Uh...we messed up and ordered way too much, so we are sharing our boo-boo with you.

This has been one of those foods we have loved from the moment we opened the first jar and had our first spoonful! And every time a jar is opened it tastes like the first time! That spoonful is splendiferous! Pure, clean, and wonderful.

This favorite chocolate and hazelnut cream spread is so crazy good, all you need is a spoon to consume it straight from the jar. And if you have any left, you can also use it in baking, making sandwiches, topping a cookie, and making candy. So versatile!

Try a little with a spoon and you will find it's thicker than you might expect. Hot weather, of course, will soften the spread, and cold will firm it up. It is so good you won't care!

It is so good that when you do add it to something, like your favorite banana bread, it is totally transforming!

Be careful though, sharing this hazelnut spread is tough to do. Best to have a good hiding place in mind before it arrives!

In 1969, Luciano Slitti opened Caffe Slitti, a coffee roasting shop, on a provincial highway outside the village of Monsummano Terme, with son Daniele taking care of the roasting. Monsummano Terme lies in the north of Tuscany between Lucca and Pistoia, not far from Florence. Their obvious mastery of the art of buying, blending and roasting beans resulted in quite a following for the roasting house.

Young Andrea, Luciano's second son, was often employed to deliver the coffee to regular customers throughout the area, mainly cafés, pasticcerias, and confectioners. Coffee and chocolate are great companions and it was during this time that Andrea came under the spell of chocolate making.

In 1986, the roasting house moved to a larger space and Andrea's father added a Café. The extra space allowed Andrea to set up a workspace of his own, for making chocolate.

Thanks to his passion for carefully selecting and roasting cocoa beans, and his completely homemade production methods, Andrea has gained a worldwide reputation for his chocolate. Andrea Slitti's chocolate making ability has accustomed professionals and chocolate fanciers alike to delicious and beautiful creations. His extra bitter bars are the ultimate chocolate-without-distractions experience.

With more than 180 Chocolate Awards spread amongst 18 different chocolate confections, Andre Slitti is a true chocolate master!

Click here to see the Slitti Nocciolata Hazelnut Creme deal of the quarter century!

Also known as Paillete Feuilletine™, these Crepes Dentelles crumbs are hard to find and normally only found in commercial kitchens.

As Tina says, in Food & Wine Magazine,
"Add these buttery, toasty-sweet shards to ganache, frostings and truffles for a super crunch."

Called for in classic French recipes, these pastry flakes are a common ingredient when making Praline Feuillete or filling for Praline.

Note that Paillete Feuilletine Flakes are delicate and are naturally small.

Shop now for Essential Pantry Feuilletine Flakes - Pastry Crunch!

Wild cocoa trees grow in the Amazon region of Bolivia on raised areas of land, which stick out like small islands in the middle of swampland. The Cambas, as locals of this region are known, have lived for centuries in this underdeveloped and hard-to-reach part of Bolivia.

From years of experience, they know exactly where to find the wild cacao trees, and during the harvest, they gather the cacao fruit which grows in scattered locations throughout the rain forest. The Cambas are often away for days, either on foot, on horseback or in dugout canoes, in pursuit of the wild bean.

Back on the farm, or finca, called "Tranquilidad," the cocoa beans are allowed to ferment in wooden crates. Regular turning provides consistent aeration. Finally, the beans are dried in the tropical sun for several days. Then, the beans are ready for their long journey to Europe.

Transportation of the wild beans is a real challenge. Cocoa pods are harvested during the rainy season and roads are largely impassable during that time. So, the bags filled with beans are carried on riverboats to the Amazon steamer docks in Trinidad

Then the beans will travel 900 miles by truck over Bolivia's antiquated road system to La Paz, Bolivia's capital city, where they will be stored briefly in a high-altitude (13,000 feet) warehouse. The local weather and elevation provide the perfect storing conditions for the dried, raw beans.

From there, the beans will soon travel over the high pass (15,700 feet) across the Andes mountains to Chile's Pacific coast port of Arica, where the precious cargo is loaded onto a feeder cargo ship. From there, the wild cocoa beans are shipped to Panama, then through the Panama canal and across the Atlantic to Europe where, upon arrival in Rotterdam they are reloaded onto smaller feeder boats for the relatively short trip to Basel, Switzerland.

Once they arrive in Basel, they are painstakingly inspected once more by the receiver - the famed Felchlin Chocolate Company.

These unusually small cocoa beans require extra special attention and care during the manufacturing process. All the machines used to process cocoa baking chocolate must be readjusted individually to fit the demands of the Cru Sauvage; the roasting process especially requires intensive care and patience.

For Bolivian wild cocoa, the roasting temperature is lower and the roasting time is longer than for all other cocoa beans.

Then comes conching. Conching is a time-intensive blending and refinement process requiring a great deal of know-how, experience and dedication - as well as a certain amount of intuition, and a natural sense of what the Cru Sauvage bittersweet baking chocolate needs.

Each type of cocoa is different - and so is its conching time. For the Cru Sauvage cocoa baking chocolate, 60 hours in the traditional conches has been determined as the optimum length of time. This extra-long-lasting conching process and aeration allow the still hidden wealth of the beans' aromas and flavors to unfold.

At the same time, homogeneity, taste subtleness and ideal texture are reached, leading to a unique flavor and exceptionally high quality mouth-feel.

