October 2009 I turned the heat on at my house today, a gesture of absolute surrender to fall. I absolutely love October — it is my favorite month of the year. These heartbreakingly beautiful fall days when the trees are the colors of apples and the apples are the color of trees — they make me feel guilty for ever wishing I lived somewhere else (I apologized silently to the State of Michigan almost everyday on my walk to work last week). Winter doesn't seem so daunting when it starts this way. I feel hopeful and nostalgic as I rediscover my cold-weather routines, pull out my favorite soup recipes, put on my favorite cardigan, make my favorite hot chocolate... I also love October because of what it means for the Deli. Pumpkin cheesecake, French Zingfeast, drinking chocolate and most importantly — the 4th Annual Halloween Hootenanny! The Hootenanny is our opportunity to celebrate all of the great kids and families in the community by hosting a fall-themed, kid-focused event. Each year we have more fun than the year before! I hope you will get dressed up and join us. I am also excited because, as promised, October's newsletter features a special interview with Alan McClure, owner of Patric Chocolate in Columbia, MO. It is rare that I publish this kind of thing in the newsletter, but this one was so good I had to let you in on it. Happy Fall, Duff duff@zingermans.com 734-663-5282 SPECIAL INTERVIEW with Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate We put four bars from Patric Chocolate out on the shelves last month and your reaction to them has been really fantastic. Special thanks to those of you who emailed/called me to share your impressions (your reward is on the way in the mail!) Mostly, you remark on how different Patric Chocolate is from other chocolates you have tasted. This makes me really happy, because 1.) I agree and 2.) This is why I think it is so important that we offer Patric Chocolate at the Deli. After all, it is my job to bring in products that not only meet the standards of Zingerman's and you — our discerning guests — but also that challenge us and expand our appreciation of great chocolate. I had the good fortune to meet Alan at the Fancy Food Show in NYC this summer. We had been corresponding for almost a year and I had tasted his chocolates (which were excellent), but I will be honest with you: I was hesitant to bring in another chocolate bar. How would it fit in? Could we support another brand in our little corner? I take these decisions very seriously, out of respect for you, for Zingerman's and for all the people who work so hard to make great chocolate and confectionery. I was 95% sure that Patric Chocolate and Zingerman's Deli were a good fit, but I was still mulling it over. That's when I met Alan. I was expecting a 40-something guy with a firm handshake and an expensive phone. What I got was a young, thoughtful fellow wearing sneakers and a cool pair of spectacles. Once I got over the fact that he looked a lot like me (and most of the people who work at the Deli), I started asking him questions. "Will you make chocolate forever?" "What makes your chocolate different than other chocolates on the market?" "Why do you want to sell your chocolate at Zingerman's?" Throughout our conversation, his demeanor struck me. He had this serenity and absolute sense of calm about him. He talked about cacao with such reverence, described his work with such sincerity... it reminded me of how we talk about food/work at Zingerman's. It was clear to me that he shared our goals and values, and I already knew we liked his chocolate, so the deal was sealed. Two months later, the first delivery of Patric Chocolate arrived at the Deli and the bars went out on the shelves. I appreciate them for their wildness. These chocolates will grab your tongue and really wrestle with it. There is some vigorous tannin/acid action going on. I imagine the old Batman cartoon bubbles when I eat these (Pow pow! Kablam! Zzap!) The aroma/flavor of the chocolate is very close to the flavor of toasted cacao nibs — in other words, very close to the "raw" material. Cherry and other red fruits always come to mind. I wish I could teleport a bar of Patric Chocolate to all of you to enjoy as you read this interview — wouldn't that be great! Instead, just get your car keys (or bike) ready so that you can race out to get one as soon as you are finished with the read. I'll be waiting! WARNING: You will read about food other than chocolate in this interview. Do not be alarmed. I know that it is strange to see words like "tortillas" and "pork shoulder" in this newsletter devoted to sweets. Remain calm and try to enjoy these brief references to the lower levels of the food pyramid! PATRIC CHOCOLATE INTERVIEW: DUFF: Tell me about your path from boy-to-bar: What brought you to chocolate and why do you think you might want to make it for a while. ALAN: I have always had a love of, or some might call it an obsession with, food for as far back as I can remember. When other kids were outside playing baseball during summer break