Surely by now you have either heard the word "Cronut" or at the very least unknowingly consumed a knock-off version of this internet famous treat (*cough cough Five Daughters cough cough*). 
This croissant/donut hybrid was created by French chef Dominique Ansel in 2013 and has had people lining up around the block on the streets of New York ever since. Each day, a limited batch is produced and people wait in line for their chance to have a piece of the viral hype that is the Cronut. 
I have a confession to make though: despite having visited two of Dominique Ansel's locations so far, I still have yet to try the elusive dessert that made him famous. 
I have, however, tried many other delightful pastries and desserts from his stunning display cases in both New York City and his original London location (a second London location has just been announced). 
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My first encounter came in 2016 while visiting NYC with my partner. This little bakery took the number one spot on my to do list (and was a lovely treat the morning after a 15 hour drive).
I could best describe the SoHo location as small but mighty. It was busy that morning and felt almost cramped, but the view of the pastries as we walked in was enough to make the tight squeeze worthwhile. 

Of course, I was also sure to select a couple of macarons to eat as we walked the streets of New York City all day. Needless to say, they were also delicious. The perfect texture with beautifully balanced flavors. 
Though I do not still have a photo, the pastry case was beyond compare. All of the gorgeous tarts and cakes and other desserts were so creatively and flawlessly decorated that I couldn't believe my eyes. Unfortunately, I didn't have room in my stomach to try one that morning and it certainly would not have made the exhaustive trek around the city. I left that little SoHo shop full of sugar and wonder and inspiration for my own culinary aspirations. That's the one common thread I keep finding with Mr. Ansel's work; it inspires me to be a better chef! 
The magic I felt in New York was one thing, but the magic I felt at Ansel's first London location was another feeling entirely. Something about cloudy yet romantic foreign cities at Christmas time really adds something extra special to the mix.

In December of 2016, my partner decided to go home to England for Christmas and asked me to join him. When I found out that we'd get to spend a day in London, I once again made sure that Dominique Ansel's Bakery was first on my to do list.
This time, we walked all the way there on a blustery, gray morning, making sure to take in the sights as we went. 

Because of the timing, the pastry case was all decorated for Christmas. What you can't see here are all the rows of fabulously decorated buche de noel cakes (or yule logs, as some call them). This time, I didn't care how messy it got throughout the day, I was ordering a beautiful cake to take with us on our journey. I opted for a gorgeous chocolate buche de noel and happily carried it with me all day, and ate it when we climbed into our hotel bed that evening. 
I found this shop to be more spacious than the SoHo location. It felt like there was more room to breathe and move about. Of course, it was still packed to the brim with people and we had trouble finding seating, but we did eventually find a small table that could hardly contain all the food I ordered. Oops!
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We kicked it all off with a Welsh rarebit croissant, which is a London exclusive. I must say that this is one of the things I love most about Ansel's bakeries; he adapts each menu to the locale so that each location remains unique. This beauty consisted of Guinness worcestershire, a cheddar bechamel, fotina cheese and a whole grain mustard. It's served warm and is an affordable breakfast option. It is also something I still find myself craving from time to time! 
You'll also notice that I took macarons to go just as I did in NYC. They were just lovely!

Our tiny table then got even more packed with goodies: a latte for each of us, a croque monsieur to share, and a slice of banoffee paella.

The croque monsieur may very well be the best I've ever had. And yes, I have eaten one at a real French cafe in Paris late at night after arriving and finding most other food places to be shut. I have also, for the record, had one made with donut buns as the bread. Needless to say, I love my croque monsieurs!
This one in particular was perfectly crisp. I mean, just look at that cheese on top. Served hot and fresh and devoured so quickly that my partner nearly didn't get his half. Oops.