Through such great care in picking and processing, the small wild beans gradually unfold their intense and unique aromas and flavors. Cru Sauvage bittersweet baking chocolate is truly the only one of its kind - and relatively inexpensive, considering its long voyage from wild bean to exquisite couverture chocolate!

Shop Now for Cru Sauvage - Wild Cocoa Baking Chocolate - 68%!

This is so easy to make and filled with the wonderful flavor of garlic, olive oil, and fennel pollen.

With premium ingredients this dish is pretty special. Every forkful is a fresh, clean bite that will bring a smile to your face!

See the Bigoli Pasta with Fennel Pollen Recipe here!

Just a few kilometers from Siena, nestled in the Chianti hillsides in the heart of the beautiful Tuscan countryside, lies Fattoria di Petroio.

Located on the ancient road between Siena and Florence, Villa Petroio was an important landmark for travelers. Palazzo Petroio became the property of Luigi Pallini in the 19th century. Now many generations later, Gian Luigi Lenzi, grandson of Luigi Pallini II, inherited the property and, with his wife Pamela, and their daughter, Diana, has transformed the ancient orchards into a wine producing Estate.

Still small by many standards, its size allows an attention to quality that can be applied to every bottle of Italian extra virgin olive oil they produce.

With 15 hectares of vineyards, and 822 olive trees, the Estate produces about 40,000 bottles of Chianti Classico, 4,000 bottles of Chianti Classico Riserva, 5,000 bottles of IGT Rosso Toscano, and 300-600 tins of classic Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Sharon, whom many of you know from the shop, grew up with Pamela here in Seattle, just a stones throw from our warehouse, and is the one who brought us this wonderful Tuscan olive oil. In this world where suspicion of the origins of olive oil abound, it is nice to know the family who makes it.

Tasting notes:

We haven't talked that much about this Italian extra virgin olive oil, ever. Like many Tuscan olive oils, it is a blend. A blend of Frantoio, Leccino, Correggiolo and Moraiolo olive varietals. It is one special oil with extremely limited supply.

The nose on it is as you anticipate and expect ALL Tuscan olive oils to be. There is something about Italian extra virgin olive oil that epitomizes all great olive oils and with even just the smell, you know you are in for a treat. Just the right blend of olives and ripeness creates this flavor. It’s a refinement of age and young vim and vigor that creates an oil that is both, pleasant and flavorful.

Suck in a mouthful of Italian extra virgin olive oil and you get a buttery (if only for a nano second) taste and feel, and then the perfect blend of olive flavor, followed by a rush of burn that comes on quickly and just goes on and on, trailing off at the back edges of your throat. This oil has a peppery (fire) kick that is awesome. Not painful at all, just right!

Shop now for Fattoria di Petroio Tuscan Olive Oil!

It is the most secret gift (perhaps of all) that you can give, small enough to hide in your pocket so you can surprise your host. Yet there is no box big enough to hold the explosive, effervescent excellence of nose that is in this little packet.

Though it won’t last a lifetime (and neither will our supply), your memory of it will!

Buy wild fennel pollen and rub it on your protein, infuse your pasta, and add it to your cookies, too! It works hard and plays well with everyone.

You can never have enough at the ready. From Fennel Pollen chicken to pasta, this is one fabulous herb!

Shop now for Italian Fennel Pollen!

It is way, way early! Preorder your Holiday Panettone today and lock in your place in line. Remember, we do not charge you until the panettone arrives in our warehouse.

The newest flavors will not have photos until they arrive. Take a chance on one of these as supply will be extremely limited.

Preorder Panettone for the Upcoming Holiday Season!

The resealable bag keeps the cocoa powder fresh and it can last a good long time. Now I am not proud of this, but I have found bags of this cocoa powder hidden away in the cupboard years later (I can tell by the label), and though nowhere near as good as fresh, it still works and does its job. Store in a dark cool place (just remember it is there) and you are all set.

Wow!!
" Was using various permutations of King Arthur Cocoas. Just tried this in my usually very good cocoa brownies. I could smell and taste the difference immediately. Revelation! Will never use another cocoa. This is THE BEST! "
-- joan

Shop now for ChefShop Cocoa Powder!


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Choose the amount in $25 increments by changing the quantity number and we will take care of the rest.

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Magic 7 Layer Cookie Basic Recipe

Take this recipe from the label (Bordens Eagle Brand of sweetened condensed milk) and change out the graham crackers with any of the Effie's Biscuits and make it much better. You can also mix Effie's Biscuits with the graham crackers and still get the flavor, plus the extra crunch. The Pecan Cakes are perfect; the Oatcakes are always great to crumble on a fruit crisp, and the Cocoa Cakes work perfectly with chocolate recipes.

Panettone French Toast Recipe

Panettone, the wonderful butter-rich Italian Christmas Bread, is very often consumed straight without leaving a crumb. But should you find yourself with the chance half loaf left, this recipe is a perfect holiday breakfast favorite.

Ever since we discovered the divine Sorrento Lemon Panettone from Albertengo, it’s been our favorite for this recipe. But any of the wonderful panettoni will work great. This recipe is so divine you’ll want to buy two panettone just to make sure you have enough!

Chestnut & Mushroom Soup Recipe

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.