HILUXURY DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016

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PERFECTIONPERFECTIONPralinePierre Marcolini chocolates sweeten things up at Ala Moana Center.

by HILUXURY TEAM

SAVOR . FINE FOOD

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BELGIUM’S HAUTE CHOCO-LATIER IS FLYING IN COCOA CONFECTIONS ET AL. TO ALA MOANA’S EWA WING. SCULPTED INTO HONOLULU-

exclusive symbols de la mer—dolphins, turtles and seashells among them—Pierre Marcolini’s cosmopolitan chocolates arrive in beautifully packaged boxes embossed with the chocolatier’s signature emblem: an elegantly engraved cacao pod.

Established in 1995—in a humble, 30-square-meter shop—Pierre Marcolini now rolls out handcrafted bites of heaven by the hundreds. Its eponymous founder truly is an epicurean artisan and ingredient purist. Born in Belgium with Italian roots, Marcolini attributes the romanticism and dreaminess

behind each morsel of his inventive sweets to his

parents’ home city, Verona: the

setting for Romeo and Juliet. Pursuing

his passion at the ripe, young age of 14

quickly catapulted him to the top of the culinary

food chain. Curiosity—and lots of taste testing—let to Marcolini maison’s presently celebrated fl avors. His endeavor? “Satisfy those in search of the best sweet delights, whilst introducing them to a world of freshness and innovation.”

Renowned as one of the sole chocolat-iers who roasts beans himself, Marcolini’s handcrafted precision heightens the choco-lates’ intensity and aroma, assuring each morsel rolling out of the workshop is a masterpiece: sorted, blended, tempered and beautifully pack-aged to taste. Considering chocolate-making a “treasure hunt,” Marcolini surveys the globe for the fi nest ingre-dients, from bean to bar.

Grands Crus, for example, comprises 36 pure choco-lates: handpicked from remote ends of the world, and then delicately roasted to unlock gusto. Blending intercontinental beans back in Brussels, Marcolini views raw cacao, as wine, “deserves a tribute to its noble roots.” He is involved with each step of the process, “securing the market” through face-to-face interaction with cacao farmers scattered throughout Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba and Peru, thus meriting the marque’s status as a “respected” luxury chocolatier

From avant-garde audacity to aesthetic exemplars, bonbons come peppered with exquisite spices: pink peppercorns from Morocco, pistachios from Iran, pepper from Sichuan, Madagascar vanilla, rose water, violet and Sicilian lemon among them. Boxed in a similar fashion to high-end bijoux, as-sortments are tailored to taste in subdued palettes and pure lines. Quotidian shapes, fl a-vors and textures are redesigned, giving the chocolates a “lighter,” celestial consistency.

Known for letting no chocolate exit the Haren shop until it passes the “boss’” lips, Marcolini’s choosy palate expanded into a phenomenon of 28 global outlets by 2011. As Marcolini shops favor major gastronomic cities of cultured connois-seurs and foodies, Pierre Marcolini de-cidedly opens its doors in Honolulu.

Marcolini duly sweetens up the pâtisserie playing fi eld in Honolulu, the brand’s sole U.S. brick and mortar. Only available in the

isles, dive into Marcolini’s latest Marine Life Chocolate mix, inspired by (and shaped like) Hawai‘i’s beauty and na-

ture: Dolphin Caramel Dark (caramel and salted butter coated with dark chocolate); Dolphin Praline Milk (hazelnut-and-al-mond praline coated with milk chocolate);

Hawaiian-Fish Caramel Poisson Dark (cara-mel and salted butter coated with dark

chocolate); Tortoise Praline Pistachio Dark (grilled-and-

salted pistachio praline coated with dark chocolate); Starfi sh

Caramel Raspberry Blanc (raspberry caramel coated with white choco-late); Seashell Large Kona Coff ee Milk (Kona coff ee chocolate coated with milk chocolate); Seashell Small Vanilla Blanc (vanilla milk chocolate coated with white chocolate). Th e chocolatier also has a few local collaborations in the works, in-cluding a product tie with Big Island Candies.

Th ese goodies, alongside heart-shaped, scarlet-hued crèmes, un-demonize choco-late—unjustly damned gluttonous—under angelic archetypes. Feast your eyes upon biscuits and colorful confections. Eclectic edibles (escargot white chocolates, anyone?) provide connoisseurs plenty of choices: truffl es, macarons, candied fruit, etc. À la European fashion houses, Marcolini also debuts seasonal collections, enabling gourmands to savor new assemblages twice annually.

Sample a few Saveurs du Monde, and you, too, will understand why with just one bite, gastronomes guess: “Th at’s a Pierre Marcolini.” A chocolatier like no other, loosen your belt to revel in the plea-sure of Pierre Marcolini. .marcolini.com

the world, and then delicately roasted to

chocolate); Pistachio Dark

salted pistachio praline coated

them to a world of freshness and innovation.”Renowned as one of the sole chocolat-

iers who roasts beans himself, Marcolini’s handcrafted precision heightens the choco-lates’ intensity and aroma, assuring each morsel rolling out of the workshop is a masterpiece: sorted, blended, tempered and beautifully pack-aged to taste. Considering chocolate-making a “treasure hunt,” Marcolini surveys the globe for the fi nest ingre-dients, from bean to bar.

cidedly opens its doors in Honolulu.Marcolini duly sweetens up the pâtisserie

playing fi eld in Honolulu, the brand’s sole U.S. brick and mortar. Only available in the

isles, dive into Marcolini’s latest Marine Life Chocolate mix, inspired by (and shaped like) Hawai‘i’s beauty and na-

ture: Dolphin Caramel Darksalted butter coated with dark chocolate); Dolphin Praline Milkmond praline coated with milk chocolate);

Hawaiian-Fish Caramel Poisson Darkmel and salted butter coated with dark

Born in Belgium with Italian roots, Marcolini attributes the romanticism and dreaminess

behind each morsel of his inventive

setting for and Juliet

his passion at the ripe, young age of 14

quickly catapulted him to the top of the culinary

food chain. Curiosity—and lots of taste testing—let to

ALL

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