Bonzon enjoying sweet taste of success
Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie entrepreneur wins customers over with fresh, quality fare
You can thank Christophe Bonzon’s mother for teaching him how to make chocolate truffles when he was 10.
That was it. He was hooked on chocolate making.
Bonzon apprenticed in Switzerland and France and acquired enviable training at l’Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona and Zurich’s Chocolate Academy and won numerous awards.
In Vancouver, he was the executive pastry chef at CinCin Ristorante before opening his chocolate shop in Burnaby Heights.
Q
What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A
I find most of my inspiration comes from sharing experiences with other people. For example, discovering new ingredients, new chocolates, and using local products. I love the look on my customers faces when they really enjoy something. What also motivates me is teaching the next generation about pastries. For example, you truly need the right foundation to get to that next level. You need to do a basic recipe hundreds of times before mastering it and moving on. This is how consistency is created. As a chef, you never stop learning and teaching as every day is a new day.
How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
Simple, fresh, and good quality. In my pastries, I like to use local and in-season ingredients where possible, such as B.C. blueberries. In my chocolates, I like to use the best chocolates, such as Cacao Barry. When I cook at home, my knowledge of savoury dishes is limited but I enjoy doing it when I have time or when I am entertaining friends at home.
What might diners not know about you?
I love to jump on my bike for a ride during my free time. It allows me to focus and think about new projects and get more ideas flowing. My favourite route is going up to Buntzen Lake and then to Belcarra.
Describe a couple of your most recent creations.
Right now we are in the final phase of creating our Buche de Noel collection. Our new flavour profile for this year is pairing pineapple and coffee with a new chocolate, single origin, from Haiti with 65-per-cent cocoa. I also just finished designing our Christmas showpiece col- lection.
What’s your favourite local product and how do you use it?
Currently quince is in season. We are lucky enough to have neighbours and customers who share their produce with us. For the shop, we recently made a lovely jam with the quince with warm autumn spices.
Champagne Truffles
1 cup heavy cream 3 tbsp honey 3 cups (separated, 2 for the ganache and 1 for the coating) good quality milk chocolate such as Cacao Barry Lactée Supérieure ½ cup champagne such as Moet Chandon or sparkling wine 1 cup tempered 60-per-cent dark chocolate for coating (see below) 1 cup granulated sugar for the coating Tools Plastic piping bag Piping tip number 12 Large bowl Spatula Immersion blender Offset spatula Plastic scraper Candy thermometer In a saucepan, bring your cream and honey to a boil. Gradually pour one third of the liquid into the chocolate and create an emulsion by mixing with a spatula — start from the centre and gradually increase movement in an outward direction. When the emulsion of the chocolate and liquid is done your ganache should have a glossy texture. Add the rest of your liquid slowly while keeping your emulsion combined with an immersion blender or spatula. Once the emulsion (the cream/ honey mixture with chocolate) is finished, the ganache should be smooth and shiny. Then cover directly in contact of your ganache with saran wrap. Allow to rest at room temperature for few hours until firm enough to pipe into truffle shell. Let set until ganache is firm. Coat the truffle in a fine coating of tempered chocolate, then roll in sugar immediately. Let it set for few minutes before packing them. Your handmade Christmas truffles are ready to be enjoyed. They make a great Christmas present.
Tempering the chocolate
4 cups 60-per-cent dark chocolate in pistoles Finely chop 1 cup of the chocolate. Melt 375 grams (approx. 1½ cups) in the microwave (500W max), stirring every 30 seconds until it reaches 55 C. Set aside one-third of the melted chocolate in a bowl in a warm place. Add the chopped chocolate to your bowl and stir constantly until it reaches 28-29 C. Then add the melted chocolate that you previously set aside. Stir until it reaches 31-32 C. Dip the edge of a spatula or spoon into the chocolate and let it set for 5 minutes at room temperatures, your chocolate should set and be shiny. Your chocolate is now tempered and ready to use.