Product details:
Frédéric Bau, executive chef and director of Valrhona's Ecole du Grand Chocolat, created Dulcey by mistake during a pastry chef demonstration. He accidentally left white chocolate in a bain marie for around 10 hours by which time the chocolate had turned blonde and smelled of shortbread, caramelized milk and unrefined sugar.
After being surprised by the taste of the product he set about recreating it and attempting to reproduce it on a larger scale. It took eight years to perfect the recipe but is set to be launched in the UK later this month.
The 32 per cent cocoa solid couverture chocolate has a unique blonde colour, 'intense biscuity notes', a light sugar taste with a hint of salt and a creamy texture.
The manufacturer recommends pastry chefs use Dulcey for moulding and making patisserie or bonbon ganache. The product pairs particularly well with caramel, coffee and hazelnut as well as yellow, mildly acidic fruits such as mangos, bananas and apricots.
USP:
Valrhona describes the product as being the first of its kind with a totally unique flavour.
Price:
An 85gr bar will retail at £4.50 while a 3kg pack of Dulcey blond chocolate beans costs £40.44 for foodservice buyers.
Availability:
Dulcey couverture will be available direct from Classic Fine Foods from 12 September although the supplier is already accepting pre-orders from pastry chefs, restaurants and hotels.
Why should you buy it?
A spokesperson for Valrhona said: "This new family of high-quality chocolate, with its unique flavour and ideal texture, is produced using carefully selected ingredients that are conched in a way we never dreamed of.
Dulcey is the fourth chocolate, opening up a new world to pastry chefs, chocolatiers and gourmets in gastronomy and the world over. First there was dark, milk and white – now, there is blonde."
More information: