Chocolate mousse is one of the most popular desserts in France. You’ll find it on bistrot menus, in cafeterias, and on the face of many young gourmands. Most French home cooks follow the recipe printed on the back of the 200g bar of Nestle baking chocolate, which calls 7 oz of 52% dark chocolate and 6 eggs.

Now that I live in the US, I make it with 6 oz of 70% chocolate for a deeper, richer chocolate flavor. I usually use 2 bars of BOHO Chocolate’s 70% Ghana ABOCFA bars, which lend the mousse a classic fudgy flavor. You’ll find the 2-bar bundle on the 37 Chocolates e-shop, which ships with the printed recipe.

Making mousse is easy if you make sure to bring your eggs to room temperature beforehand. Otherwise, the chocolate will harden and you’ll have to start over. The recipe below can easily be halved, if desired.

FRENCH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Note: the eggs in this recipe aren’t cooked, which can expose you to salmonella. Daniel Haran of Chocolats Monarque recommends sing an immersion circulator to sterilize your eggs.

Ingredients for 6 people

• 6 ounces of 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 6 large eggs, brought to room temperature, separated

Instructions

1. Start by melting your chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If using a microwave, put the chocolate in a large bowl and let it melt in 30-second increments. Stir well after each cooking cycle and be careful not to burn the chocolate. Set aside.
2. While the chocolate is cooling, separate the eggs. Place the whites in a medium bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
4. Combine the egg yolks one by one to the melted chocolate.
5. With a spatula, mix ⅓ of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold the remaining with a spatula, one cup at a time.
6. Divide the mousse into 6 cups or ramekins and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

When I started this blog in 2016, my goal was to introduce you to my favorite chocolate-makers through a series of interviews. Looking back at the blog archives, it’s bittersweet to see that most people I interviewed have closed shop. Acalli Chocolate? Gone. Dulcinea Chocolate? A memory. Batch Craft? An ephemeral beauty.

A few weeks ago, Will Marx officially announced the closure of Wm Chocolate in Madison, Wisconsin. As a chocolate-lover, I’ll miss Will’s bars — his Belize is one of my top 10 dark chocolate of all times — as well as his thoughtful approach to crafting.

I was curious about the motivations behind his decisions, so I invited him to answer a few questions here. I really appreciate Will’s vulnerability in his responses and hope it will help appreciate the work it takes to run a chocolate company.

When we last spoke in 2021, you were a chocolate-maker based in Madison, Wisconsin. Who and where are you today?

I’m still in Madison, working full-time as a web developer.

Your company Wm Chocolate went through several iterations. In the early days, you offered a whole range of single origin dark chocolate. During the pandemic, you narrowed your focus to a few bars, all made with Dominican cacao. What prompted that change?

The decision was based on years of observing chocolate consumers combined with my evolving views of what progress in the chocolate industry should look like. On the consumer side, there aren’t enough people who are willing to regularly pay a premium for the origin factor. At this point, origin-driven differences remain a curiosity, best delivered through occasional experiences, rather than something consumers spend money on regularly. Despite my personal interests, from a business standpoint, it did not make sense to continue spending significant extra resources producing a diverse lineup of origin bars that few people valued. I simply distilled the bars that people liked best into fewer products that cost me less to make, and then sold the results at a lower price, hoping to increase scale.

Having been liberated of any commercial reasons to source raw cacao globally, I was free to focus on doing what seemed best for origin economies and the environment. Sourcing cacao mass from as close to home as possible (hence, the DR) grew out of this newfound freedom.

Wm stood out by its decision in 2021 to import cacao mass vs. cacao beans imported from origin. Can you elaborate on that? 

There are about a dozen reasons why it’s a better approach. It is more equitable because more of the product’s value is added at origin. Costs are lower because there is no waste to ship–mass is extremely dense and fully usable, unlike raw cacao. Emissions are lower for the same reason. Quality is better because mass is much easier to protect during transit compared to raw cacao. My needs for labor and equipment were greatly reduced, allowing me to focus on time and money on growing the business through sales and marketing efforts. The list goes on.

Even though I did not continue the business, the switch was absolutely the right move and made it better by every measure.

From the outside, it seems your company was thriving and doing well. What drove your decision to close Wm?

On the inside, it was always a difficult business. It only continued for so long because I was extremely stubborn and passionate. I wanted to make relatively unadorned dark chocolate bars from extremely thoughtfully sourced ingredients. It turned out that despite my different approaches, and despite what the casual observer may think, the market for dark chocolate bars is quite limited. Without going into too much market detail, there was just nowhere to grow with the bars. Growth would have required adding many products I was not interested in making: perishable chocolates, coffee shop offerings, and the like. Rather than take new risks on products I didn’t want to offer, I stepped away.

How do you personally feel about the end of the Wm. journey?

I’m proud of having made it as far as I did without compromising, enriched by the many lessons I learned, and appreciative of the producers and customers I worked with over the years. At the same time, it was such a struggle that it’s an easy goodbye.

