Bodrato Boero Grappa Chocolate-Covered Cherries

They both loved hallmark movies… well he did, she not so much, but she did love watching them with him all the while eating some holiday treat together.

It was his turn this year to pick and find the treat to share. He had heard a lot about these, some friends mentioned them as well. He had read some stories too. How great they were, that they made memories for couples for generations.

He liked that a lot. He was a romantic. She not so much on the surface. She kept her emotions in check for fear of being hurt, he wore his on his sleeve.

Of course that wasn’t nearly as important as the treat, that was the basis of their relationship. Well at least recently. They had known each other for what was forever, soulmates in life, like the song.

Their approach to meals together was “Choose your meal as if it is your last” approach. Sharing of food was so important, and the taste of it was critical.

Of course, because of the distance, effectively half a world away, sharing food only happened once in a blue moon. So the holiday treat and movie was special.

He packed up the box and it was ready to ship. It might arrive earlier than he wanted, but better to arrive early than late! This year he was sending two hat boxes, one with the treat of cherries enrobed in chocolate and a classic Panettone.

A date would be chosen and then both families would gather around their respective TV’s, open the box of enrobed chocolate cherries, and watch the food romcom “One Delicious Christmas”.

I love pureed soups. Easy to make, uncomplicated, and when food is so simple, if the ingredients are the best, so is the soup! Freshly dried split peas are exceptional and make a soup like this worth sipping every spoonful. It's the blending of the starch and other ingredients that give this soup its wonderful body. Use a food mill, food processor or your stick blender, to achieve different consistencies.

Start with the very best split peas and don’t forget the mustard powder! 

When we first gave this panettone a squeeze and tore off a piece, we were excited but also a little apprehensive. Olive oil, when added to a food where you don’t expect it, is often either underwhelming or not enjoyable at all.

In this case, with the combo of Blood Orange and olive oil makes this Panettone a fun one! It is delicious, it is fun, it is different and it is special!

Created with Bona Furtuna’s organic Sicilian olive oil and candied Sicilian blood oranges, this soft and aromatic panettone captures the bright, sun-warmed flavors of Sicily. The airy, buttery crumb is made luscious with olive oil, which adds a silky richness and delicate fruitiness. Studded with tender bits of citrus, every slice feels both indulgent and refreshing—a perfect harmony of sweetness and light.

A modern take on a beloved Italian holiday cake, this panettone is bouncier than traditional butter-rich versions, while still maintaining the satisfying depth and warmth of handmade panettone. It’s wonderful with espresso or dessert wine, or toasted for breakfast with mascarpone and a drizzle of olive oil.

This panettone is one of the favorites now!

Bodrato was founded in 1943 by Luciano Bodrato in Genoa, Italy, in a small chocolate workshop behind a café and has been making Boeri ever since.

The idea of putting an alcohol-soaked cherry inside chocolate is considerably older. Its history goes back to at least nineteenth-century European confectionery, and maybe even earlier.

What makes Bodrato distinctive is that its Boeri (the plural of Boero, a chocolate-covered alcoholic cherry) are not simply cherries dipped in chocolate. These cherries first spend months soaking in alcohol after harvest.

Rather than using a cherry-flavored liqueur, Bodrato relies on grappa, a spirit distilled from grape pomace left over from winemaking in Piedmont, to give the cherry its distinctive alcoholic character.

This is followed by a coating of sugar fondant, and then several layers of chocolate encapsulate the fruit and sugar. Over time, the filling develops into a combination of fruit, alcohol, and sweet syrup that makes them crazy good tasting!

Traditionally, the cherry retains its pit, although Bodrato also makes pitted versions, and those are the ones we carry.

In 2001, siblings Fabio and Paola Bergaglio purchased the company from Luciano Bodrato, preserving its name and many of its traditional production methods. Today, Bodrato operates in Novi Ligure, in the province of Alessandria. The Boero remains one of its signature confections.

This panettone is a delight!

One of the favorites of the all the panettone we have carried over the years! It has been the perfect one for those that want to change it up from the Sorrento Lemon and now the Blood Orange. Or you can like so many now, get one of each!

Instead of the usual raisins and candied citron, this wonderful panettone from Albertengo is studded with chunks of apricots, whose slight tartness is the perfect complement to the rich sweet bread surrounding them.

Like all the wonderful panettone from Albertengo, this apricot panettone is light and buttery, has a soft texture (with no icing sugar) that will melt in your mouth. Just like the lemon, everyone loves the one fruit breads!

Perfect for the panettone lover in your life (which can be yourself!).

Some easy steps and delicious result!

The Tarragon has much more punch than the Basil; a sharp hit of mustard comes first, with the nose-opening tang that follows. The flavoring definitely changes how the mustard acts and reacts with the food you pair it with. The green color is very appealing on the plate.

Mustard with flavors are quite surprising! Surprisingly delicious! And always a delight to use!

What's Happening in the Store Next

Saturday, November 7 – Holiday Baking Event

Calling all holiday bakers! Whether you're planning an elaborate dessert, perfecting a favorite cookie recipe, or making homemade kitchen gifts, this tasting is for you. Explore our exceptional couverture and baking chocolates, compare specialty sugars and sweeteners, and discover our favorite cocoa powders, spices, extracts, flours, and other baking treasures. Taste, compare, ask questions, and get inspired for your holiday baking adventures. - - 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Free and drop-in

See the Event list HERE for 2026
Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm
ChefShop Retail Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave West, Seattle

It is the mint that is amazing. The crunch of the bite of the peppermint crisps or the amazing release of the Peppermint creams mint - all of these are so special!

All of Summerdown Mint's chocolate and tea products are made with traditional Black Mitcham peppermint - for centuries, the true flavor of England's famed mint, but a variety that died out due to changes in 20th-century farming. After generations, Summerdown reintroduced this variety of mint, thus bringing back the mint's particular flavor - soft and lingering, with a cool, intense flavor.

