Over the past decade or so Rhode Island has developed a reputation for being home to some of the most innovative and imaginative chefs in the Northeast if not the United States.While Providence is the lynchpin of this culinary revolution, with places like Gracie’s, Olga’s, Al Forno, Nick’s on Broadway and many others leading the way, out in the quiet Rhode Island countryside another revolution is underway.
Not as visible perhaps but no less important for Rhode Island’s future are the “culinary entrepreneurs,” those artisans working out of their homes or in small shops, producing delectable treats for sale in local shops or directly from the producer.
One such artisan is chocolatier Michele De Luca-Verley of Portsmouth.
Chef Joe Hafner of Gracie's told me about Michele and her chocolates. I had asked Joe if he knew of any pastry chefs in the area who might be willing to talk about their work for an article I was doing on pastry chefs in Rhode Island for Prime Time magazine. Michele was the first name that came to mind.
I called her and asked if we could arrange to meet and talk about her work. A couple of days later I got a chance to spend an hour or so chatting with her about food in general and chocolate in particular. The highlight for me was watching as she made her wonderful tea-infused chocolate truffles and listening to her talk about her love of food, and chocolate in particular.
Michele was born in Rhode Island but as a young girl moved away, traveling the world, living in Italy and then France, where she fell in love and married.
She returned to the US and after living in New York City and Boston she returned to Rhode Island with her husband and children and found a quiet house in the peaceful countryside outside of Portsmouth.
Self-taught in the culinary art of making chocolate Michele has become something of a magician: she takes a thing as simple as chocolate and then infuses it with tea to make incredibly delicious truffles. It’s the ingredients that make the difference she told me; it’s the ingredients. . .
I asked her when she first discovered her love of cooking. Like so many others, the love of cooking came out of a deep abiding infatuation with the love of good food.
She told me that having been raised by a mother who always cooked with fresh ingredients and never from a can, she came to appreciate quality food from an early age.
At the time TV dinners were all the rage but we would never think of it in our home. We ate breakfast and dinners as a family. My mother made sauce for pasta using fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic from my Grandmother's recipe. I grew up visiting and celebrating Sunday dinner at my Italian Grandmother's house every Sunday that would last for the entire afternoon. I also had a grandmother on my mother's side of the family who was of German descent and was always planning the next meal before we had finished the last one, again using fresh produce and meats. This emphasis on celebrating food with family set the stage for my love of food. I was also fortunate enough as a young child to spend summers in Italy. I was at a very impressionable age and well . . . let's say when they put granita di caffe con panna and a fresh brioche in front of me for breakfast I was taken.
OK, but where did she get her inspiration for such incredible chocolates?
My inspiration comes from the beauty of the agriculture that surrounds us in Rhode Island...sun-drenched berries, fresh eggs from the farmer down the road, local cream, scented with grass. My initial country of inspiration was France. While living there I was intrigued by the creativity and perfection of the pastry chefs. I began to think of my own pastries as canvases to express my own creativity. Being of Italian origin I must also include the inspiration I draw from the simplicity and from this simplicity an elegance of Italian pastry. I would much rather tumble fresh berries on top of a fruit tart than arrange them in neat rows as the French are more apt to do. It is this ease of expression and of life that Italians inherently possess which inspires me.
Since I’m married to a pastry chef I was eager to hear what Michele thought was the most difficult dessert she’s ever had to make. “Why a wedding cake!” she told me. “Baking and assembling a wedding cake is an art form unto itself and one that is too nerve-racking for me. I break out into a sweat whenever anyone mentions it to me.”
Of course, now I had to know what was the easiest dessert to make. “I would have to say that I love the simplicity and final result of making tarts if we are talking about pastry. Of course my passion and love is making tea-infused truffles.”
Regarding chocolate, I then asked her what is her favorite chocolate dessert to make? The answer was not surprising:
Truffles. But if I were to translate this into the pastry dessert realm, I would say a Coco Pastry shell filled with tea-infused ganache and topped with pile of fresh berries.
Wow! Tea-infused ganache! She started speaking my language that’s for sure.
Well, it was bound to happen when you get two people together who love to talk about food. The time flies by. I had already stayed longer than I had planned and didn’t want to impose on her time any longer. But there was one more question I had to ask:
What do you think is the greatest challenge facing pastry chefs today? Her answer was right to the point.
I think the greatest challenge for pastry chefs and chefs in general is just keeping everything simple. Sometimes I think adding in so many flavors to our plates just because we have access to them, diffuses the magnificence and the sublime beauty of just two or three flavors playing with the palate.
Keep it simple; flavorful, delicious and simple. Sounds good to me.
Ciao for now,
Steve Soper
steve@freetransform.com
la maison de COCO
Durfee Tea House
82 Glen Road
Portsmouth, RI 02871
Phone: 401 293 0524
Online: http://lamaisondecoco.com/
Email: mdv@lamaisondecoco.com
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