Latest news with #Guittard
San Francisco Chronicle
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s newest luxury chocolate outfit comes from a former Tartine pastry chef
A celestial take on gourmet chocolate has arrived in San Francisco. Moon Kids Chocolate, a popup founded by a former Tartine Bakery pastry chef, officially opens on Tuesday. Michael Tabatabai's new popup sells bonbons exclusively online for home delivery in San Francisco. The ordering for a drop goes live each Tuesday at noon, and every week features a new menu of flavors. Only 30 boxes are available at a time. Priced at $48 for 12 bonbons, Moon Kids is entering an expanding luxury chocolate market in San Francisco that has amped up over the last year, thanks to acclaimed pastry chefs striking out on their own. Topogato, cofounded by the former pastry chef of Liholiho Yacht Club, opened a storefront in the Richmond District last month selling stunning, creative confections. And Stay Sweet, founded by former Saison pastry chef Mark Lieue, opened online in December and hosts popups around the city. For Moon Kids, Tabatabai adds a fresh, galactic spin: Each bonbon replicates the vibrant colors and swirls of a planet in outer space. Some feature flecks of yellow and white to look like stars. The secret to this look? A few tools, some colored cocoa butter and a lot of patience. 'It's a one-man, one-person show,' said Tabatabai, who is working out of Schlok's Bagels and Lox. 'It's a process that takes time.' After melting and cooling Guittard chocolate by hand, adding ganache to the middle and sealing the bonbon with another layer of tempered chocolate, he uses an airbrush and sponge to transform the brown bonbons into miniature celestial bodies. In all, it takes Tabatabai around three days to produce the weekly batch. To decide the flavors each week, Tabatabai considers what's going on in the food world and in the city as a whole. After a visit to Garden Creamery in San Francisco's Mission District, where he tried salty kaya ice cream, Tabatabai was inspired to create a banana salted kaya bonbon — a take on a sweet coconut jam from Southeast Asia. Other flavors include satsuma matcha, a citrusy spin on the Japanese green tea, and lychee raspberry. In addition to crafting the bonbons by himself, Tabatabai hand-delivers the boxes to customers on Saturdays; insulated packages keep the bonbons fresh for up to 12 hours. At this phase of the business, the quality of the product is the top priority, he said. Before launching Moon Kids, Tabatabai worked as the executive pastry chef at San Francisco's famed Tartine Bakery for nearly four years. But his interest in chocolate and other sweet treats bloomed over the candy cart at Masa's Restaurant; he worked at the Michelin-starred French restaurant for two years before it closed in 2013. Tabatabai envisions Moon Kid becoming a full-service shop that sells chocolate bars, other confections and soft serve ice cream in addition to his bonbons — but in the meantime, he's enjoying creating all on his own. 'I just wanted to do something fun that I'm passionate about,' Tabatabai said, 'and bonbons have always been one of those things.'
Eater
04-06-2025
- Health
- Eater
Can Good Chocolate Make a Macaroon....Exciting?
