World chocolate leader, GODIVA, launched a brand new line of chocolates just in the time for the Chinese New Year on January 31st. Since this is the Year of the Horse, the new chocolates pay homage to their Lady Godiva heritage and horse logo. In honor of this new initiative, GODIVA invited a select group to their corporate headquarters in New York to be the first to try the new trio.
Michelle Chen, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for GODIVA North America, was on hand to unveil the new additions. She shared with attendees that this is also GODIVA’s 88th anniversary, which is a number that is considered “auspicious” in Asian culture. She introduced David Funaro, Global Senior Chef Chocolatier at GODIVA Chocolatier Worldwide, who was present to give us insight on the three new chocolate profiles, which vary greatly from their usual flavors.
We began the chocolate tasting by being instructed by Chef Funaro to taste the chocolate from dark to light, which is the opposite of a usual chocolate tasting. He taught the room how to taste chocolate properly, including the discipline of letting the chocolate melt in your mouth. He also gave us insight that the flavors that were chose were because they are “reflective of foods commonly eaten during the holiday, that are symbolic of ‘luck’ and ‘unity’ in Asian culture.”
The flight began with the Dark Carmel Pear, with the crunch caramel pear ganache interior. Each chocolate had a different origin and this one was comprised of Venezuelan milk chocolate and Santo Domingo dark chocolate.
We then moved onto most of the room’s favorite, the Milk Cherry Almond, which was filled with crunch almond praline, sour cherry and a hint of honey, with a composition with Vanatu-origin milk chocolate.
Lastly, we ended with the White Pineapple Macadamia. The flavor definitely had a “wow” factor to it. The Dominican Republic white chocolate was filled with nutty macadamia cream and fruity pineapple ganache.
As if we weren’t full enough yet on our chocolate tasting and GODIVA liquor cocktails, we were able to sample other decadent chocolates and GODIVA ice cream, which is currently being tested out in certain markets. Availability will be more widespread in GODIVA stores by summer.
The limited edition gift boxes for the Lunar New Year, combine the new creations with classic Godiva favorites and can be purchased here. The prices range from $50.00 for a 20 piece box and $120.00 for the 32 piece version.
– Stephanie Carino
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