Nothing says winter like chestnuts. Roasting on the open fire, and all that. This creamy combination sounds wonderful -- a perfect starter to a Thanksgiving meal.

These wonderful chocolate peppermint wafers are thin and dark with crunchy bits of minted sugar. And not just any mint.

Summerdown chocolate mint crisps are made with traditional Black Mitcham peppermint - for centuries, the true flavor of England's famed mint, but a variety that died out due to changes in 20th-century farming.

After generations, Summerdown, the producer, has reintroduced this variety, thus bringing back the mint's particular flavor - soft and lingering, with a cool, intense flavor.

These chocolate peppermint wafers are the perfect size, with the right crunch, the right bite, the right mint! Another great product from Summerdown Mint!!

This is for sure my favorite Summerdown Peppermint Chocolate - and without the cream! If you want the crisp without the cream, this is the one for you.

These fava beans are sourced from Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy, known for its rich agricultural heritage and culinary traditions. Sardinia produces a variety of unique, high-quality foods, and these pickled fava beans are a good example of the regions distinct flavors.

Ayo Pickled Sardinian Fava Beans are a specialty food product that combines traditional Italian flavors with a unique preparation method.

Fava beans, or broad beans, are legumes that have been enjoyed in Mediterranean diets for centuries. They are highly nutritious, rich in protein, fiber, and essential vitamins like folate and vitamin B1.

When prepared as pickled beans, the fava beans retain their hearty texture while absorbing tangy, savory flavors from the pickling solution.

Think snack, salads, and as a garnish.

Fava beans, as a legume, are a sustainable crop that enriches the soil with nitrogen, reducing the need for artificial fertilizers. This makes them an environmentally friendly choice for both farmers and consumers.

In a tiny Parisian workshop, far from the tropical climates where cacao grows, Ara Chocolat is quietly preserving one of the world’s most important food legacies. Founded in 2015 by Venezuelan couple Andrés Zakhour and Sabrina Trillos, Ara is among the very few bean-to-bar makers roasting their own cacao in France.

Every bar begins with Andrés himself—traveling, sourcing, and selecting cacao beans directly from small growers and cooperatives across Latin America. By working face-to-face with farmers, Ara ensures not only fair and transparent relationships, but also access to rare native and ancestral cacao varieties that carry the stories of the land in their flavors.

Their name, Ara, honors the brilliantly colored macaws of Latin America—a symbol of biodiversity, freedom, and the deep connection between people and place. Each chocolate is a celebration of this heritage, crafted in micro-batches so that nothing is rushed and every nuance of the cacao shines.

At Ara Chocolat, chocolate isn’t just something to eat—it’s a journey. A way to taste the difference between regions, varietals, and traditions. It’s an invitation to savor and protect heirloom cacao, so that future generations can still experience the astonishing diversity of flavors that true cacao offers.

Why eat red, black or white? Many articles debate this at great length. Almost all come to the same conclusion that the only difference (between the options) is to choose which color makes a prettier plate for dinner.

And it is true, red quinoa and black can make green and yellow veggies pop on the plate! But the often stated conclusion that white (and for that matter all quinoa) are the same isn't quite true. Not only does taste vary between white (or golden) options, red and black might just be the best option.

Research has been showing that the more color in your food means more good stuff for your body. And in this case it appears that quinoa with color has about 15% of your daily requirements for riboflavin.

Not sure you should care about Riboflavin? Otherwise known as Vitamin B 2, this important vitamin often helps keep the painful red tongue, cracked lips, itchy bloodshot eyes, and cracking mouth corners away. It is also believed that a deficiency of Riboflavin effects the blood and the ability to absorb much needed iron for your body resulting in a cascading of potential evil issues.

Now should you go out and only eat red or black quinoa? No, of course not. You get vitamin B2 from many food sources including dairy, eggs, green leafy veggies, nuts and legumes.

Keep in mind that Quinoa is fibre healthy, has iron and magnesium and antioxidants. It is a complete protein (amino acid rich) and is a great food for gluten free, vegan eaters. Because it is such a superfood you should make sure it works for you.

But the very best reason to eat this seed (not a grain) is that it as easy as boiling water! The very basic, basic cooking instructions is this. 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Boil water, then rinse quinoa to remove the natural saponin (natures bug repellant), add quinoa to pot and then simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Wait for the seed to unfurl and it's ready!

Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes, fluff with fork and make a dish. It works well with just about anything, from pastas sauce to veggies and protein.

Quinoa should always be rinsed in a fine sieve before cooking to remove the saponin on the outside of the grain- it is a natural bug repellant! If not rinsed off, it will impart a bitter flavor.

Shared by Johnny

Key Lime Cake Recipe

— Johnny, ChefShop Reader

Professional pastry chefs are using ChefShop Grande Brut because it does several things well at once: deep flavor, smooth texture, rich color, easy blending, low acidity, and real versatility across applications. It is a many-trick cocoa powder.

We stock it now because after working with it ourselves, we found it spectacular! It makes a giant difference!

ChefShop Grande Brut contains 22% to 24% cocoa butter. That is significantly higher than most cocoa powders on the market, and it is one of the main reasons we chose it. That extra cocoa butter is not a minor detail. It changes how the cocoa tastes, how it blends, and what your finished desserts actually feel like.

Most people focus on cocoa percentage (and with cocoa powder it is always 100% as it has no sugar) and overlook fat content entirely. It is the balance between cocoa mass and cocoa butter that matters. Cocoa butter is the natural fat in the cacao bean, and it shapes everything about how cocoa performs in a recipe.
Shop now for ChefShop Grande Brut Cocoa Powder here!

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