Looking back at your entrepreneurship journey, what do you wish you’d knew when you started? What advice would you have for a new maker? 

As many have said before me, if I knew then what I know now, I would never have started. In my case the specific reason for that is simply that you can’t have a successful business making bars alone, which is all I ever wanted to do. Hence, my advice for other makers is to figure out if they are willing and able to diversify their offerings beyond bars. I would even go so far as to say “forget about bars” when it comes to revenue, because the potential there is just so small relative to what you need to have a stable business.

I’m curious, will you still make chocolate as a hobby or will you buy chocolate for your own consumption?

I have a couple years worth of extra chocolate to eat first, and won’t be making any acquisitions until it’s all gone!

You always stood out as a maker who asked the right questions vs. seeking answers. What’s a question you have for the craft chocolate industry? 

How are we going to transfer a bigger piece of the pie to cacao-growing countries? Buying raw materials is never going to make much of a difference, no matter how much extra we pay for quality. We need to help origin economies capture more of the value added to raw cacao so that they grow stronger at large and can help their farmers weather changes in climate, farming technology, and beyond.

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If you’ve gotten into craft chocolate during the pandemic, now’s the time to meet your people at a chocolate festival. Whether you get a ticket for the Salon du Chocolat in Paris or the Northwest Chocolate in Seattle, you’ll be surrounded by chocoholics like you who’ll geek out on cacao origins and percentages. You’ll get to share bars with nerdy Instagram friends, and fill up the chocolate stash for the rest of the year.

Attending a chocolate festival for the first time however can be an intimidating experience. I remember how overwhelmed I was at the first DC Chocolate Festival back in 2016 (all these samples! all these people!), so much that I regretted half of the purchases I made that day.

The following year, I was determined to make the experience better, so I relied on Barbie Van Horn’s advice on her blog, Finding Fine Chocolate to plan for the event.

Barbie is an experienced, yet approachable, chocolate educator, who provides a wealth of advice on palate training on her blog. I’d saved her top 5 tips for Chocolate Events and Salons, which I am pleased to say helped me make the most of every chocolate festival since 2017. You be the judge.

Before the Event: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Barbie’s tip #1: Plan to meet up with people you don’t want to miss well ahead the chocolate event.

The month leading up to the second DC Chocolate Festival, I made plans to meet with my friend Adrienne Henson, a chocolate personal shopper based in New York City. This year, I’ve convinced Shirley Lum, a certified chocolate judged, to book a plane ticket from Toronto so she could be at the French Embassy in DC for the festival (what can I say? I have good persuasive skills.) We ended up swapping bars with colleagues way until after the sun set. It was awesome.

Barbie’s tip #2: Schedule classes and presentations with vibrating reminders in your calendar.

In addition to help you deepen your understanding of chocolate, classes provide a welcome respite from the bustle of a festival. The day before the event, I review the class schedule online and usually look for the “Bean-to-Bar” presentation by Potomac Chocolate’s charismatic founder Ben Rasmussen and any other classes from respected people in the cacao & chocolate industry like Dr. Martin of The Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute or Emily Stone of Uncommon Cacao.

Barbie’s tip #3: Assemble lists for your own inventory and chocolate gifts for others before the event.

I won’t leave the house without a chocolate checklist or else I’ll blow a small fortune on bonbons, truffles, and bars. Because I usually buy most of my bars locally, this year’s list only included bars from makers I cannot find at the local coffee shop, such as Mademoiselle Miel from Saint Paul, Minnesota (I love her tahini dark chocolate) and Sleep Walk Chocolateria from Chicago (Jägermeister chocolate, anyone?).

My tip: If you are new to the world of craft chocolate, research makers on a review site like Choco Files, Finding Fine Chocolate, Opening Chocolate’s YouTube channel, or the C-Spot.

Before heading to the event, make sure to have a good, protein-rich breakfast (this will reduce your cravings for sugar). Next, here’s a small checklist I recommend you run before leaving:

• A reusable cup to fill with water for palate cleansing purposes.
• A reusable shopping bag.
• Cash to help makers keep all the profits of the sales.

Wear your most comfortable shoes and leave early to avoid lines.

During the Event: Eat, Learn, Buy, Repeat

The festival will likely take place in a large venue. Before you start nibbling at the free chocolate, take a brief tour of the hall, take it all in, and only then start sampling.

Barbie’s tip #4: Protect your palate with intentional tasting and lots of water. Don’t overwhelm your palate.

If the idea of free chocolate samples is appealing at first, it won’t after your 10th sample of 70% spicy dark chocolate. So don’t rush into your tastings; drink a lot of water to help cleanse your palate between samples. Next, unless a bar blows you away, take your time to buy.

