Those with discerning tastes and an interest in culinary trends may have noticed an emerging emphasis on comfort food in gourmet circles. Many fine restaurants are now offering gourmet versions of traditional comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese, pizza and even ice cream.
From New York’s famous 21 Club, which serves the ‘21’ Burger, to L.A.’s Spago, which serves Goulash, a traditional comfort food of German heritage, it seems almost no restaurant is without its comfort cuisine. Diners seem to love these simple familiar foods, especially with the additional flair and attention to quality provided by a gourmet chef.
At Norman Love Confections, we have a growing repertoire of sweet comfort food-inspired chocolate confections. Of the 36 signature flavors that make up our core line of chocolate confections, nearly a dozen could be placed in that category. We find these flavors come alive when combined with the finest dark, milk or white gourmet chocolate, from ice cream parlor favorites such as Cookies-n-Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip, Rum Raisin and Butter Pecan to childhood classics such as Cinnamon Roll, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Vanilla Cupcake and Malted Milkshake.
Of course, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without certain comfort foods, which is why our special holiday collections include flavors such as Pumpkin, Candy Cane, Egg Nog and Gingerbread. All the ingredients that go into these confections are handcrafted fresh daily, giving them the authentic just-out-of-the-oven flavor you may have enjoyed at Grandma’s house growing up. However, our artisans use the finest ingredients and finely tuned techniques to transform those childhood treats into bite-sized gourmet delicacies.
Our BLACK sipping chocolate and S’more Love confections are both perfect examples of simple foods made exceptional. The sipping chocolate provides the same comfortable warm flavor of the hot cocoa you craved growing up, yet with an added sophistication as it is created in the great tradition of European-style sipping chocolates. For S’more Love, we transformed the simple treat traditionally enjoyed in campgrounds across America and enhanced it by using fine Swiss milk chocolate and fresh handmade marshmallows and graham crackers. No camp fire necessary.
The next time you dine out see if you can find any comfort-food inspired menu items. What kind of gourmet twist is added? Does the meal succeed in tasting authentic yet elegant?
Finally, what do you think is behind the comfort food trend? We have a few guesses of our own and would be interested to know what you think as well. Please comment!
