Ok, so the saying from the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle actually goes “You will never do anything in this world without courage”, but chocolate certainly helps give you the courage in trying situations.
You’re probably wondering why, or how I’ve somehow managed to link Greek philosophy, courage and chocolate together?! I was lucky enough to meet Aristotelis of the Dark Side of Chocolate on my recent trip to Athens, and oh what a sweet, and philosophical, treat that was!
It was a brisk walk up the streets of Athens from Psyri to Akadimia. Sam and I spent the morning of the last day of our Athens ‘mini-moon’ culturing ourselves with a leisurely walk around the Ancient Agora of Athens and Temple of Hephaistos, taking in the history of the place, and now it was time for chocolate shop hunting.
I make it my mission, wherever and whenever possible, on almost every trip I take to try my hardest to find a chocolate shop or patisserie with a chocolate item worth writing home about.
On arrival, Dark Side of Chocolate was closed. We sat on the little wooden seating outside the shop and pondered out next move. I’ll admit, I felt a little devastated about the prospect of not making it into this shop, having got both my (and Sam’s) hopes and appetites up during the walk. As we sat wallowing in the fact we might not get our chocolate fix, a gentleman walked past. Relaxed, and dressed in checked shirt, casual trousers and loafers, he saunters over, unlocks the door and steps inside. If there was ever a male equivalent for Vienne in Chocolat then this, was most certainly him! For a main street just off Athens’ business and academic district, this place certainly manages to conjour an etherial almost timeless vibe – only certain independent chocolate shops manage to achieve this vibe, and they are always my absolute favourite to visit. We are in luck, and are drawn inside to discover more!
Aristotelis Panagiotaros’ shop is small, yet welcoming, and his warm manner sets you right at ease – he chats away as if you are a long lost friend or someone who he has known for ages just popping by to say ‘hello’. On display behind the counter are his awards for chocolate creations during his time in Paris. A proud member of the exclusive Valrhona Circle of Chefs, or Cercle V, the culinary journey started after a motorbike road trip to Amsterdam. Though it was his time in Paris working as a stagier and pastry chef for Patrick Roger (of famed giant chocolate centrepiece work) that really planted the cacao seed for him, noting that on his first day he was expected to work to the same standard as the rest of the team (something I can whole heartedly relate to, vividly remembering my own first day working for William Curley in London).
But he missed the Mediterranean, so after a time decided to return to Athens and take the leap into the world of chocolate to craft his own masterpieces. Using couverture chocolate from Chocolaterie de L’Opera, award winning olive oil from his own olive grove, lemons and rosemary from his own garden, and honey in place of invert sugar (used to maintain a light texture and consistency of the ganache, keep the ganache stable and preserve its shelf life a little in as natural a way as possible) for his couture chocolates, he produces some outstanding combinations. Rosemary, Mint and Lemon (Sam’s personal favourite), Tea and Dried Fruits, to name just a few.
Sam was keen to state that the Mint and Lemon from the Dark Side of Chocolate was even better than a very well renowned French chocolatier’s Mint and Lemon couture chocolate, and, I must admit, I am inclined to agree with him. The balance of the menthol note with just the right amount of lemon, the result? A beautiful bright citrus yellow ‘pop’ at the top of a deep bluey-green flavour colour makes for the most perfect flavour journey when coupled with a good quality dark couverture chocolate as the base carrier ingredient.
As we taste and chat our way through the entire selection of flavours, Aristotelis busies himself serving customers his famous dark hot chocolate, all the while gleefully explaining how he decided the name of hist shop based on Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, but that a producer lady of the documentary “Dark Side of Chocolate” visited the store and got all upset because she felt the name interfered with the documentary. He sees the positive side – in that it is publicity for both of them, so this must be a good thing.
We chat and taste our way through the entire shop, and learn all about Aristotelis’ olive grove with the award-winning olive oil. It transpires he even runs olive oil tastings and workshops that are very popular. I would imagine olive oil – much like wine, chocolate, coffee, vanilla – possesses all sorts of flavour variations based on genetics, weather patterns, soil compositions and neighbouring plants. This is something I will definitely have to revisit to discover more. But now it’s time to pack up our chocolate selections – which, let’s face it, is basically everything in the shop! Our treats are packed neatly into red, black and yellow geometrically patterned boxes, and tied with a red and black ‘Dark Side of Chocolate’ branded ribbon. It’s not until we depart that we realise the chocolate boxes, and couture chocolate decorations match the floor tiles, and that Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ has been playing quietly and unobtrusively in the background all this time. I have a sneaking suspicion this won’t be the last I see of this place.
Photography by my incredibly talented husband Sam samallen.co.nz
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