I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I'm going to eat sweets, they have to be amazing. Growing up, I was not a baker. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed eating the occasional brownie, piece of pie or my mom's legendary Kahlua cake but my real weakness was anything salty. I've always been that way... that is until I fell in love with Mast Brothers Chocolate.
Okay, okay, let me preface this by saying Mast Brothers Chocolate isn't paying me to write this or giving me anything... I just want to share my love for them with the world. You'll thank me later.
Let's back up a bit...
Maybe eight months ago my dear friend, Rachel, asked me if I wanted to attend a culinary management lecture at the Institute of Culinary Education (our alma mater). She gave me an overview of what the guest speakers were all about and it sounded interesting so we made a date to go. Now let me remind you that I'm an Arizona native and have been living in New York City a little less than two years now. I am definitely not one to know who's who in the culinary world, but I am learning... slowly but surely :) My point is that I didn't even know who Thomas Keller was until I moved to NYC, so I'm a little slow to the game of "what's hot and what's not". Any who... Rachel and I showed up to this lecture and the Mast Brothers totally knocked my socks off. They spoke about building their business from their teeny tiny NYC apartment and dreaming of sharing their passion of making chocolate from the best ingredients and sharing it with local New Yorkers. They were down to earth, genuine, and they believed in their dream... believed in their craft.
** I apologize for the poor quality video. It seems as though Blogger will only let you upload videos from YouTube not Vimeo... Bummer I know. For more Mast Brothers Chocolate videos describing their inspiration and journey in the chocolate world (that are beautifully shot and have an awesome sound track) visit MAST BROTHERS CHOCOLATE
Once I heard the Mast Brothers speak I was a believer... then I tasted their chocolate and there was no turning back. From that moment on, I knew I needed to use Mast Brothers Chocolate in my cakes.
I came home from that lecture and immediately told my husband, Chris, all about it... I swear I must have sounded like a school girl the way I spoke about the chocolate. And thinking back I really was giddy as a school girl, because this chocolate is the bees knees. Seriously.
Luckily, I learned about the Mast Brothers and their chocolate right as their business started to gather steam and luckily you can now buy it at most places in NYC. Gotta love NYC and their love-affair with local businesses <3 Chris and I have been buying a bar here, and a bar there for about 8 months now. And every kind we taste we love just as much as the one before. Before I tried Mast Brothers Chocolate I really didn't understand how chocolate could taste all that different. Tomato tomahto... right? No. I mean obviously dark chocolate is going to taste differently than milk chocolate but I never really thought much about different brands of chocolate tasting too different. The awesome thing about the Mast Brothers is they have discovered how get their flavors from the cacao beans during the fermentation process instead of adding milk solids and other flavors/sugars later when they are actually making the chocolate (like many other chocolate makers do). It is all very complicated... but the point is, they are knocking the socks off of everyone in the industry and are the featured chocolate in almost every fancy pants restaurant in NYC as well the White House. Yes, you hear me. The official chocolate in the White House is Mast Brothers Chocolate!
So now you know how much I love them...
Chris and I decided to finally take the trip to Brooklyn and see with our own two eyes where the magic happens...
Mast Brothers Chocolate not only tastes delicious but also looks delicious. I mean have you ever seen a prettier paper wrapping a chocolate bar?
The cacao bags are one of the first things you see when you walk in the door. They truly are making their chocolate from the "bean to bar". You can even purchase a handmade bag repurposed from cacao bags :)
The floor plan at the Mast Brothers store has an open layout so you can see your chocolate being made, your chocolate bar being wrapped and specialty items being created. Chris and I had our eyes on the goat cheese chocolate truffle. Mmmm...
The Layered Chocolate Bourbon Cake also looked pretty amazing...
so many choices...
The best part? Free samples before you buy :)
Chris and I had a great trip to Mast Brothers Chocolate. It is so refreshing to see a business where the quality and integrity of the concept, process, and the product are most important, steadfast and true.
Now that you know my feelings, tell me, how do you feel about chocolate?
