personality, and somewhat unusual taste in clothing, he was a breath of fresh air at the Franco-centric Chocolate Show. The most memorable of Young’s chocolates that I tried was a Port & Stilton truffle. Generally I hate these gimmicky flavor combinations, but this one was different, because it was perfectly balanced and extremely subtle. Not too bleu-cheesy at all. He originally created it
because it was a flavor that epitomized Christmas for him—Stilton and Port were mandatory luxuries at the Young household around the holidays. The first batch he made was a Stilton truffle enrobed in chocolate, but unfortunately the truffles literally exploded sometime during the night. The spores in the cheese expanded, you see. So he added some Taylor Tawny Port and, aside from calming
the spores down, it gave the truffles a slightly fruity flavor which worked beautifully with the Stilton. The other truffle that blew me away was his Sea Salted Caramel Truffle. Yes, we’ve all had this a million times, but this one was amaaaaaaaazing! Made with Muscovado sugar, French butter, double cream and a generous pinch of flaky Maldon sea salt, the silky smooth filling just flowed
over my mouth, a tight-rope balance between salty and sweet that hit the mark just perfectly. I wanted to buy Paul’s cookbook right then and there, but it wasn’t available at the show. I did, however, find the most popular recipe from his book on the Internet, and it seemed ideal for Thanksgiving. It’s a Sea-Salted Chocolate and Pecan Tart, and it’s quite delicious. By the way, Paul will be opening up a chocolate shop in New York next year, so you won’t have to hop across the pond to enjoy his incredible chocolates.