I was watching the Frugal Gourmet and cooking dinner. I made home-baked croissants by myself at the age of 13 and brought them into my French class. Everyone thought I was lying and had bought them somewhere. I remember making Mexican chorizo sausage from scratch at about the same age — even grinding the meat myself. Homemade peanut butter, biscuits, bread, dill pickles, carne con chile colorado, beef jerky, the list goes on and on, and all while still a child. Perhaps my ultimate love of food was due to experiences in my youth, watching my grandmother make homemade tortillas, salsa and other Mexican dishes, or watching my mother do the same. Perhaps it is just in my genes. I am not sure, but what is certain is that I seem to have a disproportionate passion for and desire to work with food compared to most people. These days I make all kinds of things like my own charcuterie, cheese, hard cider, Mexican mole, cassoulet with home-made confit de canard from duck fat I rendered myself, wild-fermented breads, wild-fermented pickles and sauerkraut, and basically anything else that you can think of that is intellectually satisfying, and therefore often time consuming, and especially delicious. Chocolate fits in there too on all counts, and since I've been a huge chocolate lover since I was a young child — something that I think I inherited from my father — it made natural sense to me to pursue it as another amazing food to learn about making. This was especially true after a year in Lyon, France opened my eyes even wider to what chocolate could be. So I began my experimentation and further self-education in 2004, and after about two years finally started Patric Chocolate in 2006. The rest is history. DUFF: Surprise! Name a couple things that nobody told you about making chocolate that you've learned since you opened your business. ALAN: To be honest... everything! Not many people know anything about how to make chocolate from bean to bar, and those that do are not exactly open about what they do and don't know. I had a few helpful conversations with Steve DeVries for which I am extremely grateful, but essentially I've had to learn everything I know on my own. What "fine" cacao is and how to coax the beauty out of different beans is not something that you can really learn from a book or that someone can simply tell you over the phone. Those things really help, but basically one must get his/her hands dirty literally and figuratively. Forget the fast track. It doesn't exist. Persistence and learning from one's failures are the keys, and chocolate has probably taught me more about all of this that anything else ever did, even my college education. DUFF: Describe your best day in the business so far. ALAN: I feel like I have had a lot of very good days interspersed with many, many tough ones, and probably the further I progress with my business, the more that the great days overshadow earlier ones and the tough ones are less difficult and occur less frequently. That is probably how it is with most things. There are a couple of good days that stand out in my mind as I write, however: Recently I realized that I was finally not scared of complete financial ruin anymore. It took me a long time to get here, and though I still only pay myself a pittance, to know that the company is becoming consistently healthier is such a great feeling since it is really a labor of love above all else. One of my other very memorable great days, and probably one that is as far removed from the aforementioned one as possible, is the day that my first-ever bar was ready, wrapped and sitting on the packing-room shelf. This was before any sales were ever made — July 23rd, 2007. Just remembering the stack of 200 or so bars and how it seemed like such an enormous achievement that I ever made it that far has me thinking of that time quite fondly. There is something beautiful about that moment and the lack of knowledge of all of the challenges ahead — just being at peace with my chocolate. I don't have any children, but it is the closest thing I have felt to what I imagine feeling like a father would be. DUFF: What makes your chocolate different than other bean-to-bar chocolates (American or otherwise) out there? What is the guest going to experience with Patric that they can't experience with any other chocolate? ALAN: I share a lot with some of the other American craft chocolate companies, of which there are a small but growing number — maybe 10-12 at this point. It has grown from 5 or 6 when I started my company. At any rate, I share the care taken in doing everything by hand from the bean to the finished and packaged bar, to making more-than-fairly traded cacao purchases, to purchasing directly from farms, among other things. Still, there is something that sets Patric Chocolate apart. Put simply, in my view the difference and importance of my products is all in how I focus on cacao's flavor. To elaborate, I try to let the bean speak to me. I imagine an origin as having a will and desires. I listen with attention every time I taste the