I have a tendency to anthropomorphize macaroons: I imagine their pain at being constantly mistaken for their more glamorous relation, the macaron, and suffering eternally by comparison. Where the macaron is delicate and pretty and colorful, its shortcomings obscured by its French pedigree, the macaroon is more commonly regarded as a booby prize, something you eat when you have no other dessert choices during Passover. Made of ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, the macaroon often includes masses of shredded coconut, which gives it the appearance of a bruleed haystack or a tribble. I'm not much of a macaroon person (or a macaron person, for that matter), but the recipe for chocolate macaroons on the back of Guittard's canister of unsweetened red Dutch- process cocoa powder caught my attention a couple of weeks ago. Mostly because the recipe called for cocoa, almond flour, and confectioner's sugar, three ingredients I was trying to use up in advance of a move, but also because I love Guittard products. Guittard's red cocoa is very dark and very rich, one of the rare unsweetened cocoa powders you can almost eat on its own. (It yields excellent hot chocolate.) If anything could make a macaroon more enticing, I theorized, it was this cocoa. The recipe is pretty much a grocery list plus the instructions to stir and bake, a true one-bowl experience. The most challenging thing about it is separating egg whites from yolks. The former get mixed with almond flour, cocoa, confectioner's sugar, and sweetened shredded coconut, though I only had unsweetened coconut flakes and they worked well enough. The recipe calls for using a teaspoon to portion the macaroon batter onto a baking tray, so I did that, and then baked it for the recommended time, about 15 minutes. The macaroons emerged from the oven looking very much as they did when they went in — baking doesn't expand or puff or otherwise noticeably improve alter their appearance, so there's no great miracle of transformation to behold. The finished macaroons are not, as the above photo attests, particularly attractive. But since I like a homely cookie — lumps and crags often equate with greater flavor — this didn't deter me. What did was the fact that this is still a macaroon, and even the addition of Guittard cocoa powder cannot change that. Macaroons are fine! But they're not really a cookie you can lose yourself in; you're always aware that you're negotiating a mouthful of shredded coconut, which is personally not my thing. That said, these are not bad. They're quite chocolatey and not too sweet, and because they're small they're easy to eat by the handful, should you want to do that. Stored properly, they last for several days at room temperature. They also travel well, and as a cyclist, I'm always looking for treats that meet that criteria. Would I go out of my way to make these again, to track down a canister of Guittard cocoa powder for the purpose of consuming macaroons? No. But they do make a very good way to use up a bunch of ingredients, and sometimes, that's a treat in and of itself. Highlighting the people, products, and trends inspiring how we cook now
Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Tariffs give 157-year-old chocolate maker Guittard a bitter taste
During the Gold Rush of the mid-1850s, Etienne Guittard, a French chocolatier, sailed to California like many others, hoping to strike it rich. However, he soon realized his fortunes lay not in the mines but in selling the chocolates he brought with him from his uncle's Tournus factory to trade for mining supplies. In 1868, after a stint refining his skills back in France, he returned and started a small business, E. Guittard & Co., on San Francisco's waterfront. In addition to making chocolate, he sold tea, coffee and spices. The business became a fixture in the city as it grew into one of the country's major metropolitan centers. Guittard became the chocolate maker of choice for top chefs like Thomas Keller and restaurants such as Chez Panisse, and supplier to iconic confectioner See's Candies since the 1930s. Over the past century, the family-owned business has survived numerous threats to its existence, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Great Depression, massive sugar price hikes in the 1970s and the unexpected deaths of the company's president and successor in the late 1980s, not to mention competition from artisanal brands in the 2000s. Now it is facing yet another crisis: the Trump administration's global tariff war. "It was like a jab after a good hard right," said Gary Guittard, the fifth-generation president and chief executive of Guittard Chocolate Company. Guittard had just absorbed the shock of last year's 180% spike in cocoa prices (on top of the 61% increase the year before), the result of shortages due to climate impacts and drought, when Trump announced in April that he was implementing global tariffs that would include cocoa beans, chocolate's key ingredient. While businesses from autos to toys are grappling with the effects of new global tariffs, the imposition of retaliatory levies on imports has injected new turmoil into the already turbulent chocolate market. For a small, slim margin business like Guittard, tariffs have the potential to wreak havoc, as prices are expected to rise even more, creating fresh uncertainties for manufacturers that depend on materials from abroad. "I didn't understand the numbers until I started playing the numbers," he said. With the price of cocoa beans tripling in the past two years to $12,931 per metric ton from $3,261 in 2023, Guittard said he was now having to look at adding another 10% into the cost of