Jacques Torres, chocolatier and owner of
the eponymous chocolate factory on Water Street, brings an unexpected
touch of France to DUMBO, the funky, rapidly expanding neighborhood
between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges.
On a narrow street predominated by warehouses and graffiti, the
facade of the Jacques Torres Chocolate Factory stands out as
clean, elegant and indisputably French. A newly installed sign
that marks the shop incorporates Torres’ signature in distinctly
up-and-down French handwriting. Like his chocolates, it is of
the highest quality.
"I am, first and foremost, a craftsman," Torres proudly
told GO Brooklyn, adding his delight at having found an equally
serious craftsperson to make a sign to his exacting standards.
"In France, there is much more emphasis on learning a profession
and attaining a quality of life than on earning money, as there
is here in the United States."
Torres studied pastry in France, starting at age 15 and working
his way up through the rigorous system of apprenticeships and
competitions. He came to New York and became the head pastry
chef for the renowned Manhattan restaurant, Le Cirque. Two years
ago, Torres said, he decided to get into chocolate "because
it has always been a passion of mine."
If Torres can be serious about his passion, he can also be playful.
"I love chocolate because it makes people smile," he
said in his thick French accent, a twinkle in his eye. "When
I go to a dinner party and someone asks me what I do, I love
hearing them say, ’What fun!’ when I tell them I’m a chocolate
maker. It always makes me feel sorry for dentists, who must get
the opposite reaction."
Torres’ most recent products illustrate this same sense of fun.
In his Valentine’s baskets (small: $25, large: $40) he includes
his caramel-butterscotch "body butter." (The label
says something to the effect of ’you figure out what to do with
it!’)
The basket also includes a tin of his Wicked Hot Chocolate mix,
made from powdered chocolate, not cocoa. Chili peppers in the
mix give the hot chocolate its "wicked" but subtle
kick. The difference between the usually insipidly sweet drink
we call "hot chocolate" and this absolutely fabulous,
dark, full-bodied libation may make you want to skip lunch –
and dinner – if you drink it for breakfast.
A box of JT chocolates (6 pieces in the small basket, a half-pound
in the large basket) finishes off the collection. The Valentine’s
baskets are the perfect gift for that extra special someone.
For a more personalized Valentine’s gift, Torres suggests his
$35 chocolate heart-shaped box filled with a half-pound of chocolates,
the top of which can be inscribed with sweet words (limited to
about 6) of your choice. (Orders can be taken no later than Feb.
11.) The passion fruit-filled milk chocolate hearts make a perfect
valentine stuffer.
And, of course, Torres offers the traditional box of assorted
chocolates ($40 per pound) in flavors like Earl Grey, gold-flecked
espresso and Lemon Squeeze, that will go to the heart (and waistline!)
of any chocoholic, especially if he or she is unfamiliar with
the Jacques Torres line.
One of the things that makes Jacques Torres chocolates special
is that the flavors are so pure and simple. All of the fruit
fillings and chocolate – milk, dark and the occasional white
– are made on site with the freshest high-quality ingredients
and no preservatives. While Torres loves to toy with new ideas
(he has just come out with chocolate covered corn flakes), he
sticks with simple flavor combinations, not attempting to layer
too many flavors. Probably the most complex combination I sampled
was the almond paste-apricot chocolate which managed to be subtle
and to marry all the flavors successfully.
Whether or not you are shopping for Valentine’s Day, it’s worth
your while to visit Jacques Torres. On Saturday mornings, he
bakes croissants and brownies ("whatever strikes his fancy,"
one of his co-workers said) and a growing clientele visits for
pastries and coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
Fit for a czar
Alexandra and Nicolay Mazhirov also use their own names for their
chocolate shop in Bensonhurst – though they are known only as
Alexandra and Nicolay. Having the same names as the last czar
and czarina of the Romanov dynasty, they have successfully used
that as a gimmick for selling their chocolates.
Alexandra, who says she earned her degree in "chocolatology"
from the Institute of Chocolate Technology in Odessa, claims
to have stumbled upon the lost chocolate recipes of the Romanovs.
She says she decided to perfect them and sell them in the land
of opportunity: Brooklyn, New York.
Unlike Torres, the Mazhirov’s store is one of many small shops
in a busy neighborhood. At first, when they came to New York
from Russia in 1992, the Mazhirovs were attempting to sell high-priced
chocolates to fellow Russian immigrants from a little storefront.
"It was a dead end," said Nicolay. "We couldn’t
establish this market in a community of new immigrants, so we
decided to expand." And expand they have. With a Web site,
www.alexandraandnicolay.com,
that sells nationwide, and a recent contract with Bloomingdale’s,
the Mazhirovs’ business is going full-speed ahead, like Torres,
focusing on quality products and personal involvement.
Alexandra uses the French Callebaut chocolate, where Torres uses
only the subtler Belgian (feeling that the American palate prefers
a gentler taste). The Mazhirovs also focus more on the appearance
of their products, using molds of swans, baskets, champagne bottles
and babushkas.
Their chocolates are beautiful, with a selection ranging from
chocolate swans filled with bonbons to individually wrapped chocolate
cigars in an elegant tin sealed with a gold ribbon and accented
with a gold seal. The Mazhirovs’ creations can also be wildly
intricate – one can order a hand-sculpted chocolate wedding carriage
led by a team of black and white chocolate stallions, or a chocolate
moon box filled with gold leaf clusters.
Prices are slightly lower than Torres, at $33 for a one-pound
tin. They also guarantee the freshest of ingredients and assure
freshness of product upon delivery.
Jacques Torres Chocolate, 66 Water St.
between Main and Dock streets in DUMBO, is open 10 am to 7 pm,
Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays. For more information,
call (718) 875-9772 or visit www.mrchocolate.com
on the Web.
Alexandra and Nicolay, 6502 20th Ave. at 65th Street in Bensonhurst,
is open Monday through Friday, noon to 8 pm and Saturdays, 10
am to 6 pm. Closed Sundays. For more information, call (718)
331-4985 or visit www.alexandraandnicolay.com.