To avoid buyer remorse, here’s my technique: sample chocolate at each booth, go for a short walk, attend a class, and let impressions of each bar sift through your mind. After the class, you’ll have forgotten about some bars but some will be calling your name: go ahead and buy them. Although this shopping technique takes more time (you’ll stay in line twice), it helps you focus on the bars you absolutely love.

Over the years, I admit to having stopped sampling altogether. I now buy chocolate based on intuition and let myself discover the flavors at home. The tactic is unconventional, but it works for me.

Barbie’s tip #5: Meet the chocolate makers with gratitude, get to know them and follow online for future updates.

Say “thank you” to exhibitors — for coming to the festival, for the free samples, and for the time to talk to you about their bars. Makers take time away from production to meet YOU and we should be grateful for the opportunity to learn more about their work.

Next, if you are active on social media, make sure to introduce yourself, exchange Instagram handles and email addresses with makers. A business card may come in handy if you’d like to interview a maker or need to order more bars. Which brings me to…

After the Event: Stay Connected

Once you’re back home, upload your best pictures and videos on social media, thank the festival organizers, thank Barbie, and email the people with whom you connected at the event. Find a quiet spot and start working your way through your stash… until the next festival.

ETA: read my tips to prepare for the Northwest Chocolate Festival here.

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Summer is a slow season for us in chocolate and, after 2 years of business reinvention and hosting over 300 online chocolate tastings, I’m looking forward to a REAL vacation with my family starting this Thursday.

My vision for this time away is simple — I want everyday to feel like a Saturday. I’m looking forward to drinking coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, and tasting lots of new chocolate before dinner. During this time away, I’ll take a break from posting on social media but will be checking email daily.

I’ll resume hosting private tastings in July and ticketed events in September. The 37 Chocolates shop with be closed from this Wednesday, June 8, to Wednesday, July 6. If you’d like to stock up on some bars for the summer, I recommend you do that now! You don’t want to miss the oat and coconut crunch of Hogarth Chocolate’s new Anzac bar.

June is also a good time to read about chocolate, explore new chocolate shops, and catch up on Netflix shows. Here are some links for you to enjoy:

• How to store chocolate during summer
• A modern chocolate-lover’s guide to Philadelphia 
• The 37 Chocolates guide to Paris – part 1
• The 37 Chocolates guide to Paris – part 2
• 2022 DC Chocolate Festival recap
• My top 5 books for new chocolate enthusiasts

Recently, I fell head over heels for The 7 Lives of Lea, a French Netflix mini-series about a teenager traveling back in time every night to save a teenage boy’s life. You’ll love the story as much as the breathtaking setting.

Please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter to be notified of blog updates and upcoming ticketed chocolate tastings, which I no longer post about here! For corporate and private tastings, please fill out this form and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

Confession: I envy people with a clear, recognizable job title. Ever since I started hosting chocolate tastings in 2016, I’ve struggled to coin the right term for my work. Chocolate blogger? That felt too limiting. Chocolate lover? Too personal. Chocolate educator? That was more like it. For a couple of years, I thus referred to myself as a chocolate educator.

After hosting my first wine & chocolate pairing events, however, I realized my colleague Sophia Rea of Projet Chocolat in Nashville called herself a chocolate sommelier. That sounded fancy. Could this be better-suited descriptor for my work? To answer this questions, I decided to research the meaning of the word “sommelier.”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a sommelier is “a waiter in a restaurant who has charge of wines and their service : a wine steward.” Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need a certification to be a sommelier, though you can pursue one with the Court of Masters Sommeliers. For a deeper dive on the topic, check out Wine Folly’s detailed post on various wine sommelier levels.

As a wine steward, a sommelier works in a hospitality setting, like in a restaurant or a wine bar. In her book Cork Dork, author Bianca Bosker explains that a good sommelier should do more than pairing food and wine, they need to have solid people skills as well. Reading a table, listening to customers, and being receptive to potential dynamics at play at a table (someone may be able to impress their date!) are all important parts of a sommelier’s job.

This short foray into the wine world convinced me to start calling myself a chocolate sommelier. After all, whether I’m hosting an in-person wine & chocolate pairing or hosting an online chocolate tasting, I take great care in selecting bars or bonbons for each event. I strive to look for products that will expand a group’s chocolate horizon, while staying respectful of every attendee’s palate since some people, like my husband, will never like dark chocolate*. I also feel comfortable suggesting pairings to maximize your enjoyment of chocolate, because some bars will taste better when paired with wine, fruit, or tea.

This laser focus on the guest’s enjoyment is, in my experience, what sets a chocolate sommelier apart from a chocolate educator. So, while some of my peers may have an official a chocolate taster certificate with the International Institute of Cacao and Chocolate, I believe they need to be in a position of service to claim the “chocolate sommelier” title.

* Every single person perceives taste differently and I highly recommend attending Dr. Jessica Henderson’s chocolate tasting on the topic on September 25.

Please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings. For corporate and private tastings, please fill out this form and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours.