Gate Comme Des Filles Chocolates Alexandra Whisnant Truffles | Tasting Table San Francisco
A new company that treats chocolate like pastry
Do not hoard Alexandra Whisnant's chocolates.
Though it's tempting to squirrel away the truffles, produced under the label Gâté Comme des Filles, the small print on each nine-piece box ($35) indicates that they're best eaten within five days.
What happens after five days, we wondered? "The flavor fades," Whisnant replied, explaining that producers of shelf-stable truffles compensate for the loss of intensity by adding flavoring agents.
Her truffles, in contrast, are notable for their delicacy: the fluffy, almost frothy texture of ganache infused with Assam tea; The tart bite of Meyer lemon juice, barely tempered by sweetness; the hauntingly floral scent of local honey that floats out from a square of deep Valrhona chocolate.
Alexandra Whisnant
Whisnant, who has bounced back and forth between Paris and the Bay Area, fell in love with freshly made chocolates when she worked at Chez Panisse, incorporating fresh juices and foraged fruits into her confections.
She started Gâté Comme des Filles ("spoiled like girls") during her last stint in France. A return to Berkeley this summer brought the chocolates to Bi-Rite and a just-opened Good Eggs online store.
Whisnant currently makes one batch a week (on Fridays, incidentally). They may only last for five days, but believe us: The chocolates didn't even make it to day three.