Curating Taste

Curating Taste I am a pastry chef and a chocolate sommelier providing custom chocolate tasting events.

05/22/2026

This is my first time to Australia and before I get a chance to get some craft bean to bar chocolate, I'm trying what the city has to offer! The two bars from were both nice with the lemon myrtle one being extra nice! My husband really enjoyed the bonbons but they weren't quite my jam.

Drinking chocolate at was a lovely experience! They used Vahlrona and I appreciated that it was listed as such. So often they don't tell you! Thanks
for your compelling reel.

I'm saving the rest of my chocolate consumption for the craft bars I'm getting in a few days!

04/29/2026

Another 30 people enlightened about the world of craft chocolate paired with wine!!! It was an extra fun one as the fire alarm went off at the resort during the tasting. Don't worry, no chocolates were melted! Shout out to for being the wizard behind the curtain, always making excellent selections from the wine list available at the hotel. Today's tastings featured the following:

Peru 70% with .shadows Powers Leap Riesling
Spiced Apple Cider 71% with Chardonnay
Buttered Toast with Fog Swept Pinot Noir
Tumaco 53% with Pure Paso Red Blend
Elote with Napa Brut Prestige

04/17/2026

While judging, I get to see an amazing amount of chocolate in a very short period of time. This morning I set out my first stack of 70% bars and wanted to notice the amazing difference the bean itself makes. The bars have the exact same quantity of cacao to sugar, yet the color varies due to the variation of genetics in the bean, which also affects their flavor!

04/13/2026

Judging season is officially on us! This will be my fourth time participating as a judge for the International Chocolate Awards. Yes, this is my favorite time of year. Yes, I have the best job ever. Yes, I love it. And yes, it is hard! Mindfully tasting, thinking about, and evaluating this much chocolate in a short period of time, takes a large amount of focus as I want to do right by the companies who have put their heart and soul into entering this competition. My hat goes off to everyone who puts themselves out there and I wished everyone all the best!!!

03/31/2026

I love seeing cookies and desserts that I don't know what they are! And I love that chocolate is EVERYWHERE!

03/30/2026

Chocolate consumption in Europe at Easter is NEXT LEVEL. I'm here for it. Literally and figuratively.

02/25/2026

Since discovering the idea of chocolate tasting, I have done many tastings of many different things. What have you done tastings of?
1. Chocolate
2. Bottled water
3. Tea
4. Honey
5. Apples
6. Sourdough bread
7. Cheese
And I'm sure many more.

It is so much fun to buy several different varieties of the same food and try them side by side. I've done this with kids 2 years old up to people in their '90s and everyone has a blast with it. Don't overthink it. Just think about what you taste!

A fabulous chocolate tasting held in my favorite room at The client had a sponsor who asked to provide the tasting ma...
02/05/2026

A fabulous chocolate tasting held in my favorite room at The client had a sponsor who asked to provide the tasting mats and they were so much fun! It was my first time featuring the Root beer bar by and it was a huge hit. It's my current favorite bar! A beautiful Ecuadorian cacao with sasparilla root, ginger root, candied orange, orange oil and a touch of licorice root, this complex flavor bomb is like eating a chocolate covered root beer barrel candy! So much fun!

11/30/2025

How excited would you be to get each of these as a part of your board of directors gift box? I know I'd be thrilled!

Stone Grindz Wild Bolivia 70%- Deeply fudgy and comforting, layered with a soft nuttiness and a whisper of nutmeg. Light floral notes lift the finish.

Karuna Tanzania 70%- Bright and lively, showing red fruits, green-apple acidity, and warm undertones of caramel and coffee.

Fruition Brown Butter 43%- Warm and comforting, evoking toasted hot chocolate and the makings of a perfect s’more.

Utopick Wild Pepper 56%- Unexpectedly savory-leaning, with nuances that recall light barbecue smoke and mellow dairy.

Ember’s Chocolate Elote- Playfully savory-sweet, suggesting the contrast of chips and salsa wrapped in white chocolate.

Castronovo White Chocolate Lemon Sea Salt- Lively and indulgent, offering the tart richness of lemon curd with a delicate saline finish.

11/18/2025

This is a classic! Making Chocolate is a stunning book to add to your craft chocolate collection. Especially if you ever want to try out chocolate making on your own. This was one of my first chocolate books and I don't regret it!

11/17/2025

I'm going to start with the beginning paragraph of this book.

I pluck a chocolate heart from the counter and drop it onto my mouth just as I've done a zillion times before. Letting it melt a bit, I slide it around on my tongue, then nibble off the steps of the veins and arteries. I push it toward one cheek, then another, maximizing taste bud contact. By now the aorta has dissolved, leaving only the ventricles and atria. I maneuver the now vesselless heart directly to the center of my tongue and nestle it beneath the roof of my mouth. Then, with my crooked front teeth, I bite the heart in half. This heart comes from the rare Nacional cultivar of cacao, straight from the deepest depths of the Amazon jungle. And that's precisely how it tastes. Notes of Earth, would, flour, nut- maybe almond? There's a hint of amber honey.. And some kind of fruit I can't put my finger on.

Any book for middle school kids that starts like this is going to be in my library! This was a super cute book and I definitely recommend reading it or gifting it!

11/16/2025

The New Taste of Chocolate by This is a staple for anyone learning about craft chocolate and chocolate in general. It was one of the first books on Chocolate that I got. This version has been updated from its original version. Updates are necessary as we are very young in doing research on cacao so new information keeps coming out. This book is pretty enough for a coffee table!

11/16/2025

Many of you know that my husband and I have a lot of kids. As such, I'm always thinking about gifts and I bet many of you are too. I'm going to do a little series of books for the chocolate lover in your life! I love reading and hope you will like these books too! Do you already have it? Tell me your thoughts!

10/30/2025

After many requests, I've made some downloads available for you if you want to host your own chocolate tasting or if you enjoy having a flavor map while discerning flavors in craft chocolate! Enjoy!

10/25/2025

This is the only picture I got and I have one of my very favorite cakes that I ever made! Such a fun flash back to my previous life!

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Phoenix, AZ

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