Max Brenner, Melbourne

Max Brenner has been a worldwide phenomenon that has managed to escape my attention until recently, as I mistakenly assumed it was too posh to enter. His website seems to either reveal very little or freeze up, so I can only go by wikipedia and my own taste buds for this first review.

Max Brenner as a man doesn’t exist as such, but is rumoured to be an amalgamation of the Israeli chocolate company founders, Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner. With stores established in Israel, Australia, New York, The Philippines and Singapore, this thirteen year old company is winning fans with their hot chocolate, souffle and delicious truffle creations.

The store we visited in Melbourne Central is very dark and inviting and the chocolates on display are like tiny works of art. Vats of melted chocolate are mixed in readiness for drizzling into drinks, desserts and cakes with the smell making it impossible to say, “Oh no thanks I’m not hungry,” and walk out.

We were served by Siwei who showed a real enthusiasm for her job, telling us that she’s also a qualified accountant. “I work here too because I love what we make here. I’ve gained five kilos in as many months so I have to keep jogging,” she laughs.

What is Max Brenner most famous for?
Our hot chocolate in the hug mug. It is what people come in for and they taste divine. People also can’t resist our chocolate souffle or the brownies.

What Max Brenner product are you into right now?
The caramelised pecans dipped in dark chocolate are what I’ve been nibbling. They find really large-sized pecans which go so well with the sweetness of the caramel and dark chocolate. Try some! (We did, and utterly agree with her).

What are your biggest sellers in individual chocolate?
Definitely our dark chocolate and milk chocolate truffles. People are also starting to go for the praline mixed with coconut as well.

When you’re at home on the sofa in your tracksuit pants, what chocolate do you reach for?
I love Koko Black’s truffles, they are like being loved by someone! My flatmate wishes I’d bring home our white chocolate mousse for her. If I’m at the supermarket wanting chocolate, I sometimes go for the Ferrero Rochers. It is surprising that I have a boyfriend who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. He’s happy with the rather dry walnut roll that you can get from Darrell Lea.

What should we try on our next visit?
Definitely our waffles. People make special trips just to get a serve of them.

Well, it was time for us to let Siwei get back to work and have a drink and a souffle. My husband chose their classic hot chocolate with mocha and I went for the kangaroo – a cappucino with an extra lip inside the cup for squares of chocolate to slowly melt into the shape of a roo’s tail:

Unfortunately, I couldn’t wait long enough for the tail to appear because the chocolate drizzled on the froth was so nice that I had to go for the squares as well. Love Chunks wrapped his hands around the hug mug, murmuring, “Ooooh, this is soooo nice, I can see why they’re famous for these.”

Then, our souffle arrived for us to share:

Somehow they managed to create something that was lighter than feather yet as densely rich as a mud cake with the added bonus of a molten, mousse-like centre that was simply unlike anything we’d ever tasted inside a ‘cake’ before. The generous drizzles melted milk chocolate weren’t neglected either – it was fun having a mini-fork fight to ensure that no drop or crumb was left behind. I could finally see why everyone had been saying ‘Oh you MUST go to Max Brenner’ since we’d moved to Melbourne – their hot drinks and desserts any in a class of their own.

And yes of course we left with a selection of their individual chocolate. But those are to try and taste another day…

Candy Canes Choklad Wafers

I went to my local Vietnamese Butcher again yesterday. Which means I got to buy something strange and chocolatey – as you do! Not only do these folks do a very nice Greek Lamb Sausage, but they have a strange selection of foods and snacks from around the world. On the grounds that local can be had almost anywhere (not true but it makes a good story), I had to try “Wafers Choklad”.

It is however, a little disconcerting to find these manufactured by “The Candy Canes Company” – I’m sorry but a name like that does put one orf slightly. They turn out to be made by “EVROPA Chocolates, Wafers And Candy Factory”, in Skopje, Macedonia (which I remember as part of what used to be Yugoslavia).

But anyhow – Chocolate wafers – when I was a kid and mum used to buy them, and they would disappear in no time. With hindsight there was never anything very special about them, perhaps it was just the sweetness and layer of stuff inside that was attractive. With this pack at under $2, and a change from a local brand, and with choklad, how could I go past? Perfect to go with my large industrial size mug of tea. Or so I thought.

As you can see from a quick picking apart, we get a pretty thin layer of chocolatey stuff inside the crispy wafery thingies. The ingredients lists cocoa powder (but not how much), along with various hydrogenated vegetable oils, amongst others. Not inspiring. And not much of it.

The taste test has the same outcome as many other wafers. Sweet, sweet and sweet. Not much chocolate here. Fine if you like sweet. Not good, not bad, not memorable either. I’d rather have a Tim Tam.

Seeing as these are exported (going by the back label) all over the world – treat this as a warning. Cheap and cheerful, but not chocolatey.

Trader Joe’s French Truffles

I thought these might be like a different box of truffles I came across once, but they’re not quite what I expected. Trader Joe’s does have some good prices and quality in their stores, so these are also inexpensive for a good quantity, with 60 pieces or 500 grams inside the red box.

The “truffles” do have a cocoa powder dusting, but they’re all pinched straight on top, which hurts their looks some. They’re a little precarious to hold, seeming set on melting all over your fingers if you touch them for even the briefest moment, but that just means you have to eat them faster. The chocolate is smooth and cool and creamy and chocolatey and sweet. It doesn’t have all those nice subtle flavors and melts pretty quickly, but it isn’t bad. Almost reminds of Dove chocolate in a way. The taste of the cocoa powder seems to save it from being too much like a chocolate syrup.

So. . . what can I say? “Truffles” is not the right word to use here, but they’re edible and plentiful and even very appealing. Just ignore the “Imported from France” label on four of the box’s six sides. It doesn’t say anything special about these average above-average chocolates.

Chocophile: Davina McCall

Yes it’s Chocophile time again! Today we’ve dusted off our oversized comfy chair and aimed our surveillance cameras squarely at Big Brother host Davina McCall.

Let’s see how she likes it….

Chocophile:

Davina McCall

Occupation:

TV Presenter

Interrogation Begins:

Milk, dark or white:

Milk!

Favourite childhood chocolate:

Bounty bar

Fruit or nut:

Fruit

Crunchy or chewy:

Crunchy…

Your guilty chocolate pleasure:

Galaxy

Average chocolate consumption:

Three times a week

Give or receive:

Give

Least favourite chocolate:

Anything posh!

Top Chocolate Tip:

Suck it…

We terminated this particular interrogation after that last answer before the subject could elaborate on exactly how we should suck it.

Following in-depth analysis of Ms. McCall’s answers (particularly her dislike of ‘anything posh’), we belive she may be a suitable candidate for our new and highly experimental CRT (Chocolate Realignment Therapy) treatment – which involves being fed delicious Paul A. Young truffles by… well, by me actually.