Pinder was recently inspired by a trip to Italy to create a new
line of artisanal chocolates - Donna Toscana - which take advantage
of some rather unusual but delicious and delicate marriages of
flavors; there's the more traditional flavors like coffee and
hazelnut but others sound as if plucked from a trattoria menu: olive
oil and sea salt, balsamic vinegar, blood orange, and "drunken
plum."
Pinder uses only the best chocolate from South America and Belgium.
My favorite flavors in the Tuscan line are the balsamic - with the
vinegar lending just a tender "bite" to the mellow chocolate. The
sea salt and olive oil was the creamiest truffle I have ever eaten.
Proceeds from the annual Taste of the Nation event benefit local
organizations that fight hunger including in recent years the Isles
Community Gardens program, HomeFront, Mercer Street Friends Food
Bank, and the Foodbank of South Jersey. Last year the event raised
over $52,000 for Mercer County organizations.
According to statistics provided by Share Our Strength, there are
over 272,000 children at risk of hunger in New Jersey alone; that's
more than one in every 10 children in the state. More than 300,000
kids qualify for summer meals but don't receive them, and 207,088
children are elegible for but do not receive free or reduced-price
school breakfast, often because parents, educators, and community
activists are unaware that such programs exist. In other cases,
children feel stigmatized by taking part in a free meal program and
opt for cheap junk food or no food at all.
Attendees at this year's Taste of the Nation event will be able to
sample not only Pinder's Tuscan chocolates but also offerings from
dozens of area chefs including three restaurants so new to the area
that they have not yet opened: On the Bone and Ruth's Chris, both
steakhouses, which are in construction along Route One, and Eno
Terra, the latest offering from the Terra Momo Restaurant Group (Mediterra,
Theresa's, and the Witherspoon Bread Company), now under
construction in Kingston. All three are scheduled to open in late
spring or early summer.
Along with the tasting opportunities, the gala will feature a silent
auction. One special auction item this year is an opportunity to
spend a day working with Chef David Burke, national spokesperson for
Taste of the Nation, at his New York headquarters, as well as dinner
for two at his restaurant, davidburke & donatella. Attendees will
also have an opportunity to bid on a chance to work on the set of
the popular Food Network show, Iron Chef, working with a food
stylist. Another auction offering is a gourmet multi-course small
plates dinner for 14 prepared by Marcia Willsie, owner of Ezekiel's
Table (U.S. 1, March 23) at her 300-year-old farmhouse in Princeton,
and several chef-members of the Lawrenceville Culinary Consortium.
Pinder's road to chocolate success has been a winding one. She grew
up in Sayreville and after getting her associates' degree in nursing
from Middlesex Community College in 1973, she worked at several New
Jersey hospitals. She ended up in Cranford while working at Rahway
General Hospital. "I knew a lot of people from that area, and it
seemed like a great place to live with a great high school for my
son," she says. She left hospital nursing and entered the corporate
world as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, but
when her children were grown, "I decided it was time to do something
for me," she says.
She'd always been interested in running a business, and began with
thoughts of a gift basket business. The idea, she says, was inspired
by her father, who had worked at Proctor and Gamble while she was
growing up. "When I was a kid the company always sent gift baskets
to the employees at Christmas," she says. While researching a source
for chocolates for her gift baskets she became interested in
learning more about making artisan candies.
She opened her store in Cranford in 2005, and began taking classes
in chocolate making, first at the New School in New York City, then
an online program, Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate
Arts. The program also offered an opportunity to spend a few months
studying in Europe. While Germany and Switzerland may be better
known for their chocolate, Pinder chose to go to Tuscany.
"It may not be as well known (for chocolate), but they are just as
passionate about their food," Pinder says. In Tuscany she discovered
the Slow Food movement, which emphasizes the use of fresh, local
ingredients, no preservatives, and embraces the philosophy that food
should be offered in an atmosphere "that helps people to sit down
and enjoy themselves while they are eating," she says.
Pinder's Tuscan line of chocolates almost immediately began to draw
attention to her small store. She first took the chocolates to a
tasting event in New York City, and ended up as one of five featured
chefs on a segment of the "Today Show." Her work with a wedding
planner, Jenny Orsini of Garwood, a featured wedding planner on the
Style Network's "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" also brought Pinder
more national attention. When Orsini used Pinder's chocolates as
wedding favors, Pinder was also featured in the episode. "The
television show has brought in a lot of business from brides who
want exactly the same thing they saw on the show," Pinder says.
Her chocolates have also come to the attention of renowned chef
Craig Shelton of the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, NJ. Shelton is one of
only 22 United States members of the Relais Gourmand, a group of the
most celebrated names in the gastronomic world. "When I was asked to
meet with him and bring some of my chocolates to taste it took me
awhile to realize exactly who he was," Pinder says. "Then I was so
excited that someone of his caliber liked my chocolates."
"Diane's skill as a master chocolatier was immediately obvious to me
with my first sampling of her Donna Toscana line of Tuscan Style
chocolates," Shelton says. "Her use of the finest South American
chocolate and natural ingredients, which she finely balances, are
evident in the high quality of her chocolate creations." Shelton was
so impressed that he has asked Pinder to develop a special chocolate
line which will bear his name. Shelton already has his own line of
coffees and espressos, and the new chocolates will include coffee
flavors.
"Chef Shelton has some really fantastic ideas for this line of
chocolates," Pinder says. "These creations are going to set a whole
new standard in the world of artisan chocolates."
Taste of the Nation, Monday, April 28, 6 to 9 p.m., Share Our
Strength, Westin Hotel, Forrestal Village, Plainsboro. The annual
gourmet food and wine tasting event showcasing the culinary talents
of more than 30 upscale area restaurants. The entire ticket price
benefits HomeFront, Isles's Community Gardens program, Mercer Street
Friends Food Cooperative, and the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. $85;
$95 at the door. www.tasteofthenation.org/princeton or 877-26-TASTE.
|
