Godiva’s Senior Chocolatier Chef David Funaro; my spread of Godiva goodies; Godiva chocolate liqueur with my glass of Simple Chocolate Martini
I was invited to Godiva‘s New York City headquarters for the launch of their Lunar New Year chocolates with Godiva’s Senior Chocolatier Chef David Funaro. The spacious, streamlined, modern space are shared office space, an open kitchen and a model Godiva store so they could copy the displays to all of their shops around the globe.
Along with tasting their standard but delicious line up of bonbons (as seen above) and their sweet Godiva chocolate martini. We were also had a preview of their soft serve ice cream that’s only sold at their Park Avenue store. Thankfully, there were savory snacks, namely the delicious platters of Murray’s cheese and various rolls and crackers to balance all of my sugar intake.
Curious what are in the Lunar New Year chocolates are? Godiva release a trio of flavors: dark chocolate filled with caramel pear ganache, milk chocolate filled with with crunchy almond praline and sour cherry, and a white chocolate filled with pineapple and macadamia cream. All of these bonbons were molded into the company’s iconic Lady Godiva on a galloping horse. The chocolates’ flavors were interesting and some the ingredients used does reflect the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean symbolism of prosperity. 2014 is the Year of the Horse. (Side note: 2014 marks the 88th anniversary of Godiva which began in Belgium in 1926.)
These chocolates will be found in their limited edition Godiva Lunar New Year Collection box. The one seen above is $50 for a 20-piece box (there’s also smaller assortment starting at 8-pieces up to 70-pieces) and does come along with a box of eight elegant and beautiful red envelopes so you may share the happiness and luck to your friends and family. This year’s Lunar New Year will start on Friday, January 31st.