Valrhona Grand Crus
We shouldn’t expect anything less from the first chocolate to strategically get on chefs’ menus, developing a prestige image and quality association with chefs, which led to pull at retail. You’ll rarely find another premium chocolate called out on as many menus, something that’s served to keep the brand top of mind with foodies and create loyalty. Valrhona has 49 retail SKUs and 80 foodservice SKUs.One of my new favorites is the new Grand Crus line. With eight varieties, it’s available in 70-gram and 20-gram bars. The new square bars totally broke the mold of what bars should look like (the squares on each bar are asymmetrical, fashioned after modern art!). The Grand Crus also are packaged as individually wrapped 1-inch squares in 18-piece tins, or 52- and 66-piece boxes. And then there are the bonbons and ganaches — oh my! And lest I forget, the New Equinoxe (chocolate-enrobed Spanish roasted almonds, hazelnuts, sun-dried fig, shortbread pearls, candied orange rind pearls) — well, it’s easy to taste why Valrhona is one of my favorite picks for chocolate indulgence. For more information, call 718-522-7001.
