
Watch the trailer:
Read the synopsis:
Prachya Pinkaew, director of Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior, returns with CHOCOLATE, an explosive new martial arts masterpiece starring his new protégé, “Jija” Yanin Vismistananda, who spent five years training for the role. Jija plays Zen, a young autistic girl who grows up next to a Muay Thai boxing studio and is raised on a steady diet of chocolate and marathon viewings of Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee films. Zen’s father, a Japanese gangster, has been driven out of the country by a rival Thai gang, so her mother has been forced to raise her alone.
It becomes clear over time that Zen has miraculously absorbed formidable Muay Thai techniques from watching the boxers next door and repeated viewings of martial arts classics. When Zen’s mother is diagnosed with cancer and the cost of treatments prove overwhelming for the family, Zen sets out with her cousin on a violent mission to collect debts from the corrupt gangsters that owe her mother money.
Featuring death-defying stunts and a charming newcomer who is sure to blow the minds of martial arts fans everywhere, CHOCOLATE represents Prachya’s proper follow-up to the smash success of Ong Bak.
(via Magnolia Pictures)
“‘CHOCOLATE’ is a sweet, brutal, bloody treat.” – Harry Knowles, Ain’t It Cool News
“One of the most anticpated films for well over a year, CHOCOLATE is madness. Madness of the brilliant, painful kind.” – Todd Brown, Twitch
Wow. Need I say more?
The film is widely available to watch online, e.g. via YouTube or Netflix.
Chocolate projects on Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an inspirational favorite of mine. In the organization’s own words: “Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.”
The Kickstarter community has been good to chocolate, with 40 or so projects proposed and many of them completely funded. Click here for a list of projects past and present.
One project in particular stands out right now, with just 12 days to go before the funding period expires: Madre Chocolate’s An Edible History of Chocolate.
Here’s a video with an overview of the company and the project, featuring Madre’s cofounders, David Elliott and Nat Bletter, and gorgeous shots of Mexico, Hawaii, and cacao as it makes it way from bean to bar:
From the project’s page:
How will your donations make this project happen? We’ve already done the legwork. Your contributions will be used to pay fair prices to growers and transport the cacao and spices from Chiapas to our small shop on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. A portion will also be destined for equipment improvements to help us efficiently process the lot with the utmost attention to quality.
Madre Chocolate’s bars are beautiful and tasty. The company has a social mission to bring chocolate back to its roots by working closely with cacao farmers and their communities, building relationships founded on mutual respect. As a bonus, there are a number of excellent rewards for donations. This project is a treat!
If this project appeals to you, please consider donating before the end date: Sunday August 14, 5:47AM EDT.
See Madre’s website for news and information, links to their online shop and class schedule, and more.
In addition, a number of journalists and bloggers have published profiles of the company:
Chocolate with a Conscience, Honolulu Weekly
Food La La: Going Gourmet with Madre Chocolate, Honolulu Pulse
In Chocolate Heaven: Going From Bean to Bar with Nat & Dave from Madre Chocolate, Kahakai Kitchen
And if you’re looking for reviewers’ opinions on Madre Chocolate, check out the following:
C-spot, Madre Chocolate bar reviews
The District Chocoholic, 7 reviews (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Madre Chocolate on Yelp
There are a couple of other ongoing chocolatey Kickstarter campaigns, too. They are The Art of Chocistry and Chocolate Love.
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About
Bittersweet Notes is an open source research project on chocolate, culture, and the politics of food. I invite you to join me as I explore the story of chocolate and the life stories of those involved with chocolate at its many stages of production and consumption.
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