There was a time when premium chocolate was considered an extravagance, a seductive treat we allowed ourselves to indulge in only on special occasions. But over the last few years, gourmet-quality chocolate has crossed over into the consumer mainstream and is now enjoying unprecedented popularity. Premium chocolate sales reached $3 billion in the U.S. last year, a 17.3 percent increase since 2006, and 200 percent increase since 2003, according to a report by market-research company Packaged Facts. What’s more, sales of upscale chocolates are expected to advance at a rate more than five times that of chocolate overall by 2012. By comparison conventional chocolate has only grown by 4 percent since 2003.
“Chocolate is an affordable indulgence,” says Jason Katzman, head of bakery for Sara Lee Foodservice. “Its small size allows you to have a luxury experience but at a value standpoint.”
There’s also the comfort factor. “Chocolate is a decadent treat, a way to escape the economy,” says Maria Caranfa, director of menu insights at Mintel, a market-research company.
Much of the consumer interest in premium chocolate can also be attributed to the public’s growing awareness of cocoa’s health benefits, especially dark chocolate, which contains higher amounts of cocoa. “The science behind food is driving this trend,” Caranfa says. Cocoa contains far more antioxidants than any other food; in fact, a cup of cocoa has twice as many antioxidants as a cup of red wine.
Add to this the fact that high-end chocolate has become much more readily available to the masses, making its way to shelves at food and drug stores. “You can even go to Costco warehouse stores and find high-end chocolate, proof that there’s a demand out there for high quality,” says Jill Jackson, owner of Dessert Alert, a gourmet confection business based in Los Angeles.
But can the consumer demand translate into restaurant profits? Experts say yes, especially if restaurant owners tap into the latest trends when creating new chocolate desserts for their menus.
Sweet Inspiration
Restaurateurs have devised creative ways to capitalize on the chocolate craze.
One way, says Caranfa of Mintel, is to pile on the chocolate. “It’s about mixing different types of chocolate together—not a chocolate overload, per se, but a chocolate explosion.”
Some restaurants have taken to calling out the percentage of cocoa included in the chocolate dessert on the menu. Elizabeth on 37th in Savannah, Georgia, features a Triple Chocolate Cake, a dark chocolate cake with chunks of chocolate, iced with chocolate and served with chocolate sauce. TWO in San Francisco has a TWO Chocolates Mousse Cake made of semi-sweet and milk-chocolate mousses, devil’s food cake, and caramel Rice Krispies. The last four desserts launched by Sara Lee focused on chocolate, Katzman of Sara Lee says, including the company’s Nuts About Chocolate pre-sliced pie.
Another trend confectioners are sweet on is pairings: salty and sweet, sweet and spicy. “Think about chocolate pairings the same way you think about wines,” says Katzman, who suggests pairing something tangy with a sweet chocolate. It’s the balance of tradition and innovation that people find intriguing.
While chocolate is still the predominant flavor, Caranfa says, restaurants are experimenting with things like florals, spices, salted nuts, even smoked ingredients to pair with chocolate. The Border Grill chain, for example, uses spicy pecans as a garnish for its Aztec Chocolate Cake. Janos Restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, has a Warm Chocolate Mole Cake among its dessert offerings, served with mint syrup, ancho caramel sauce, and pepita brittle. And the Beacon Restaurant and Bar in New York City features a Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake with ganache and smoked vanilla ice cream.
Jill Jackson of Dessert Alert says she’s seen everything from chili powder and rosemary to garlic and even saffron combined with chocolate. And while she thinks it’s all amazing, she notes that herbs and spices should be handled with care. When herbs and spices are heated, aromas are enhanced, so you have to watch the ratios. “Chocolate absorbs every flavor dramatically, so you have to be careful what you use and how much of it,” she says. “A pinch of this or a dash of that can be plenty.”
But you don’t have to be quite this adventurous to tap into the chocolate trend.
Many restaurants are finding success by putting a fresh spin on traditional favorites. The molten chocolate cake, for example, is one familiar dessert that keeps getting reinvented in delectable ways as restaurants play with flavors. Chili’s features a White Chocolate Molten Cake. It has white chocolate cake with a warm white chocolate filling, raspberry sauce, and white chocolate curls, topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy white chocolate shell.