Bespoke Chocolates, NYC
Bespoke is a little chocolate shop in NYC that opened this past Spring. Its address is 6 Extra Place, shown above (insert joke about invisible store). Chocolatier Rachel Insler does all her production in the little shop and still finds space for some tasteful shelving and a nice sales counter. Rachel and her staff (there were three other people working when I went, including the register) have no tempering machine, but use a big melter and round truffle molds. Everyone was very friendly and open; when I first visited the chocolatier was describing her process to a pack of chocolate fiends.
Bespoke’s chocolate selections are neither strongly traditional nor avant garde. The chocolate shells are relatively thin, but not delicate. The truffles I tried were on the sweet side, and the ganaches’ texture dense but yielding. The overall profile of the ganache will be familiar to the average American: sweet and creamy, with adjuncts of other flavors. This isn’t my favorite style of ganache, but they are well made and fresh.
The seasonal Drunken Pumpkin bonbon is a sweet celebration of Fall. A milk chocolate ganache is heavily spiked with rum and spice. The flavor is very strong in the nose but neither so boozy nor so sweet that it irritates the throat. Graham cracker crumbs cover the outside for a nice textural contrast. Overall this is a very well-executed bonbon, but definitely on the sweet side.
The Espresso Dome is a milk chocolate ganache with a strong coffee flavor. The coffee is neither remarkable nor gross, and it stands up well, complemented by fresh cream that really comes through in this context. I find the sweetness here distracts from the coffee’s natural bitterness, and would have preferred a darker chocolate.
Speaking of dark chocolate, the Hazelnut Praline is a firm gianduja/ganache enrobed in same. The hazelnut character is strong and undiluted, and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from Valrhona’s Gianduja. Sea salt provides a light crunch which works really well, but the piece I had was heavy on salt and left me looking for a glass of water.
Although Bespoke’s chocolates embody a different philosophy from mine, I go out of my way to visit while skipping classics like Maison du Chocolat. It isn’t just that I like small independent businesses (though I do). Bespoke is classy yet unpretentious: the shop, the product, and even the chocolatier are approachable and sincere. They’re living proof that you don’t have to be a haughty artiste to make an outstanding chocolate.
Tags: bonbon, confection, retail