Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2019 (1)

Chocolate

sauce

p 81

David Matthews, senior editor;

Hakuba, Japan

Fifty centimetres of overnight snowfall

in Hakuba means first tracks at any of the

resort’s 10 zones. Cutting up the powder,

of course, comes first, photos second.

@matthematical_

Where we’ve been

about the pleasure of eating and

drinking chocolate, a fine line between

indulgence and abandon. Regardless,

consumption has skyrocketed since

the first modern chocolate bars were

poured in the mid-1800s and neither

price nor health consciousness have

dimmed our desire. And now with the

rise of artisanal chocolate makers and

enterprises that promote sustainable

cocoa farming and harvesting, there’s

even less to feel guilty about.

Indulge, and enjoy,

[email protected] // FOLLOW@GOURMETTRAVELLER // ONLINEGOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU

I

s there such a thing as too much

chocolate? We don’t think so,

though theGourmet Traveller

team has been looking at the

world this past month through

cocoa-coloured glasses. Like the best

bars and bonbons (see our extensively

tested buyer’s guide), our chocolate

issue is rich and well-tempered,

featuring chocolate sauce and

mousse, cookies and Kugelhopf,

and a masterclass in salted caramel,

chocolate’s perfect partner in crime.

And we head back to the bean at

Haigh’s, the Adelaide factory making

chocolate since 1915. (Fun fact: they

produce 14 million chocolate speckles

a year – but who’s counting).

All this talk of cocoa butter and

couverture got me thinking about the

changing nature of indulgence. The

ancient Maya and Aztecs believed the

cocoa bean had magical, even divine,

properties and for centuries they were

valuable enough to be used as currency.

There has long been a whiff of guilt

Harriet Davidson, editorial

coordinator; Cottage Point, NSW

This was theGTteam’s “view from the

office” when we headed off on a road

trip to film a series of videos featuring

the new Mazda [email protected]

Helen Anderson, travel editor;

Antarctic Peninsula

Every moment on an Antarctic voyage

(in this case aboard Ponant’sLe Soléal)

is precious – every whale breach, every

penguin parade, every iceberg awesome,

in the true sense of that overused

word.@handersonglobal

PHOTOGRAPHY TARA BENNETT (COTTAGE POINT), ROB SHAW (PORTRAIT) & ALICIA TAYLOR (CHOCOLATE SAUCE).

GOURMET TRAVELLER 13

Editor’s letter