Chefs gather for 'The Art of Chocolate'

Bloomington's week of chocolate began Sunday night with creations that catered to chocolate lovers' greatest desires. Truffles, tortes and mousse were just some of the desserts offered at "The Art of Chocolate," an affair coordinated by the IU Art Museum and benefitting Options for Better Living. The event brought together 12 chefs from Bloomington and Indianapolis to display their chocolate creations while generating funding for a community organization. \n"At Chocolate Fest, the desserts get chopped up into little pieces, and we wanted to give the chefs a different way to showcase their creations," said Veronica Amarant, development director of Options. "It created a place for people to gather and help out a good cause while enjoying chocolate." \nSenior Leeaht Gross volunteered for the event because it was based around chocolate. She said she enjoyed the desserts. \n"They're very, very rich." Gross said. "The desserts were displayed so nicely, which is my favorite part." Tickets for the event were $35, and all proceeds went to Options, an organization dedicated to providing services for people with disabilities. \n"The Art of Chocolate" was the first event of its kind. Bob Macgee, an Options board member, said it went beautifully. The event featured wines from Oliver Winery to accompany the desserts and included Muscat Alexander, a new fruity white wine not yet offered in stores. \nMusic from The Andy Cobine Trio added to the softly lit ambiance as guests enjoyed delicious chocolate creations such as raspberry truffles, bitter sweet chocolate panna cotta with hazelnut caramel, velvet chocolate, chocolate ganache torte, chocolate fondue with fresh fruit, Madagascar chocolate mousse and more.\n"I've never had desserts as impressive as these," said Bob Cutter, a museum docent. "It was good to see what's available locally." \nOne artful creation was the Madagascar chocolate mousse prepared by Matt Smith, executive chef at Truffles Restaurant at 1131 S. College Mall Rd. The mousse was presented in a chocolate cup with brandied cherries on the bottom. Smith said he chose it for a specific reason. \n"I think it's one of the more impressive things in my repertoire," Smith said. "I was honored to be invited. It's for a good cause, and a lot of my colleagues are participating." \nCutter said he was excited the tasting took place in the IU Art Museum and people were able to take advantage of the space. \nOptions, the organization that benefited from the proceeds, provides housing and job services for people with disabilities, MacGee said. \n"Nine out of every 10 of our dollars goes to services for people with disabilities," Macgee said. "Customers live on their own. We call them 'customers' because you always have an obligation to your customers." \nThe organization provided 200 tickets for purchase, and by the end of the night, they were sold out. As the night went on, patrons bid on gift packages offered by Options. \n"As far as we can tell, it's all profit to help our cause. It's a wonderful benefit for us." Macgee said. "We are able to make a lot of friends in the community." \n-- Contact Asst. Arts Editor Patrice Worthy at pworthy@indiana.edu.