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This could be a rare-antiquities museum installation,
except for the fact that it’s in a busy Chicago mall. Fifty-two individual chocolate truffles are
on display in a glass case. Printed plaques accompany them, explaining origin, provenance and
history. Are they art or confection? Well, there’s only one way to tell. But before you even
think about sinking your teeth into one of these beauties, first contemplate the philosophy
behind this exhibit of edible art.
“One thing, beautifully prepared, eaten
with awareness.” That’s how Katrina Markoff,
BA’95, chocolatier and businesswoman, wants
people to approach Vosges Chocolates. This
is not candy to be bought in bulk (though if
you did, you’d be paying around $69/pound).
This is a one-at-a-time experience.
First you’ll notice the dusting of colorful
spices on the top: fiery red paprika, golden
curry, black sesame seeds. One truffle is infused
with saffron and covered with a mosaic of
multicolored sugar chips. Another rears up
like a craggy chocolate mountain with, shockingly,
a heart of cheese. One sports a candied
violet. Another has tiny, edible pearls on top.
Each of these chocolates has a name and
a story. The naga is named for a tribe in northeast
India, the woolloomooloo for the aboriginals
in Australia. One tells the story of a
notorious exhibitionist from the early 1900s;
another is in tribute to the Gatsbys. One evokes
Japan, another Bob Marley.
Go ahead, splurge. Buy one. It’s only about
$2. Take a bite. Your teeth will snap through
the chocolate to the soft surprise inside. The
taste is subtle, haunting, aromatic. Chew very
slowly; you’ll want to prolong this experience.
Feel free to moan. Markoff, founder of
Vosges, would like that. She has traveled around
the world and spent months in her kitchen
combining flavors and textures to astound
you with each mouthful of delight.
Unconventional chocolate pairings are only
the beginning of the novel approach Markoff
has taken with her seven-year-old “haut chocolate”
company,Vosges (named after the French
mountain range). It’s been a highly successful
beginning—last year Vosges sold $4.5 million
worth of truffles and chocolate bars, exotic
cocoa and rococo cakes. In addition to choco-
late, Markoff is also selling a philosophy of
life through yoga retreats and chocolate, social
causes and chocolate, through lingerie and
leather jackets … and chocolate.
Spend a day with Markoff and you’ll begin
to see, just as she does, the amazing connections
one can make between chocolate and
life—what we eat, what we wear, the causes
we support, the cultures we know. You’ll begin
to understand how she can say, without a hint
of irony, that she wants to bring peace to the
world through chocolate. And by the end of
the day, you’ll begin to believe that if anyone
can pull it off, Markoff can.
Flavors of the World
Katrina Markoff doesn’t look like your typical
hard-driving entrepreneur. Her long, wavy,
dark hair is just this side of disheveled, and
over her jeans she’s wearing an untucked,
Western-style shirt embroidered with red roses.
Markoff looks younger than her 31 years and
seems sweeter than a company president
should. She has a natural beauty and warmth
that seem to captivate everyone she meets,
from journalists to celebrities to the young,
hip staffers (who are outdressing their boss
by a mile, with their sharp outfits and high
heels). But it’s clear that Markoff’s drive, intelligence
and charisma are the emotional as well
as the creative hub around which Vosges and
its staff revolve.
For a woman who describes herself as a
loner and “pretty introverted,” Markoff certainly
has embarked on a professional life
demanding that she be “on” nearly all her
waking hours. She presides over the two professional
kitchens, creating the recipes and
personally cooking the ganaches (the creamy
interiors). She leads the marketing and sales