Thursday, November 19, 2009

Sophia! Foodies Interview on Chocolate Tastings

Posted by Adam / 1 comment » / chocolate, events, interviews

I’m sitting here finishing off a cup of hot chocolate on my back porch (with Mexican spice accents and farmer’s market whole milk – I am such an elitist), and I’m thinking about how the holidays usually come more quickly than I’m expecting. Thanksgiving is only a week away, shopping is upon us, and I’m determined to enjoy this holiday season, and I hope to pass that determination on to you. Slow down, salivate, and get ready for an event with true foodie charm.

This event promises to indulge you as you slowly savor impossible-to-find and exotic chocolate morsels, right from the comfort of your home. I have found this treasure for you: a chocolate tasting with Nashville’s own chocolate goddess, Sophia Contreras. Sophia graciously sat down with Nashville Foodies recently to describe her craft and the chocolate tasting experience.

Sophia boasts a resume that would have us thieving scraps from her kitchen in the hopes of learning through sheer osmosis. Her family has been on the front line of cuisine for generations, with highlights as follows: her Greek grandmother began a restaurant on Route 66; her cousin ran the top-rated Santa Fe Farmer’s Market; her uncle first placed a breakfast burrito on a menu 30 years ago (you may have seen it around now); and her family’s restaurants have connections that run all they way to the White House. She’s traveled the world, worked in kitchens and restaurants owned by parents and family members, and has a supernatural knack for discerning what foods people crave. The universe beat in rhythm when she decided to follow her passion and become a professional chef. Need proof? She never advertises, has no website, posts no phone number – and yet Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Leeann Rimes all found her and scooped her up full time for a collective six years.

Of all her culinary delights, Sophia is most passionate about chocolate. She engaged the study of chocolate much like a wine connoisseur studies wines, learning about its history and components, and traveling to the regional epicenters of chocolate wisdom across the continents. I had no idea where these places were, but Sophia tells me that Spain, Italy, Guatemala, and Williams-Sonoma (wait, that last one may not be right) represent the deepest, darkest corners of chocolate knowledge. While you, my foodie friends, may not be able to make those trips quite yet, Sophia brings her passion and knowledge to us right here in Nashville. (This is an appropriate moment to pause and give thanks that you live in Music City.)

Let’s clear up what some of you may be thinking – this is no wax-infused chocolate fountain event where you’re getting bottom of the barrel quality and all-you-can-consume gorging. This is the real deal, where you’re satiated not by the volume but by the discovery of the complexity in each unique offering. This is a revival of the slow food movement, where people take their time to prepare and enjoy food, as they concentrate and savor each flavor. Chocolate has hints, notes, and tones provided by the various ingredients that supplement the cacao. Much like a supplemented wine tasting, Sophia produces the matching ingredients (vanilla, coffee, etc) for your taste buds to recognize as you encounter each piece, bringing out the subtleties so even the weakest palate can identify the constituent catalysts.

Like any good conductor, Sophia knows how to orchestrate the entire experience. She begins by taking you through a brief history of chocolate, where it came from, how it was

discovered and its stages of evolution. Then you begin your trek through the different sweetness levels: milk, white, semisweet, dark, and bittersweet. Appropriate dessert wines accompany these stops, with the most interesting being the Russian-inspired vodka splash to mix with the strongest bittersweet morsel – producing a counter-intuitive mix of extremes of bittersweet and sweet to mesh and settle your experience in the center of the spectrum.

Sophia ensures that the participant receives tastes of the most elusive, hard to find, and exotic chocolate which is simply inaccessible to those without the knowledge. These are items you can’t get anywhere else, and Sophia often recruits friends who are traveling as her primary couriers. (I learned that Italian chocolate became her most recent acquisition after traveling friends found the hidden location she directed them to.) For those who want to flex their investigative muscle, Sophia will also provide samples of chocolates which are difficult to find for the average consumer, but not impossible if you make the right effort. These chocolates will usually be collector’s pieces available through small internet gateways that can be delivered to the Nashville area. Not forgetting the local talent, Sophia also promises that the best local chocolates are included, ensuring that Nashvillians can find their way to the right local artisan after they’ve been dazzled by Sophia’s tasting.

This is one event we have fiendishly dared to dream about. It is the kind of slow-food experience which will help you remember that it really is the holidays and you can sit back, relax, and indulge yourself without regret. It doesn’t hurt to be guided through this journey by an escort whose blood courses with culinary tradition.

Now, it took begging and pleading to convince Sophia to consent to this post. She is a talented, extroverted hostess with a carbonated personality sure to make everyone comfortable, but she does like to fly beneath the advertising radar. Don’t believe me? Just try finding her info somewhere else. After several months, and all I could muster about the benefits of blogdom, we have done it. For us, she has permitted this exception to her rule, and she is willing to bring her talents to our Nashville foodies. (Yes!)

As you can imagine, acquiring the chocolate is an extensive process, so make sure to plan your event as early as you can. Parties from 6-12 are best, but 20 is the max. She brings her wares to the venue of your choice, including homes. Cost will vary depending on the number in the party, the chocolates themselves, and the guests’ choice of wine pairing (biggest variable), and Sophia provides estimates upon request. Paired teas may be substituted for dessert wines for those who prefer a non-alcoholic experience.

Yes, you have found the golden ticket, Charlie, and it’s right here in Nashville. Claim your prize by calling this number: 615-496-1513 or inquiring at sbcontreras@comcast.net.

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One Response to “Sophia! Foodies Interview on Chocolate Tastings”

  1. 1

    Hdawedding — November 29, 2009 @ 11:11 am

    It is great to see Sophia getting the recognition she so richly (dare I say tastily?) deserves!
    We all deserve a day with Sophia, traveling the world one sweet and smooth morsel at a time.

    Weddings and chocolates go together like, well like chocolate and life go together!
    We are so glad to know Sophia and look forward our next visit.

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