A Valentine’s Day Dinner Where Six Dishes Are Made Of Chocolate

As part of the special event, the restaurant is importing raw cacao beans from Africa and Southeast Asia and are processing them in-house, from fermentation right through to chocolate bon bon. In other words, the restaurant is making its own chocolate from scratch. It’s called a “bean to bar” concept, and you’ll get to observe various parts of the process via a chocolate processing station that’ll be set up as part of the experience, which will fill the entire room with the heady scent of cacao.

As a quick primer: the raw cacao bean is first fermented and then roasted. The crushed roasted beans (the nibs) are then ground into a paste and separated into cocoa butter and cocoa solids, which are put together again with flavourings to give you chocolate. For this Valentine’s Day special, different parts of the process will be used in each main dish and the desserts, so it’s a chocolatey experience through and through.

This has got to be the most innovative way to work chocolate into your Valentine’s Day routine. Plus, given that the beans are sourced from single-origin small producers, we think this would be a really cool way to learn (and taste) a little more about ethical, farm-to-table processes.

We get to sample the Valentine’s Day dinner menu, which is going for $210 per person. It features a six-course meal, including wines from Cogito wines, a distributor of organic wines. These weren’t available at our tasting, but you can expect a roster of all-natural, small-batch wines chosen by Cogito’s very own sommelier during your dinner.

The meal kicks off with three (chocolate-free) cold starters, each containing little bursts of Chef JP’s trademark flavour surprises. There’s the Oyster pearl, a frosty globe of umami, oyster-infused ice cream over a light kimchi made with nasturtium (a common garden plant with peppery edible leaves). Then there’s the Orange Brined Kohlrabi, a crunchy root vegetable, here served in wafer thin rolls steeped in a bright, fruity brine made with orange and a distillate of fermented scallops. Both starters are a pleasant balance of light seafood flavours with fruity acidity, and textural contrast. The starter course is rounded up with a pudding-like Almond Tofu, except served here with strawberry puree and shavings of frozen foie gras. It comes together in pillowy, savoury sweet mouthfuls with just a hint of that irresistible goose liver flavour.

The first main dish is where the cacao journey begins. It features two elegant spears of French white asparagus served under a shower of shaved truffle, edible flowers, and served atop a creamy sauce enriched with hazelnuts and a light vinaigrette made with earthy cacao nibs. The cacao nibs provide a nice textural contrast to the tender vegetable. This has a classic French profile: creamy but delicate, and the cacao nibs add the barest breath of earthiness.

A chunky leg of Hokkaido King Crab, slow cooked in cocoa butter, is served alongside crab-infused miso and Jerusalem artichoke. The crab is wonderfully tender and sweet, and the cocoa butter treatment adds a subtle richness. Together with the earthy miso and Jerusalem artichoke, this is an umami bomb full of sweet, nutty flavours.

The next main dish is a bouncy-fleshed French monkfish tail that’s roasted to concentrate its oceany flavour, then served atop a sweet wedge of cauliflower, the whole thing showered with burnt cacao powder, jus from the roasting, and lashings of crispy, cured lard. The monkfish is fatty and fresh, and the cacao adds a subtle smoky, barbecue-like flavour to the dish. Delicious.

A roasted rack of New Zealand venison given a classic pairing with butter-braised quince. The chocolate dimension comes in the form of a rich Mexican-style mole made with cocoa powder and Koji (think fermented rice) for an extra hit of deep umami flavour. The tangy quince, cocoa-kissed mole, and tender venison make for a lively, subtly spicy combination.

It wouldn’t be Valentine’s day without an extravagant, show-stopping dessert featuring the completely made in-house chocolate. We think this might be our favourite course yet. A large cacao bean sits on the plate atop a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. We won’t spoil the surprise, except that the whole thing cracks open to reveal a gorgeous ensemble of sour cherry, fermented plum paste, caramelised miso apple, and, yes, chocolate. Warm spice is set against tart fruit, bitter chocolate, and sweet ice cream, what’s not to love? As a parting shot, you get a second dessert! It’s a little bon bon with a liquid centre made with raisin and Pedro Ximenez, a Spanish white grape dessert wine.

An intriguing way to incorporate cacao into a menu — though don’t come expecting every dish to taste like chocolate brownies. It never overwhelms the flavours of the dish, but is there, humming away in the mix. We also like the idea of tasting your way through the painstaking process of turning a cacao bean into a bar of chocolate. We think it’s a fun Valentine’s date idea, and the food, capably made and imaginative, lives up to the special occasion.

Valentine’s Day bean-to bar menu available on 13 & 14 Feb for dinner only. #03-13 Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Rd, S228209. Open daily except Sun & Mon, noon-2.30pm; 5.30pm - 10.30pm. Tel: 6950 4868. v-dining.com