raw cacao, and again when I roast it, and when I spend time tasting winnowed nibs or semi-refined and then finished chocolate. What is the story of this cacao? It is only by understanding the cacao as an amazingly complex individual, and by using scientific theory (from books, peer-reviewed literature) and technical know-how that all the complexity of cacao's flavor can come alive in the mouths of those tasting it. Fine cacao, even from one single estate such as the Sambirano Valley (Madagascar) cacao that I use has a huge story to tell. Each bar is an act, a chapter, just a single movement in a symphony that has a very specific mood and personality to its flavor. The Madagascar series of bars from the 67% and 70% to the 70% w/ Nibs and 75% bar are all ultimately the different movements in this amazingly complex symphony with their unique textures, roast profiles, formulations and thus flavor profiles. Part of what makes this possible, too, is my choice not to use vanilla or other flavorings, or even added cocoa butter if it isn't absolutely necessary. And, for example, in the 67%, where the texture requires cocoa butter, it is house-pressed cocoa butter from the same beans, which means that the voice of this amazing cacao is clearer, easier to hear and appreciate for those who are wanting the rich and pure flavor of cacao unmingled with and unchanged by other aromatic compounds. I am telling an epic story of the cacao with flavor as language in each of my bars, and doing so in a way that is unique here and abroad. DUFF: Talk about the organization you are a part of — the Craft Chocolate Makers of America (CCMA): What kinds of things do you work on together? Why is the organization important? ALAN: The organization is young. We are still working to figure out all of the ways that it can be valuable to new craft chocolate making companies and to those that currently exist such as the five founding members among others, but essentially we are making a space for ourselves. We are saying: "We are chocolate makers, and not chocolatiers, confectioners, or huge-volume chocolate manufacturers." We are saying that "we are the small chocolate makers working from the bean, and we are doing interesting things with extreme care." We needed to create our own place in the world, and give our movement voice and support. I think that it will be a great thing as time goes on. Soon we will be opening up membership to new companies and this will be a huge step and an exciting one. Wish us luck! Note: Check out the CCMA members here DUFF: Why is your company called "Patric Chocolate?" ALAN: My middle name is Patric(k). I thought that it would look better on the label than "McClure Chocolate." I know it's not the most romantic answer, but it's the truth. DUFF: Of all the steps involved in making chocolate, which one keeps you up at night/makes you the most nervous? ALAN: Tempering and molding. Lately we have been on better terms though. DUFF: Other than chocolate, what else are you excited about in the food world? ALAN: Well, I mentioned some of this above, but to add to it: Pork, especially heritage breeds such as Berkshire from Newman Ranch in Missouri; 24-month aged, free range, heritage hams from Newsom's Hams in Kentucky; Jumbo, sticky, almost maple-flavored, Medjool dates from Dateland, Arizona; Slow-smoked Berkshire pork shoulder from BellyUp BBQ in KC, Missouri; Unbelievably flavorful goat cheeses from Goatsbeard Farm in Harrisburg, Missouri; The vast majority of artisanal French cheeses; most blue cheeses; Artisan breads, especially those made with wild cultures; Traditional Mexican cuisines — yes there is an "s" at the end of cuisine here — the likes of which most Americans have never tasted; French cuisines; Italian cuisines; Indian cuisines; Almost any slow food traditions; Home-grown fruits and vegetables; Wood and coal-fired pizzas; Sauces with richly layered flavor; Scotch — especially from Macallan and Aberlour distilleries; Belgian and American beers, but hold the hugely hopped beers please, I want malt; French hard cider; Amazing wines from any country; Skillfully made charcuterie of any kind; Meats and vegetables preserved in other ways, through pickling, confiting or sun-drying for example; Anything written by Jeffery Steingarten; Paul Bertolli's Cooking By Hand; Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz; Ma Cuisine by Fernand Point; any book by Rick Bayless; the science of food and so Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking;" The art of food, and so anyone who thinks about something in new and creative ways and innovates to improve the flavor and experience of food, or conversely, anyone who rescues older ways of doing things, seeing the beauty in them and giving them new life in the modern world. I think that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Want to know more about Alan and Patric Chocolate? Check him out here! Website: Patric-Chocolate.com Blog: patric-chocolate.blogspot.com Facebook: facebook.com/patric.chocolate Twitter: twitter.com/patricchocolate