arrow-right cart chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up close menu minus play plus search share user email pinterest facebook instagram snapchat tumblr twitter vimeo youtube subscribe dogecoin dwolla forbrugsforeningen litecoin amazon_payments american_express bitcoin cirrus discover fancy interac jcb master paypal stripe visa diners_club dankort maestro trash

Culinary Chronicles Podcast

Ep 004 | Chocolate Tales and Tasting Notes with Mary Luz Meija


In this episode of the Culinary Chronicles Podcast, Lisa talks with Mary Luz Mejia, a twice NATJA nominated freelance food/travel journalist, Gemini-nominated former food TV producer, and IICCT Level III Certified Chocolate Taster and International Chocolate Awards judge. 


Ep 004 | Chocolate Tales and Tasting Notes with Mary Luz Meija


Subscribe on your favourite media player: 

  • Apple Podcasts logo
  • Spotify logo
  • Google Play logo
  • Iheartradio logo
  • Castbox logo

In this episode of the Culinary Chronicles Podcast, Lisa talks with Mary Luz.

In this episode of the Culinary Chronicles Podcast, Lisa talks with Mary Luz Mejia.  Colombian-born, Canadian-raised Mary Luz is a twice NATJA nominated freelance food/travel journalist, Gemini-nominated former food TV producer, and IICCT Level III Certified Chocolate Taster and International Chocolate Awards judge. Her work has been published in Saveur Magazine, the Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, The Latin Kitchen, Ensemble Vacations, and Toronto Life to name a few. When not organizing the Canadian leg of the International Chocolate Awards, she loves savouring good dark milk or dark chocolate single estate varietal, ideally from Peru with fruit and floral notes. In her books, there's nothing more rewarding than introducing candy lovers to the world of fine chocolate and evangelizing the award-winning work of Canadian bean-to-bar makers.   

 In our conversation, Lisa and Mary talk about;

  • Her interesting career in the food industry as a Certified Chocolate Taster & Educator
  • How to support bean-to-bar makers and why it matters
  • What a chocolate-tasting experience looks like and so much more!

Enjoy the conversation!

**Links mentioned in this episode:**

International Chocolate Awards
 
Bean to Bar Makers in the GTA- beyond Toronto:
SOMA: try their Fruit Bars made with white chocolate- the Raspberry and Mango Lhassi are my faves)
2 shops and a small chocolate factory in Toronto. Bean to bar chocolate, cookies, truffles, gelato, hot chocolate. New creations are always in the works.
 
DWN Craft Chocolate- Orillia Area: (the Old Fashioned Bar Dawn makes is ridiculously good!). 
DWN Craft Chocolatier is a delectable and delightful adventure in chocolate. 

 

Desbarres Chocolate- Uxbridge, ON (their black pepper, cardamom bar is killer, so is their dark chocolate orange). DesBarres Chocolate is a micro-batch manufacturer of single origin bean to bar chocolate.
 
Chachalate - North York/Toronto (His Okanagan Cherry bar is fab, as is his Tanzania dark)
Eat real chocolate. Naturally fruity chocolate made with only two ingredients. Unbelievably fruity, smooth, and delicious. No preservatives, no canola oils, no soy lecithin. Just cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. That's it.
Sirene Chocolate- AWESOME Dark Milk bar- one of my favourites (and the dark milk with cardamom is also wow-worthy):
 
Allo Simmone- Montreal- amazing spreads (forget Nutella- these guys do really beautiful bean-to-bar spreads that will blow your socks off):
 
Chocolate from her tasting class that she hosts at Le Dolci Culinary Classroom:
Qantu, Montreal:
Parce que le chocolat est une histoire d'amour
 
Hummingbird: Almonte, ON
From careful sourcing of quality cacao beans to a deep commitment to the farmers who cultivate the beans, we have great respect for people who make food, from grower to artisan. With much care, we handcraft chocolate from our small workshop in beautiful Almonte, Ontario.
 
Chocosol Traders- Toronto
 
Etat de Choc- Montreal
Achetez local parmi un grand grand choix de tablettes, chocolats chauds, coffrets-cadeau et plus. Abonnement mensuel disponible. Faites-vous plaisir!
Allo Simmone- Montreal- amazing spreads (forget Nutella- these guys do really beautiful bean-to-bar spreads that will blow your socks off):
 
  • Check out Mary Luz’ Hot Chocolate Recipe HERE
    Resources:
    Transcripts for the episode HERE
    Use code PODCAST20 to check out the culinary classes at LeDolci.com HERE


    Special thanks to our sponsors, Juli's Cookie Company and Le Dolci Culinary Classroom.

    Music by Dusty Decks/Dust Till Dawn/www.epidemicsound.com.