And then came dessert at 10 am because it's only served in the London location and I had to try it. This take on the classic British dessert is actually made upside down in a paella pan, with the crumb on top, so the crust doesn't get soggy. Each decadent slice is cut to order just so you can enjoy a crunchy crumb crust. Sitting atop those crumbs is a layer of toffee cream, and atop the cream sit perfectly caramelized bananas. This dish is brilliantly executed but I have to be honest, it was too much for me that morning. Maybe it's all the carbs I'd already consumed beforehand or perhaps the jet-lag, but it was just too much. Too sweet, too big a serving, and hard for me to enjoy as I was already so full. Note to self: next time, eat less or order the paella first! 
And just like that, another Dominique Ansel Bakery visit was in the books. 
Since then, Mr. Ansel has opened both a bakery location AND restaurant in L.A., which has of course taken the top spot on my list. As I mentioned earlier, he's also opening a second location in London which should be open by my next visit. And let's not forget that there's always the Tokyo location to dream about visiting as well. Maybe my next visit will see me finally trying the Cronut.
All in all, if you appreciate food and creativity, then these bakeries are certainly something to add to your list. You really just can't go wrong. 
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and read his book and take his MasterClass for French basics like any good fan girl would do!

Several years ago, early on in our relationship, my partner traveled to Amsterdam on a business trip. While he was there, he happened upon a small chocolate shop and walked me through it on FaceTime. In the center of the shop was a single table covered in bonbons and truffles on stands of varying heights and sizes. No glass case, no walls around it, just a table full of chocolates in the center of the room. I'd never seen anything like it before, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect of the selection he picked out for me. But days later, when he made it home with my little gold and clear plastic box, I fell in love at first bite. 

For years I have thought about those chocolates and request them whenever anyone is visiting Amsterdam. I find myself craving this little wedge shaped bonbon in a lemon cheesecake flavor more often than I can even verbalize. It is really that memorable and delicious. 

Now, because my partner is from England we occasionally travel back to visit his family and friends. Earlier this year we had to fly back for a wedding and when I was researching flights I noticed there was one option with four hour layover in Amsterdam. My partner is a big fan of rushing his way through a city on long layovers so I decided to follow in his footsteps and attempt to make it to Ganache on our layover. He was confident we could do it, so we booked our flights with the layover! 

For months I looked forward to that day, and when the day came....well....it was a bit of a mess. 
It would've been fine if someone hadn't have stabbed several people at the train station we were trying to get to. It would've been even more fine if we had known about the incident prior to leaving the airport and on gotten a stop or two into our train journey. Eventually, after waiting for quite a bit of our very limited time, we had to Uber into the city and cross our fingers that the train would be ready to go back when we were. 

The good news is, we made it! For the first time, I got to physically step foot into one of my favorite chocolate shops. 
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The inside of the shop was a dream. I walked in and immediately saw the table. I'm pretty sure that I was both overjoyed and overwhelmed by the amount of choice in front of me. Of course, all I really wanted was a box full of those lemon cheesecake pieces, but I made sure to get a good mix of things. 

I'm sure not many people go to the Red Light District on a chocolate mission but who would I be if that wasn't my motivation?! Getting to know new places by their food has been the most enjoyable thing about my travels so far. 
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We managed to walk the streets of the Red Light District for a bit (in broad daylight with all of our luggage, no less) before we hurried back to the train station and made it back to Schiphol in time to grab some airport food before our long journey home. Here are a few scenic pics of our hour in Amsterdam.

If ever you find yourself in Amsterdam, do not miss this charming chocolate shop full of little delights!

Huntsville, Alabama is not a foodie destination, plain and simple. For so long, it has been a city plagued with popular chain restaurants with too-big portions and the type of blandness that so many Americans seem perfectly content with. For so long, even its most prized fine dining establishments have been secretly serving up frozen foods from Sysco and charging a fortune for them. But there is a new kid on the block that seems determined to redefine fine dining in Huntsville, and that kid's name is Purveyor. 

