Vosges Chocolate Review

“Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” – Forrest Gump

Especially true if that chocolate is a Vosges chocolate truffle. Vosges Haut-chocolatier Katrina Markoff, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, describes music and travel as the muse for her creations. Her flavor combinations are very distinct, very unusual, and very expensive.

I sampled her exotic truffle collection (9 small chocolate truffles for $27) which was inspired by her trip around the world. Every truffle was different and included unusual ingredients. Some I liked, some I didn’t.

Katrina recommends tasting each truffle in two bites: in the first bite you get to know the truffle and in the second, you delve deeper, searching out the flavors and nuances. I let my tongue pick out the subtle ingredients and enjoyed tasting each one. 

The collection included:

Oaxaca – Guajillo and pasilla chillies, dark chocolate, and organic pumpkin seeds

Gianduia –crunchy hazelnut praline, milk chocolate and praline bits

Absinthe – Chinese star anise, fennel, dark chocolate and cocoa powder

Viola – Milk chocolate and candied violet flower

Wink of the Rabbit – soft caramel, milk chocolate, and organic New Mexican pecan

Budapest – sweet Hungarian paprika and dark chocolate

Ambrosia – Macadamia nuts, Cointreau and white chocolate

Naga – sweet Indian curry powder, coconut and milk chocolate

Woolloomooloo – Australian macadamia nut, coconut, and milk chocolate

Black Pearl – ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate, and black sesame seeds

Chef Pascal- kirsch, dark chocolate, and dried Michigan cherry

The exotic flavors were a novelty; something to taste and talk about, so perfect for a social gathering. But if I really want to eat chocolate, these are not the chocolates I would reach for. The truffle collection was fun to taste, but there was only one truffle that I tasted and thought, “I want more!”

A few (Absinthe and Budapest) reminded me of licorice, so I was disappointed with those. The Chef Pascal was nice, though I’m an old-fashioned American girl who loves her chocolate cherries to be juicy. And while I don’t typically like white chocolate, the Ambrosia was fantastic.

But my favorite of all, the one I’d love to have an entire box of, was the Woolloomooloo. Delectable!

What wasn’t included in the truffle collection was a combination I am dying to try: Bacon & Chocolate candy bars. It sounds incredible. But I’ll let my tongue decide.