Geoseph Domenichiello is passionate about expanding people害羞草研究所檚 palates and minds with fine chocolate.

For 15 years, Domenichiello has been focused on the world of fine chocolate. He is a professional chocolate sommelier, chocolate maker (someone who makes chocolate from scratch) and a master chocolatier (artisans who source chocolate for their own creations). He recently began sharing his experience and knowledge in Salmon Arm through educational chocolate tastings, private and public, from a commercial space at 204-271 Ross St. (above Pharmasave).

Domenichiello explained a chocolate sommelier is similar to a wine or cheese sommelier, someone who is well versed in that niche and able to educate people about it.

害羞草研究所淭hey have a passion for it,害羞草研究所� said Domenichiello. 害羞草研究所淣ot only do they understand the qualities and how to discern them, they害羞草研究所檙e good at teaching people害羞草研究所� Wine, cheese, coffee all have those similar components of understanding the regional differences, the ingredient differences, the process and how that influences the flavour, and also how to understand the flavour害羞草研究所� they all parallel.害羞草研究所�

Through his tastings, Domenichiello attempts to expose people to the complexities of fine chocolate, and how different it is from what many people know as chocolate.

害羞草研究所淲e grew up with basically a few companies in the world害羞草研究所� pumping out chocolate, and they sort of dictated what chocolate should taste like,害羞草研究所� said Domenichiello. 害羞草研究所淣ow we have what I call bean-to-bar chocolate makers, fine chocolate makers害羞草研究所� They害羞草研究所檙e not just grinding up the same cacao as Nestle and Hershey害羞草研究所�, they害羞草研究所檙e finding rare, very rare types of cacao out there, and when I say rare, I mean less than one per cent of the world害羞草研究所檚 cacao害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淢ost of the cacao that goes into chocolate in the world is a very narrow spectrum of cacao, so it all tastes the same. But it害羞草研究所檚 kind of like heirloom vegetables, there are many different kinds of cacao, and people have just never experienced that before and that害羞草研究所檚 sort of what the fine chocolate world focuses on.害羞草研究所�

Domenichiello害羞草研究所檚 chocolate tastings also focus on geography, history and flavour. He encourages participants to share what it is their palate is picking up, and compare that to the flavours suggested by the chocolate maker.

害羞草研究所淚 try to tell them how that parallels, where you害羞草研究所檙e coming from, why they害羞草研究所檙e picking up those notes 害羞草研究所� people don害羞草研究所檛 really think about food in this way, so as they do, it just becomes more satisfying to them. They don害羞草研究所檛 realize food or chocolate can be so interesting.

害羞草研究所淲e have a misconception of flavour 害羞草研究所� a lot of things people enjoy are usually the basic tastes 害羞草研究所� like sour, salty, sugar, and the flavour is just kind of sprinkled in a little bit. People think flavour is in the food, that we pick it up in our mouth. No, flavour is a perception in the brain.

害羞草研究所淭hink of anything you do; if you go travelling or if you listen to music or read a book your brain is being stimulated. That害羞草研究所檚 what害羞草研究所檚 so satisfying. When you focus on food that way害羞草研究所� then you begin to find more satisfaction in something.害羞草研究所�

Domenichiello hails from Woodbridge, Ont. Growing up, his passions in life were animals, art and food. After high school, he went to university where he focused on sciences, biology and fine arts. With no specific career in mind, he decided to get into a pastry arts program.

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害羞草研究所淚 went to pastry school and saw a job ad for chocolate sommelier,害羞草研究所� said Domenichiello. 害羞草研究所淚 thought that was very interesting. I researched it and ended up getting the job害羞草研究所� and started growing my passion from there.害羞草研究所�

To become a chocolate sommelier, Domenichiello explained there was no formal education program at the time. So he learned from the person who hired him and fell back on his training in the sciences to do his own research.

害羞草研究所淚 just delved into research, articles and books, and talked to other researchers and experiencing and so I basically built my own curriculum and that害羞草研究所檚 what I teach others,害羞草研究所� said Domenichiello.

In addition to the tastings, Domenichiello also founded . Described as The Ultimate Fine Chocolate Portal, the website offers educational material, contacts for tasting events, and a shop with a wide range of bean-to-bar chocolates.

害羞草研究所淚 think when it comes to chocolate, I don害羞草研究所檛 try to make people feel bad if they like a Cadbury bar or a Lindt bar,害羞草研究所� said Domenichiello. 害羞草研究所淚 just want them to understand truly what bean-to-bar chocolate is, what fine chocolate is, I want them to understand the difference害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 about questioning flavour, questioning your food, questioning how we view food and how we view flavour害羞草研究所� I want people to think and ponder and explore. Because when you害羞草研究所檙e eating, you don害羞草研究所檛 analyze what does an orange taste like, or how do you explain the flavour of an orange to someone who never tried it. So that害羞草研究所檚 the sort of avenues I try to get people thinking about.害羞草研究所�

For more information and to book a tasting, visit geoseph.com.

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