Dimly lit but well decorated, cozy but not too small, with unique touches that truly set it apart from it's "competition" (read: as of right now, no one can compete as far as I'm concerned). This place gives off a bigger-than-Huntsville vibe that I have long awaited in our growing city. Purveyor reminds me more of the restaurants I've found in cities like L.A, New York and London and I love it.

My first experience was a Valentine's dinner date in which my meal was exquisite from start to finish. But this post? This post isn't about their dinner, dessert, or creative cocktail menu; it's about their new Sunday brunch service. 

I went in expecting to have a nice time but I didn't anticipate just how nice it would be. 

My partner and I were seated in the back room where they now keep the wines. It was just the two of us for most of our meal, so it was quiet and romantic. 

Our server was very attentive but not in an annoying way. He was polite and helpful and didn't ask me how everything was every time I had a mouth full of food. He removed plates as needed and our water was always topped up. We ordered coffee and then we were served some biscuits and muffins, complete with one of the tiniest and cutest jars of jam I've ever seen. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

After that, we received tiny little fresh fruit parfaits in mini glass jars. I'm not sure why I found this particularly impressive but I was so in awe I forgot to take a photo. 
Then, it was time for the main course. 

The menu had so many amazing options but let's be real, I will always choose chicken and waffles when they are offered to me. This choice was an exceptional one & the dish was beyond words. 
The original dish comes with chocolate waffles but I was given the choice of those or limoncello waffles, so I opted for the latter. However, the kitchen sent out the chocolate ones as well purely so I could "compare" the two. This little touch really took the experience to the next level for me. 
The one thing I can't stop thinking about when it comes to this dish is the chipotle jalapeno glaze that had JUST the right amount of smoky heat. I have been dreaming about this dish ever since I had it and I would love to try everything else on the menu but will probably always order this because it is THAT good. 
I've been lucky enough to eat brunch in many states and several countries, and I am pretty sure this brunch blew everything else out of the water. I am so very proud of Huntsville for coming up in the food scene and making its own mark. 
Chef Boyzo is a unique and true talent and just what the Huntsville food scene needed. His food is honest and thoughtful, with well balanced flavor profiles and creative touches that make for a truly wonderful dining experience.
If you haven't been to Purveyor yet, I'm not sure what you're waiting for. GO!
If you have been, tell me what you think in the comments section. I would love to hear about your personal favorite dishes!