doing business. "I immediately thought, we have to raise our prices," he said. While other manufacturers may turn to alternatives to help soften the tariff blow, American chocolate makers are wholly reliant on imports. Cacao beans, the raw unprocessed ingredient used to make chocolate, can only grow in tropical regions that are 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The majority is produced in the West African nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana; it is also grown in parts of Central South America and Southeast Asia. "We are really having a lot of discussions on how we want to approach the tariffs and whether we can afford to mitigate the effect on our customers by absorbing some of the effects on cost. But that, of course, will affect our bottom line as well," he said. The company, now based in Burlingame, California, south of San Francisco, sources beans from multiple countries including Ghana, Ivory Coast and South America. The blends have given Guittard chocolate unique flavor profiles, but it has also served as a hedge against the vagaries of the market. "We have a blend of beans, purely and precisely because of these kinds of events: political events or diseases or anything that can happen," Guittard said. Trump's tariffs have injected a new and complex variable into that calculation. While America's trading partners were given a minimum baseline 10% duty, a number of the cacao producing nations, where Guittard purchases its beans, were slapped with higher tariffs. For instance, the Ivory Coast was given 21% and Madagascar a 45% duty. "I think mathematically you can figure that out," said Guittard, but noted that the picture becomes increasingly complicated when you try to determine prices when a particular product uses bean blends that have different tariffs. For instance, the company's inventory currently has pre-tariffed beans and is expecting shipments to come in from South America that will be tariffed. "There's 10 different ways to look at it. So we're just trying to figure out what's the best way for us and our customers." Guittard says the company is leaning toward absorbing a portion of the cost. "We have to decide how much we can absorb and for how long. We certainly can't absorb it all. We're a small family company, not a large multinational conglomerate." Guittard, which employs about 240 people, is a small player in the nearly $30 billion U.S.-based chocolate market, generating roughly $100 million annually. The company did not disclose earnings says it's profitable. Unlike the major U.S. manufacturers such as Hershey and Mars, Guittard, like most small businesses, doesn't have the kind of resources or influence to get a carve out or cushion the coming financial blow. Chocolate giant Hershey, which earned $11.2 billion in revenue last year, is seeking an exemption from the federal government to help blunt an estimated $20 million in tariff expenses this quarter. The company's chief financial officer Steve Voskuil said that it was "using every lever at our disposal to get those tariffs changed." Swiss chocolate conglomerate Lindt & Sprüngli, which acquired Ghirardelli in 1998, announced that it will sidestep the U.S. as a supplier in order to avoid tariffs. "We are monitoring the situation very closely and have identified different ways to mitigate the effect of tariffs," a Lindt spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "These include the possibility of supplying countries like Canada and Mexico from our European production facilities." The National Confectioners Association, an advocacy trade organization for candy makers, is also seeing how to navigate the situation on behalf of its members. "We're watching this closely," said Christopher Gindlesperger, the NCA's senior vice president of public affairs and communications. "We're trying to look at it through our customer's eyes. We don't want it to affect them," said Guittard. "A lot of our customers are family businesses as well." For now, Guittard says he will have to play the waiting game and see how it unfolds. A key factor, he says, is how consumers react and whether they will limit or stop buying candy bars and baking chocolate. "This is a lot more complicated to implement than meets the eye, and we want to be transparent and honest about how we do it rather than using (tariffs) as an excuse to raise prices, which is not what I want to do," he said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Tariffs give 157-year-old chocolate maker Guittard a bitter taste
During the Gold Rush of the mid-1850s, Etienne Guittard, a French chocolatier, sailed to California like many others, hoping to strike it rich. However, he soon realized his fortunes lay not in the mines but in selling the chocolates he brought with him from his uncle's Tournus factory to trade for mining supplies. In 1868, after a stint refining his skills back in France, he returned and started a small business, E. Guittard & Co., on San Francisco's waterfront. In addition to making chocolate, he sold tea, coffee and spices. The business became a fixture in the city as it grew into one of the country's major metropolitan centers. Guittard became the chocolate maker of choice for top chefs like Thomas Keller and restaurants such as Chez Panisse, and supplier to iconic confectioner See's Candies since the 1930s. Over the past century, the family-owned business has survived numerous threats to its existence, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Great Depression, massive sugar price hikes in the 1970s and the unexpected deaths of the company's president and successor in the late 1980s, not to mention competition from artisanal brands in the 2000s. Now it is facing yet another crisis: the Trump administration's global tariff war. 