I am always looking for new food adventures, and I had many great ones throughout the year.  Here is a list of my top 10 food or food-related discoveries of 2009 (in no particular order):

(1) the red pepper velvet cake at Dirt Candy in NYC
(2) the skillet bacon jam from Skillet Street Food in Seattle
(3) the pechiole al tartufo (truffled wild peaches) from Conti Foods in Florence, Italy
(4) the professional cheese knife from Claudine Vigier of La Fromagerie du Comtat in Provence
(5) the amazing tasting menu and setting at La Petraia, a restored working organic farm and agriturismo in Tuscany
(6) the chilaquiles from Primavera at the Saturday morning SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
(7) Cibreo Restaurant in Florence, Italy
(8) The Nibble Bar from Askinosie chocolate, made in Springfield, Missouri using cacao beans from Ecuador
(9) the brussels sprout salad at Bottega Restaurant in Napa Valley
(10) three crushed dried chili peppers from Whole Spice in Oxbow Market in Napa – chili aleppo, chili marash and chili urfa

Perhaps the BEST chocolate in the world is being made by Shawn Askinosie in Springfield, Missouri.  Seriously.  It has become my absolute favorite, and I taste a LOT of chocolate.  

When starting up Askinosie Chocolate, Shawn decided to cut out the middle man and work directly with cacao growers.  This meant getting very hands-on in the bean-selection process – measuring the moisture level of the dried beans, monitoring the temperature of the fermenting beans and tasting and smelling the beans before importing them.  Working directly with the farmers allows Askinosie to pay higher than fair trade wages to the growers.  In addition, Askinosie shares 10% of his profits with the farmers. 

My favorite Askinosie chocolate is the San Jose Del Tambo with cacao nibs.  This chocolate is made with the Arriba National bean from Ecuador.  It has 70% cacao level.  This chocolate is smooth on the tongue and has a wonderful fruitiness on the palette.  I eat three squares each day and use it for taste comparisons.   I use the San Jose Del Tambo without cacao nibs for baking and have never been disappointed.  It is moist and rich and perfect for recipes that call for 70% (bittersweet) chocolate.  In addition to the smaller bars, you can buy it by the kilo – it is less expensive that way. 

Askinosie also makes chocolate from cacao beans grown in Mexico.  They have just added a new product from beans that were grown in The Philippines.  This chocolate is smooth and delicious, as well, but my preference for taste is still the San Jose Del Tambo bar.

You can find Askinosie chocolate in the Bay Area at Bittersweet in San Francisco.  I typically order mine online from the Askinosie website.  It is packaged to remain cool and arrives within a few days.

Askinosie Chocolate
514 E. Commercial Street
Springfield, Missouri  65803
417-862-9900
www.askinosie.com/