Have you ever spent so much time dreaming of visiting a place that you fear you may have built it up just a bit too much? Like perhaps you've conjured up some crazy ideal that your destination couldn't possibly live up to the picture you've painted in your mind? That is exactly how I felt about Paris before a whirlwind two days of chocolate, culture, and late night crepes after a quick run through the Louvre. 
See, I'd always thought of Paris as this impossibly romantic city where one could easily fall in love with everything around them. When I learned I was finally going to get to visit after years of thinking about what it might be like, I began to feel worried that I might face some disappointment. However, my fears were assuaged the moment my partner and I stepped foot out of the Eurostar station and took a taxi to our hotel.
Late at night, the streets were still full of people wandering around, yet it wasn't loud like New York City. It had this certain peace about it that I haven't really felt anywhere else. 
After arriving at our very small but very pleasant hotel (with a GORGEOUS view), it was time to rest up for a full day ahead. 
Now, I have to say this: I am fortunate to have a partner who supports my passions and also happens to be very good at reading maps and figuring out our day's activities from there. There's no possible way I would've been able to see SO MANY THINGS without his planning skills, and for that I am forever grateful. 
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The best part about being a chocolatier visiting Paris is that you can't walk too far without inevitably bumping into a chocolate shop (or two, or three, etc). It is honestly incredible how celebrated fine chocolate is over there. In America, fine chocolates seem to be available in big cities but scarcely available in smaller cities. In fact, we only have one artisnal/fine chocolate shop in Huntsville, so I end up ordering a lot of chocolate online (a very fun post coming on that topic soon!). 
But in Paris? Chocolate is everywhere. And I'm not talking Lindt and Godiva, I'm talking the real deal. 
I started with La Maison du Chocolat, as we happened to pass by one on our way to other shops. La Maison du Chocolat is a must for me every time I visit NYC. I discovered it back in my music days when I was in town for a show and I stumbled upon the location in Rockefeller Center. In all honesty, I could probably credit this discovery with the beginning of my appreciation for fine chocolate. So of course, when presented with an opportunity to visit this gorgeous store in its city of origin, I eagerly stepped foot inside to see what their glass cases had in store for me. 
I picked up a couple of macarons and several pieces of chocolate, my favorite of which was passion fruit infused and absolutely delicious (as always). This shop felt more like an upscale jewelry store than a chocolate shop. And as I would learn throughout the next two days, every chocolatier in Paris has their own really unique shop vibe. 
Which brings me to Patrick Roger. 
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When I walked into my first Patrick Roger shop (we visited a couple of locations), I almost immediately had to question whether or not I was in a chocolate shop at all. The shop was sleek, modern, a bit dark, and filled with sculptures and art pieces that made me feel more like I was at a modern art museum/gallery. It was the first time I had experienced chocolate elevated in this way. 
I bought several pieces and a single origin bar, and they were kind enough to offer up samples after we made a purchase. The lemon basil piece was a unique and sophisticated chocolate that fit perfectly with the shop's aesthetic. And my bar? It came in a metal tin which was perfect as I needed it to survive the journey back to the states! Seriously, the packaging was phenomenal. 
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Now, the entire trip wasn't all chocolate. We did manage to see some of the main attractions and do a bit of shopping as well. Of course, as soon as we made our way through the Champs-Élysées it began pouring rain and we were without an umbrella, so we ducked into a combination Pierre Herme/skin care store, where I ordered a couple of macarons to go and then sat down for MORE dessert and a cup of coffee to keep us going. Pro-tip: if you ever visit this location, you will be tempted to eat your dessert in store. Be aware that this will cost quite a bit more than ordering to go, but is well worth the experience. Very charming place even though it is strangely combined with a skin care store. 
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Now, to be perfectly honest with you, I saved a lot of my chocolates until I got back to the states, so I didn't try EVERYTHING while I was in Paris. There was so much to try while there that I couldn't possibly have fit it all in! I mean, come on...I had to have room for crepes and croque monsieurs too, you know?!

Okay, let's keep going with the chocolate tour now, shall we? 
The one place that many fellow chocolatiers suggested was Chapon, because they have not only a selection of chocolates but an entire chocolate mousse "bar" where you can get all kinds of chocolate mousse. 

The chocolate mousse was delightful but a bit too rich even for me, and I found the shop person to be almost insufferably condescending. This was, overall, not my most favorite place on the list despite the gorgeous selection of chocolate bars in their own very unique packaging. I left with a single origin from Madagascar. 

If Chapon was my least favorite of my journey, then maybe I should talk about which shop ultimately emerged at the winner....

The thing about Jean-Paul Hevin is that I didn't realize it was the winner of all the shops until I'd gotten my chocolates back safely to the states and consumed them from the comfort of my bed while recovering from jet lag. It wasn't until I bit into the piece decorated with a transfer sheet that read "Amande" that I knew who won my heart. A simple almond praline coated in dark chocolate. Sleek, smooth, with no colored cocoa butter or insane flourishes; just a simple, elegant, and robustly flavored little gem. 
The shop was beautiful but I was thoroughly surprised by just how much their chocolate blew me away. A nice, unexpected little joy. 

As I mentioned earlier, I visited quite a lot of chocolate shops on my little journey through Paris, and not all of them were super memorable. Really though, that's probably just because I tried to fit so many into our short trip! Perhaps next visit I will leave a bit more space to really get to enjoy all of the shops I encounter. 

Of course, I don't think any trip to Paris would be complete without visiting a really fancy macaron store, and I found just the one. 

