Welcome to our HotSpot section. This week, we'll share with you an interview with Nora Hovanesian-Mann, the U.S. Head of Operations for La Maison du Chocolat. Nora has been with La Maison du Chocolat for over 9 years now. She admittedly loves her job, which she finds both very challenging, and very rewarding. Her extensive knowledge about chocolate, and the passion she puts in her stories, make Nora not only a great manager, but also a wonderful story teller and conversation partner. You can get to meet her if you let la Maison du Chocolat take you on a journey in the world of chocolate. Check out their Parcours Initiatique sessions at www.lamaisonduchocolat.com.
CZ: The first Maison du Chocolat has opened in 1977. What are the philosophy and values that kept you among the best chocolatiers of the world?
Nora: La Maison du Chocolat opened in 1977 by the founder creator Robert Linxe who is still very actively involved with the company. Monsieur Linxe had a background in chocolate making. He went to this a special school for this, and his passion has always been chocolate. When he opened La Maison du Chocolat he came from a catering business where he was creating wonderful recipes, including great desserts. When he first opened, his friends thought this would never work, because at that time chocolate was only consumed during holidays in France. It was a very occasion-oriented type of product. He felt that what he was going to create will be something that people will love to enjoy year-round, and it won’t be only for gifting. He prepared a little stock for about three weeks, and when he opened, within three days everything was sold. He’s a perfectionist, and he always thought that this is something that you either do it right or not do it at all. His philosophy has perpetuated in the company. There’s always a lot of tasting and testing—he tastes the products when they are created, 3 days after, a week after, 3 weeks after, just to see if the taste changes or is altered in any way. He’s also very much a believer that the quality of every ingredient is very important: the selection of cocoa beans, from the plantation-when they cultivate the cocoa beans, when they harvest them, when they dry them, and then in the second phase which is very industrial–when you’re making the cocoa bean into the chocolate. And then when you’re making the ganache, the cream, the fruits, the spices that you’re using in the infusion, and then the presentation is very important (the boxing, the stores, some kind of a coherence between the décor of the store presentation and the products).
CZ: Where are your stores located?
Nora: We have 11 stores today: 5 in Paris, 2 in London, 2 in New York, and 2 in Tokyo.
CZ: Do they all have the same feel?
Nora: Yes, they all have the same furnishing, the same coloring, the granite, the warm wood, our windows are always the same throughout world, and we all change them on the same day. This is part of being a luxury image—following certain rules in all of our stores.
CZ: When did you open the first boutique in New York?
Nora: The first boutique has been opened in 1990, and it was located on 73rd Street, between Madison and 5th Ave. And then in 1998 we came at this location, on Madison and 77 Street. Then in 2000 we opened our store at Rockefeller Center which is at 49 Street between 5th and 6th Ave.
CZ: Why did you choose New York? Is New York considered the new chocolate capital of the world?
Nora: New York is the most cosmopolitan, the most international city in the United States. And being on the East coast is closer to Europe. But New York also, when we came, was not a chocolate city. It has become a true sweet city today. It makes a big difference that people around here travel more internationally, so they are more familiar with different foods and desserts. And then we have the New York Chocolate Show which is really big.
CZ: What trends do you see in the industry?
Nora: Years ago, Americans were more in the sweeter chocolate, or milk chocolate, and nowadays their tastes became more sophisticated. Not to say that’s something wrong about milk chocolate, actually a very good milk chocolate is more difficult to make then a good dark chocolate. And this is because you need a very good cocoa bean, because in order to make milk chocolate you need milk powder, and cocoa paste, cocoa butter, and sugar. And the content of sugar is higher than the one in a dark chocolate. Therefore, you have more sugar involved and less cocoa paste, this is why you need a top quality cocoa bean to have the presence of chocolate in there. We don’t say that the true chocolate lovers should love only the dark chocolate. Although we have to mention the health benefits—today is a big hype about the medicinal benefits of chocolate which contains flavonoids, which are supposed to reduce the high blood pressure.
But these days, chocolate has become a big trend in itself. Years ago people would just buy it over the counter, or in supermarkets, but today people have a good understanding about cocoa beans, the origins, blends, balance of taste, etc. I think that chocolate has become what coffee was maybe 7 or 8 years ago. People like to have the best.
CZ: Tell us a little more about the "Parcours Initiatique" that you offer here to chocolate lovers.
Nora: These are sessions created by monsieur Linxe, about 6 years ago in Paris. We wanted to share with clients our savoir-faire in a very informal, relaxing atmosphere. The very first one is Tamanaco, which is the cocoa bean all the way to ganache. It mainly covers the three main steps of production: from the plantation (extremely medieval, all manually even today) then the second phase when you take the cocoa bean and actually make it into chocolate blocks (couverture) and the third phase we take the couverture and make it into chocolate ganache. We actually make a fresh ganache at the end of the class, with an infusion. The class it’s about an hour and a half long. Another class is called Duo and it’s about pairing chocolate with coffee and tea. We have the sessions on a weekly basis over here, or at the clients’ house, or we can also do private sessions. We customize them for people. The price is $50 for Tamanaco, and $60 for Duo. So the people start with hot chocolate as they wait, then they get to make the chocolate, and then they have a parting gift. So it’s a good value for a very nice experience.
CZ: What are the best sellers this summer?
Nora: For the summer we always have a box that’s called Les Sevillanes. The name is taken from Seville, the region of Spain. Monsieur Linxe is a man with many interests, and one of them is opera. So a lot of the chocolate names are drawn from the operas. The Sevillanes are chocolates ganache infused with different fruits. We have the raspberry and coriander, apricot and lavender, strawberry, grapefruit lime and praline—they’re outstanding! They’re lighter and extremely refreshing. Also, in the summer we have ice creams and sorbets, they are made on premises. Of course we have chocolate ice cream and chocolate sorbet, and we have fruit sorbets that are made of 85% fruit pulp, so it’s very little sugar. And with it we have our frappes, which are chocolate, coffee, and caramel.
CZ: So, Nora, what’s your favorite chocolate here?
Nora: Every one of them. Even monsieur Linxe asks us the same questions, and we respond: they’re like our babies, we love them all. It’s more of a mood issue. Some days I love pralines, some other days I’m going for truffles, it really depends. But my absolute favorite is our Rigoletto which is a caramel mousse milk chocolate. That’s to me, to die for. Our chocolate is very intense, but not overwhelming to your palate. You first taste the chocolate, then the infusion in the middle, and then you end with a note of chocolate. And that note still lingers on your palate for at least five minutes later. But good chocolate should never be bitter, it should be balanced. Bitterness comes from flaws during production—when they dry the cocoa beans, instead of drying them in the sun, which takes 2-3 days, they use heat underneath to speed up the process. But, it will alter the end results. The burned flavor will come out in the chocolate, at the end. Another flaw can be in production, when they roast the cocoa bean. Over roasting will give it a bitter, smoky flavor. Good chocolate should be intense in flavor but not overwhelm you.