'It was like a jab after a good hard right,' said Gary Guittard, the fifth-generation president and chief executive of Guittard Chocolate Company. Guittard had just absorbed the shock of last year's 180% spike in cocoa prices (on top of the 61% increase the year before), the result of shortages due to climate impacts and drought, when Trump announced in April that he was implementing global tariffs that would include cocoa beans, chocolate's key ingredient. While businesses from autos to toys are grappling with the effects of new global tariffs, the imposition of retaliatory levies on imports has injected new turmoil into the already turbulent chocolate market. For a small, slim margin business like Guittard, tariffs have the potential to wreak havoc, as prices are expected to rise even more, creating fresh uncertainties for manufacturers that depend on materials from abroad. 'I didn't understand the numbers until I started playing the numbers,' he said. With the price of cocoa beans tripling in the past two years to $12,931 per metric ton from $3,261 in 2023, Guittard said he was now having to look at adding another 10% into the cost of doing business. 'I immediately thought, we have to raise our prices,' he said. While other manufacturers may turn to alternatives to help soften the tariff blow, American chocolate makers are wholly reliant on imports. Cacao beans, the raw unprocessed ingredient used to make chocolate, can only grow in tropical regions that are 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The majority is produced in the West African nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana; it is also grown in parts of Central South America and Southeast Asia. 'We are really having a lot of discussions on how we want to approach the tariffs and whether we can afford to mitigate the effect on our customers by absorbing some of the effects on cost. But that, of course, will affect our bottom line as well,' he said. The company, now based in Burlingame, Calif., south of San Francisco, sources beans from multiple countries including Ghana, Ivory Coast and South America. The blends have given Guittard chocolate unique flavor profiles, but it has also served as a hedge against the vagaries of the market. 'We have a blend of beans, purely and precisely because of these kinds of events: political events or diseases or anything that can happen,' Guittard said. Trump's tariffs have injected a new and complex variable into that calculation. While America's trading partners were given a minimum baseline 10% duty, a number of the cacao producing nations, where Guittard purchases its beans, were slapped with higher tariffs. For instance, the Ivory Coast was given 21% and Madagascar a 45% duty. 'I think mathematically you can figure that out,' said Guittard, but noted that the picture becomes increasingly complicated when you try to determine prices when a particular product uses bean blends that have different tariffs. For instance, the company's inventory currently has pre-tariffed beans and is expecting shipments to come in from South America that will be tariffed. 'There's 10 different ways to look at it. So we're just trying to figure out what's the best way for us and our customers.' Guittard says the company is leaning toward absorbing a portion of the cost. 'We have to decide how much we can absorb and for how long. We certainly can't absorb it all. We're a small family company, not a large multinational conglomerate.' Guittard, which employs about 240 people, is a small player in the nearly $30-billion U.S.-based chocolate market, generating roughly $100 million annually. The company did not disclose earnings says it's profitable. Unlike the major U.S. manufacturers such as Hershey and Mars, Guittard, like most small businesses, doesn't have the kind of resources or influence to get a carve out or cushion the coming financial blow. Chocolate giant Hershey, which earned $11.2 billion in revenue last year, is seeking an exemption from the federal government to help blunt an estimated $20 million in tariff expenses this quarter. The company's chief financial officer Steve Voskuil said that it was 'using every lever at our disposal to get those tariffs changed.' Swiss chocolate conglomerate Lindt & Sprüngli, which acquired Ghirardelli in 1998, announced that it will sidestep the U.S. as a supplier in order to avoid tariffs. 'We are monitoring the situation very closely and have identified different ways to mitigate the effect of tariffs,' a Lindt spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'These include the possibility of supplying countries like Canada and Mexico from our European production facilities.' The National Confectioners Association, an advocacy trade organization for candy makers, is also seeing how to navigate the situation on behalf of its members. 'We're watching this closely,' said Christopher Gindlesperger, the NCA's senior vice president of public affairs and communications. 'We're trying to look at it through our customer's eyes. We don't want it to affect them,' said Guittard. 'A lot of our customers are family businesses as well.' For now, Guittard says he will have to play the waiting game and see how it unfolds. A key factor, he says, is how consumers react and whether they will limit or stop buying candy bars and baking chocolate. 'This is a lot more complicated to implement than meets the eye, and we want to be transparent and honest about how we do it rather than using [tariffs] as an excuse to raise prices, which is not what I want to do,' he said.
