Fine European Chocolates by Paulene Chocolats Suisses

If life were a box of chocolates and the box of chocolates is this pretty, then perhaps the world would be a happier place. While life will always involve encountering unsavory characters and navigating through unpleasant experiences, I feel much better knowing that during a bad day, I can buy a pretty box of chocolates like this at a price that I don’t mind paying for.

Last night’s epicurean adventures were spent at Cuillere in Serendra, where I got to try one of the finest European chocolates available in the Philippines – Paulene Chocolats Suisses. I don’t have a long list of culinary credentials to back up that statement, but after learning about the chocolate-making process from Paulene herself, I realized that the box I have is no ordinary box of chocolates from Duty Free. These are made from the finest chocolate imported from Switzerland and molded to perfection by Paulene and her pastry chef, Arnel. Paulene Chocolats Suisses is a new brand – it was only made officially available to the public in December 2009. Even with their combined experiences in the food industry and education abroad (Paulene went to culinary school in Paris while Arnel was educated at Chicago), it took the pair almost a year to perfect their ganache, truffles, and pralines.

If you think that creating chocolate is as simple as throwing in the flavors you like and boiling it in a pot, think again. Chocolate is one of the hardest pastries to do well. It’s so difficult, Arnel confessed that chocolate-making was one of his least favorite subjects in culinary school. Although the finished product is incredibly rewarding once you eventually achieve it, it takes weeks of trial and error to come up with the perfect recipe that will satisfy your seasoned taste buds. For one thing, chocolate is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. Even if it is being formulated in an air-conditioned room, a sudden downpour can ruin the recipe because the weather change outside will alter the humidity in the room. The quality of the finished product also depends on the ingredients you put in; the wrong brand of cream or the use of vegetable oil can transform a good European chocolate into what Paulene calls “supermarket chocolate.” Paulene Swiss chocolates do not contain vegetable oil or powdered milk; they are all made from imported ingredients that meet Paulene’s Parisian standards. And every single chocolate is handmade by Paulene and Arnel. Chocolate-making is such a fine craft that she has yet to find an apprentice who can make the chocolate without her supervision.

Like wine, chocolate is best appreciated if you taste it from light to dark. Although Paulene’s chocolates have all the same smooth texture, consistency, and overall excellent quality, chocolate preference is a very individual thing. I’m sure not everyone will agree with me when I say that the best flavors are so and so. I suppose you’ll just have to try out the chocolate yourself to discover which ones you like best!

The first chocolate served was the ganache, a combination of chocolate and cream. Paulene’s ganache comes in six flavors – dark (P495), white (P495), milk (P495), gianduja (P525), orange liqueur (P525), and grand cru (P575). I’m a white chocolate fiend so I eagerly tried this one out; it was thick and lusciously creamy, but not cloyingly sweet like the supermarket variety that I’m used to. I very nearly refused the orange liqueur ganache because because to me, there is no worst combination than orange and chocolate. To my surprise, I found myself actually liking it. Unlike most orange chocolates, which taste as if they were made of orange peel, this one tasted like a sweet ripe orange fruit in milk chocolate form. I still wouldn’t buy a box of orange flavored chocolate, but the orange liqueur ganache is a must-try if you enjoy this particular combination. After I tasted everything, I decided that gianduja was my favorite of the bunch. It’s a creamy milk chocolate with a subtle hint of hazelnut. Get this if you want something a little more interesting than the milk chocolate.

Next were the chocolate truffles, which cost P595 for a box of 12. They come in 12 flavors: white, milk, dark, orange, cashew nut, coffee, peanut butter, pistachio, gianduja, amaretto, macadamia, and grand cru. I didn’t spend too much time with the truffles because I had my eye on the exquisitely-decorated pralines, but I did try the amaretto and coffee. I expected the amaretto truffle to have a strong alcohol flavor, but it tasted just like gianduja (or perhaps I got gianduja by mistake). I loved the coffee truffle though; it had the unmistakable essence of roasted coffee beans enclosed within its nutty exterior.

Finally, there were the pralines. Ah, the pralines. They looked too pretty to eat, but I was finally convinced to take a bite when I told what flavors they came in. There are 13 praline flavors, but I only remember orange, raspberry, banana, apple pie, mint, Earl Gray tea, and strawberry. I like my mint chocolate to have a strong mint taste, but the flavor of the alcohol used in the praline was overpowered the mint’s cooling effect. The Earl Gray tea praline is something I wouldn’t mind waking up to in the morning; it has a very clean, refreshing taste that blended perfectly with the milk chocolate exterior. I love eating banana with chocolate icing, and the banana praline was like a little tropical paradise in my mouth. I decided it was my favorite praline, until I tried the apple pie. Paulene said that they were trying to go for an apple flavor but decided to call it “apple pie” because the finished product had a very distinct cinnamon flavor. I loved that cinnamon kick of this particular praline; it’s something I’ve never had in a piece of chocolate before and I would love to have it again. The raspberry praline was the sweetest and most flavorful of the three fruity pralines I tried, and it had a lovely pink center to match its ornate pink-and-brown exterior. These three pralines are my favorite of the bunch, but maybe not for long – Arnel says they’re working on several more flavors to be released later this year.

It’s a good thing we decided to taste the chocolate before having our dinner; otherwise, I don’t think I would have been able to appreciate the chocolate as much as I did. This was my first time to eat at Cuillere, which Paulene founded two years ago, and I was very happy with my beouf bourguignonne (P495) – bourbon beef stew served with a side of the softest mashed potatoes I have ever had.

My boyfriend got the Baked Cream Dory with Ratatouille Sauce (P345), which was wrapped in wax paper to keep the juices from escaping. This would have been my second choice if the beouf bourguignonne were not available, and I’m glad my boyfriend chose to get it. Cream dory is my favorite fish because its flesh is so light and fluffy, and I loved the tangy tinge of lemon on the fish.

It was a real treat to try Paulene Chocolats Suisses and experience the taste, aroma, and feel of real European chocolates. Although ordinary supermarket chocolate is enough to alleviate the nastiest bout of PMS, these chocolates are more than just desserts to be consumed during a bad day. They’re candy for the soul that are best appreciated if you engage all your senses. Appreciate the design, break a piece in half and inhale its sweet, creamy aroma. And when you finally pop a chocolate piece in your mouth and let it melt on your tongue, it’s pure chocolate heaven where nothing but your sense of taste matters. If only life were a box of chocolates indeed.

You can get a box of Paulene Chocolats Suisses at:
Culliere (Serendra, Bonifacio High Street)
Santis (Yakal, Forbes, and Rockwell)
The Blue Kitchen (6th level Shangri-la Mall, basement Power Plant Mall)

Email: info@pauelenchocolats.com
Website: www.paulenechocolats.com