Finally!! My post on Fritz Knipschildt! (I'm just going to call this Cocky Devil Fritz from here on out.) I've seem Fritz twice - once when he was manning a booth at the Chocolate Show in NYC and again when he spoke at Candy Expo. In NY he was slammed and wasn't very friendly. He wasn't mean or anything, just wasn't friendly. I figured it was because he was busy.

I first came across his awesome chocolates when I ordered some from Dean and Deluca - I reviewed his pumpkin truffles here - they were the best of the lot.

At Candy Expo I got to hear him speak. He told the story of his company, talked about the cool packaging and how he wanted to get it just right, using special handmade paper:

The boxes are cool - the quote here reads" An exquisite selection of the world's finest handmade chocolates, Knipschildt has traveled the world to hand pick the best ingredients. The flavor combinations are matches made in heaven."

http://www.knipschildt.com/flash.html

You can see a better picture of the boxes (and everything else) on their website. There are even some pictures of Fritz. You'll see what I mean - maybe Cocky Devil, maybe Pompous Jerk.

But in his talk he talked about the business of starting and running a chocolate business. He also told us how he got where he is today (Madonna eats his chocolate and he's been featured in a ton of magazines and TV shows, so he must be doing something right). This was what he attributed his success to:

willpower

following the passion without being unrealistic

not wanting to lose

never giving up

"breaking" rules

being your own business owner

being open minded

He wants to be the number one super premium chocolate company in the world and he wants to open Chocopologies across the US. (Chocopologies are cafe/retail stores where you can see the chocolates being made. I haven't been in one, but want to!!)

I say - "You go, Fritz, you cocky devil!" Hey cocky devils always have some big dream and the absolute confidence that they can get there. I really enjoyed his talk and he had some great moments of self-deprecating humor. I could be wrong - I'm a sucker for pompous jerks posing as cocky devils, but after hearing his talk, I liked him.

And after eating his chocolate, I liked him more!

Although it does scare me a bit that all his signature chocolates have been given female names (leans toward the pompous jerk side of the scale). And the descriptions - yikes! But let's look at these beauties:

That's the whole box, let's review a section today:

Jennifer is the pistachio truffle (the Knipschildt description - a bit nutty but really quite sweet) - this was so smooth and amazingly delicious.

Jeanett is the spiral topped one - it is a fresh mint ganache. (Knip Descrip - tongue spinning, fresh, new age chick - SCARY!) Now I don't love mint, but again, this was so smooth and creamy, it was very, very good. There was a slight hint of another ingredient I wasn't crazy about, but overall it was very good. Fritz uses so many complex flavors that I can't detect them all.

Antoinette is the heart - a rosewater ganache. (Knip Descrip. - French romantic with expensive habits.) While gorgeous in appearance, I was not crazy about this one - it's the rosewater. It reminded me of scented soap. Off with her head, I say.

Kelly is the red triangle - a strawberry/lemon-thyme ganache. (Knip Descrip. - a fruitful attempt at breaking convention - zzzzzz). I'm such a simple gal - I would have liked this better without the thyme. Just give me strawberry and chocolate!! I'm just no gourmand (not that that's really surprising any of you guys.)

Stacy is the playing card - white chocolate ganache with Scandinavian cardamon - holy Ace of Spades, Batman! (Knip Descrip. - Vegas girl with surprising diversity.) I had to do some research - cardamon is a spice in the ginger family. This wasn't bad at all - it was unique, interesting. If you like ginger, you would probably really enjoy this one.

And finally in this batch - Patricia - the long cone - red chili/tangerine ganache. (Knip Descrip. - tallest of them all with a hot temper, but fresh lifestyle.) I was surprised at how much I liked this one. The chocolate has sparkles of gold and the shape is so unique - I loved the look of it. And the mild chili flavor was balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the ganache. Fantastic!!

I may never know if Fritz is a cocky devil or a pompous jerk, and as long as I don't date him, I don't care! He gave a great fun talk and he makes some amazing chocolates!! I like a lot of the things he said and I was impressed with his attention to detail - in everything from the packaging and the fascinating ingredients to his plan for world domination.

There's motivation by chocolate for you!