Tartines, Spreads and Hot Chocolate, My Perfect Gouter-Tea Time

With barely 2 hours left before it closed its doors, I had to race my way through the NY Chocolate Show 2010 on Sunday (November 14).

Which meant very little tasting, a brief chat with a number of them and taking samples home with me or asking them to ship it for tasting later.

I was trying to decide what I should mention first when looking at the clock reading 4:30 PM gave me a reason to start with gouter-tea time items.

Tartines, spreads and jams and a cup of hot chocolate make for perfect companions, comfort food on late afternoons in fall or winter.

I just gave a test run to 2 of my take home samples.

From Comptoir du Cacao 'Noisette', a cocoa and hazelnut spread, very smooth, not too rich tasting, perfect for delicate palate (or stomachs). The hazelnut flavor lingers on your tongue.

Time to graduate from Nutela and other mass-market spreads.It was nice to see Madame Poupon after a 3 year abscence.

My second test was a sugar-free 'Pate a Tartiner' Choco-Spread by Guy Roux, perfect for diabetics or if you want to bring down your sugar intake.

Instead of sugar Maltitol is used as Henri Le Roux (no relation) has done recently.

Where 'Noisette' is creamy-smooth, the Choco-Spread has a thicker almost brownie mix like consistency. They presented it in old fashioned glass preserve jars.

Because of its very richness, eat in moderation.

It was the first visit to NY Chocolate Show for Guy Roux and his wife from their base in Mazamet, near Toulouse. All the products they brought to the event were sugar-free.

I will come back with more Chocolate teasers tomorrow.