Lesley's Gourmet

Simple sophistication

An intense passion for their product appears to be the driving force behind all chocolatiers; they eat, sleep and breathe chocolate. Lesley Clapham is no exception. Within the first second of meeting this dynamic force, one is swept along on an extraordinary journey of learning and tasting.

She was born in South Africa and later moved with her family to Swaziland. As with many a professional foodie, there is often a grandmother in the creative process. Lesley is emphatic “she was the best cook ever, she taught me so much.” Her maternal grandmother was a woman who cooked intuitively in the Mediterranean style. Today most of Lesley's preparations are based on the fact that it is the feel and aroma of the combined ingredients that matter rather than actual measurements. Even something as mundane as a green salad in the hands of Lesley takes quite an unexpected turn in both flavor and texture.

Photo above: Lesley's chutney line, courtesy of Lesley's Gourmet

Lesley has taken an interesting route to get to the fulfillment of her chocolate dreams. Her family has always enjoyed good food and travel; she grew up being continuously exposed to new and different flavors and experiences, the diversity of which continue to be seen in her products.

Lesley's chocolate epiphany came on a trip to Paris as a young girl. After taking bites of the wondrous offerings at the world famous La Maison du Chocolat, she realized that not all chocolates were created equal. Until that moment, chocolate had been just chocolate, but here was something very different, like nothing she had ever tasted before. It was at that moment that chocolate became her focus.

Before arriving in Bellevue, Washington, in 1989 Lesley was catering diplomatic corps parties and events in South Africa, Swaziland and Brazil. Once here, she continued catering, but thoughts of chocolate were never far away.

After a few very successful months of catering, she noticed that her baked desserts, cakes and savories were garnering “wow” reviews from all who tasted them. So in late 1990, she closed her catering business and opened a bakery instead. It did not take long for her eponymous specialties to fly off the shelves to an impressive list of clients and discerning gourmets. Products included Lesley's Truffle Shortbread, Pyramid Cheesecake, Biscotti, Brandy Cake and Savory Spreadables.

Early in 1996, Lesley began experimenting seriously with chocolate and started full-time production in 1997 when she added them to her product line at the bakery. She sold the bakery in July 1999 to a granola company, but rented the front two rooms from them for full-time chocolate making. In October 2002, she moved the chocolate business to a small USDA-coded basement nestled in the Eastside ‘burbs.

Here in a small group of very small rooms, she creates her French-styled artisan chocolates. Lesley prefers to work alone, and after the hectic life of a bakery at all hours of the day and night, she finds her creativity prefers this solo existence. However,  outside this quiet chocolate kitchen, Lesley's world is continuously filled with family, friends and business associates who are the beneficiaries of her passion for food in general, not just chocolate. It appears that the love and consideration for those around her and the consistent quality in everything she produces are the reasons she has maintained her contacts and customers throughout the many reincarnations of her product line.

Valerie Brotman of Chocolate Box in Seattle loves to visit Lesley's kitchen because “Throughout the course of the visit, food continuously appears from everywhere for tasting and discussion: breads, chutneys (Lesley's own Apricot Ginger Chutney), cheeses, butter, meats, salts, in addition to the chocolate.”

“My exclusive chocolates and confections are handcrafted using the finest natural and organic ingredients and a blend of Michel Cluizel Chocolate to create the ultimate indulgence!” says Lesley. “The 72% cocoa content is the perfect accessory to a filling, the 85% is so exquisite it will stand on its own and the 90% is just magical with no bitterness or acidity, just dark smooth rich chocolate.”

Her current truffle flavors include hazelnut, almond, mint lemon, Ceylon cinnamon, rosemary chili, espresso, brandy and, for Valentine's Day, raspberry hearts. All the fillings are made as pure as possible without any sugar compensation.

Photo: Lesley's chocolate line, by James Rawson

Another of her popular confections are the 38% Milk Chocolate Honeycombs which combine the caramelized crunch of old-fashioned honeycomb with silky smooth milk chocolate. If you like to eat Crunchie Bars and other big pieces of chocolate-covered honeycomb, but are fearful of chipping a tooth, then Lesley's are for you. She designed them as thin flat wafers that are almost too easy to eat!

Lesley started working with salted caramels in March 2003. “My smooth buttery caramels are enrobed in our blend of Michel Cluizel semi-sweet dark chocolate sprinkled with sea and artisan salts.”

She began with a few of the basic salts, but true to style it was not long before she was blending some of her own. Currently Lesley has 16 very distinctive salts ranging from hibiscus, vanilla and lavender to Himalayan pink, Sri Lankan curry, and her favorite rainbow peppercorn. “Each salt subtly enhances the depth and layers of the chocolate and caramel flavors,” she says. Tasting salted caramels should be handled like tasting wine; begin with the flowery fruity and finish with the more intensely flavored. Get together with a couple of friends and cut each piece into threes and get to know each flavor, then mix and match. A favorite pairing is hibiscus and Sri Lankan curry.

Photo: a whole tray of the salted caramels! By James Rawson

Every two-three years, Lesley goes to the International Bakery, Pastry, Ice Cream, Chocolate & Confectionary Exhibition held in Paris, France. Here she finds her creativity is rejuvenated as “this mind blowing experience is so inspirational.”

In 2004, as a side bar to her chocolate empire, Lesley created a delicious chutney product line for the catering and gift market. The South African and Malaysian flavors of the Apricot Ginger Chutney are drawn from her international food experiences. Jars of this product are in her gift baskets available on line.

The philosophy that Lesley tries to live by (her words) is simplicity in all things. Her very clean and bright chocolate kitchen is basic and without adornment and only items needed in the making of her product are there. The chocolates themselves are precise and neat. Many years ago a friend sent her this quote from an unknown source: “Simplicity is not the opposite of complexity merely the clarification of the essential.” This and Leonardo da Vinci's “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” are the words on which she bases everything she does.

Author's note:  Research for this story took five long and very tasty hours of sampling, but as it is said, someone had to do it.

February 2010