Yountville, Calif., has a population of fewer than 3,000 people. Of those people, one — Thomas Keller —owns six of the town’s restaurants.
So, perhaps, when you see the sign for Kollar Chocolates, you might think it’s a play on Keller’s name. But you would be wrong. Chris Kollar is a trained savory chef who has worked in top kitchens — he even had a brief stint at Keller’s The French Laundry early in his career.
Fortunately, Kollar forged his own path. While working as the executive chef at Peter Michael Winery in Calistoga, Calif., he became passionate about chocolate.
Kollar’s background is apparent in his small shop, where a glass-show kitchen reveals him at work. It’s also apparent in the chocolates themselves, which are often beautifully shaped and colored, unique in their unexpected ingredients and surprising flavors. Take, for example, Kollar’s fennel pollen truffle, a geodesic green dome that’s made from chocolate ganache. An avid cyclist, Kollar got the idea for using the local ingredient while biking through fields of wild fennel.
It’s also tempting to compare Kollar to Willy Wonka, the fantastical fictional chocolatier created by author Roald Dahl. In addition to truffles, Kollar produces shards of polka-dotted chocolate that contain a secret ingredient. Bite into a piece, and you’ll hear and feel a little explosion: Pop Rocks. The Pop Rocks-infused chocolate comes in both dark and white versions. Though I don’t usually like white chocolate, his whimsical version — which presents as a light pink — tastes just like a strawberry.
The Wonka likeness is even harder to deny in Kollar’s experiential pieces, such as his “Anti-Dental Kit,” a solid log of dark chocolate shaped into a toothbrush, which comes with a tube full of chocolate “toothpaste.” The “California Kollar Roll” is easy to mistake for pre-rolled sushi, but a closer inspection reveals that the brown chunk in the middle is not raw fish but, indeed, chocolate.
Indeed, Kollar is playful and inventive, and rummaging through his shop is sure to inspire a smile —especially for those with a sweet tooth.
The Details
Kollar Chocolates
www.kollarchocolates.com