According to the internet, Laduree has been selling their sweets since 1862 and sells nearly 15,000 macarons PER DAY. 
When I say that this shop was exquisite, I mean it. A beautiful and inviting exterior leads you through a door into a grand interior that I'm pretty sure every sugar-holic's dreams are made of. There was a stunning amount of detail in every inch of this shop, right down to the sturdy, metallic silver decorated boxes they place your macarons in. A truly exceptional experience. And the macarons? Well, they really are as good as people say they are. Not a bump in the shells, just the right texture, all in various colors and flavors that will delight even the most cynical of souls. 

With fully bellies, we wandered the city for one and a half days seeing all that we could. We walked over twelve miles our first day there trying to squeeze in as much as we could. My only regret is that we didn't get nearly enough time at the Louvre. 
They say they close at 10, but they start shutting exhibits down at 9. We got their late after having to leave a very pretentious tapas restaurant and trying to find somewhere else to get dinner (which ended up being at a very busy Japanese restaurant called Aki!). Though I've never considered myself terribly fussed with art museums, the Louvre really changed my perception of them. Full of wonder, history, and bigger than I'd ever even imagined. This -not the chocolate! - is the one thing that makes me want to return to Paris immediately.
Though our visit was short, it was indeed very productive. 
And as for that fear of it not living up to my expectations? Nonsense, truly.
Paris surpassed every idea of it I'd ever had, and I cannot wait to go back and feel its magic again.

A lot of really good things came out of my decision to do online schooling through Ecole Chocolat: I learned the history of chocolate and am now full of fun facts, I learned how to properly taste chocolate (and will soon take a course in mastering flavor to up my game!), I learned how to properly temper and mold chocolates, and I discovered a business owned by fellow graduates called The Chocolate Lab. 

For quite a while I drooled over every social media post and every perfectly executed photo of their insanely detailed bonbons, just waiting for the day I'd visit their part of Canada so I could get my hands on some. But as luck would have it, right around my birthday one year, a friend of mine was visiting Calgary, Alberta and his hotel just happened to be mere minutes away from the shop. So, of course, I begged him to pick up a selection of chocolates and haul them back to the states for me so I could finally taste the little beauties for myself!

When they made their way to me and I opened the box for the first time, I quickly realized that they were selling more than just chocolates, they were selling an entire experience. The packaging, the detail of the bon bons, the flavor combinations and the quality of the chocolate...this wasn't something to eat in one bite and forget about a day later. No, this was something to be savored from start to finish. In fact, these chocolates required the need to establish a ritual around eating them. So with each one, I cut it in half with my sharpest paring knife to get a good view of any layers inside. Any true chocolate-obsessed little foodie loves a good cross section, right?! And then, after I cut them and examined them, I ate one half myself and gave the other half to my partner. I ate my half slowly and really let myself explore each flavor combination. And above all, I stuck to one piece per day so I wouldn't run out right away. 

Fast forward to Christmas that year when I'd realized I was spending it in Canada and could ask my partner to have a box shipped to us for Christmas. And, to my surprise, received a couple of bars to go with my order!
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And now, now I'm really in trouble because guess what? The Chocolate Lab has officially started shipping within the U.S.! That's right, say goodbye to all of my money forever because I can't get enough and I'm a superfan! Do you need proof? I have plenty. 

As a chocolate nerd, I was particularly excited for the U.S. release of their absolutely incredible advent calendar! 
This beauty was well worth and every penny.
Again, it's a full on experience. The packaging itself blew my mind! It feels like they've thought of everything, right down to the smallest touches. 

I will be opening this masterpiece one day at a time throughout the month of December. To watch, visit my personal Instagram page and watch my stories each day to find out what exciting flavors I'm tasting!

And if you love chocolate, do yourself a favor and check out their website to order some for yourself. I heard a rumor that many chocolate bars will be added to the store soon in addition to the bonbon collections, so keep an eye out for those!