Setting the stage for the dish depends on the type of chocolate you’re using, the textures you’ll be using, the consistency of your components, and the temperature—be it savoury or sweet. After all chocolate is a sensory experience that activates all senses. It all starts with what type of chocolate you’ll be using, and how you want that person to feel as they take their first bite. It needs to be a full well-rounded experience and it should not leave you halfway. A higher percentage means more bitter and acidic tastes, and a lower percentage means sweeter and milky. When I’m using dark (70 per cent and above) I would play around with salty, aromatic spices, citrus or infused cream components. For a lower percentage, I would use something fruity, and earthy (tea leaves or caffeine, nuts). Currently, I’m really enjoying working with white chocolate, and its versatility. I avoided it a lot cause it’s just plain sweet. Now, it’s easy to infuse more bold and direct flavours which opens up more opportunities for a chocolate dish.

Chocolate’s magic is most evident in how it transforms a dish. The balance of flavour, texture, and presentation is key to making a chocolate dish exceptional. The quality of chocolate as the foundation is very important. The heart of any great chocolate dish is the chocolate itself. It needs the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness. It is also a celebration of textures, whether silky and smooth, crunchy, or fudgy. Presentation also plays a crucial role in what makes a chocolate dish great. Chocolate has a natural elegance. It is both a treat for the mouth and the eyes, and its presentation should reflect that. Finally, the perfect finish. A great chocolate dish lingers and leaves a lasting impression. 

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You can take many approaches, from a very pastry approach, filled with tempering and pastry, or you can do something savoury. I did four years of research on cacao, to understand this tropical fruit. You need to give value to the cacao itself, to make whichever component you are using, shine. For me, I don’t come from the pastry side of things, I developed dishes with cacao in all its forms, from the fruit’s meat to chocolate too. But always, you need to respect the personality of the chocolate. You can be very creative with cacao.

I personally think that chocolate is one of the most complex ingredients there is. It can be floral, citrusy, fruity, bitter, sweet, smokey, or nutty. A great chocolate dish should be a full-bodied, well-rounded dish. In a savoury dish, I usually use chocolate to round out the flavour of a sauce, to give it a smooth mouthfeel, and to balance out the taste with its citrus or smokey note.

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A crucial element for a great chocolate dish would start with balancing the flavours of a well-made chocolate, then supporting it with various textures. Texture for me is vital for any chocolate dish, as chocolate is deep and intense. Having different textures in a dish always helps carry the flavour. The most crucial element of a great chocolate dish is of course having good chocolate to begin with, using good beans properly fermented with the right notes of acidity. Balancing your chocolate is also very important, then pairing it with something salty, acidic and bitter always brings out more of the essence of chocolate.

The most important thing is the quality of the chocolate: it should be a chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa, but not too much sugar. And you have to know how to combine it with other ingredients that enhance its flavour. For example, chocolate and nuts, or chocolate with citrus fruits. In Catalonia, we use chocolate not only for desserts and sweet dishes, but also used to cook stews and to give them depth and flavour. One of the desserts from my childhood is toasted bread with virgin olive oil, dark chocolate, and sea salt: a simple bite, but with high-quality ingredients, which shows us that sometimes the simplest dishes, but cooked with heart, can be the most delicious.

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A great chocolate dish should be something you wouldn’t want to share with others. Whether it be a decadent chocolate cake, a dark chocolate truffle or a bar of Cadbury fruit and nut, it should spark joy, give you comfort, and leave you satisfied.

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