Qatar Tribune
07-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
QIB offers big bonus Avios on Qatar Airways cards
Tribune News Network Doha Qatar Islamic Bank has announced an exclusive new offer of up to 60,000 bonus Avios with QIB Qatar Airways Co-branded Visa Signature and Platinum Cards, in collaboration with Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Visa, reaffirming its commitment to providing innovative and empowering financial solutions. The limited-time offer will be valid between 1 May and 30 June, 2025 and will benefit new customers of QIB as well as existing customers without credit cards. New QIB customers who transfer their salary to QIB and get a new QIB Qatar Airways Co-branded Visa Signature or Platinum Card will collect 60,000 bonus Avios or 30,000 bonus Avios respectively on the first transaction with their card. Existing QIB customers who get a new QIB Qatar Airways Co-branded Visa Signature or Platinum Card will collect 30,000 bonus Avios or 15,000 bonus Avios respectively on the first transaction with their card. The minimum salary requirement to qualify for this campaign is QAR 10,000 and further details of the offer are available on Commenting on the launch of the campaign D. Anand, QIB's General Manager – Personal Banking Group, said: 'We are pleased to collaborate with Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Visa to introduce this exclusive offer to our customers. At QIB, we continuously strive to offer tailored financial solutions that are rewarding and provide meaningful benefits. This campaign is another step in our commitment to presenting seamless and rewarding banking experience, ensuring our customers achieve more value through their financial transactions.' Guittard, Senior Vice President Business-to-Customer at Qatar Airways, said: 'We are excited to launch this exclusive new campaign in partnership with QIB and Visa. This limited-time offer provides our members in Qatar with the opportunity to collect substantial bonus Avios with new QIB Qatar Airways Co-branded Cards, which they can enjoy spending on travel and lifestyle rewards of their choice by conveniently accessing the Qatar Airways app. It also highlights our dedication at Qatar Airways Privilege Club to provide unparalleled value for our members by delivering exceptional experiences and exclusive opportunities to make their engagement with us more rewarding.' Shashank Singh, Visa's VP and General Manager for Qatar and Kuwait, said: 'We are delighted to collaborate with QIB and Qatar Airways Privilege Club to launch this exclusive campaign. At Visa, we strive to provide our cardholders with unique, seamless and rewarding payment experiences, all backed by our best-in-class security technology and global acceptance at our 150 million merchant partners worldwide. This campaign is a testament to that commitment, and we are pleased to see QIB and Qatar Airways Privilege Club's efforts to reward their customers. We fully support our longstanding partners in extending the benefits of digital commerce to more consumers in Qatar and contributing to the government's cashless agenda.' Through this campaign, QIB reaffirms its position as a leader in customer-centric banking, providing exclusive benefits that align with the evolving needs of its customers. By integrating financial expertise with the Qatar Airways Privilege Club partnership, the bank continues to elevate its offerings, creating value-driven solutions that support both lifestyle and financial aspirations. With over 300 features and a refined user experience, the QIB Mobile App has become the preferred banking channel for most customers, offering a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for all their banking needs. The App offers customers the ability to have full control of their accounts, cards, and transactions and to fulfil all their banking requirements remotely. In addition, QIB customers can open a new account, apply for personal financing, a Credit Card, or open additional accounts instantly via the QIB Mobile App. Available on the App Store, Google Play, and Huawei AppGallery, customers can download the QIB Mobile App and easily self-register using their active Debit Card information.
