Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Sander Diana Phillips on the Daily Dose of OC




ENTER CHOCOLATE HEAVEN


We've just discovered Diana Phillips Chocolates, a new artisan chocolatier based in Laguna Beach. The artistically designed handmade chocolates are available online only. Last year Diana left her design position at Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising to pursuit a creative career in chocolate. Her former career allowed her to live in Italy and travel throughout Europe. When it came time to study the art of chocolate, she trained at Ecole Lenotre in Paris.


Her collection of delicious chocolates includes truffles, Champagne chocolates, rosemary grapefruit caramels, smoked Balinese sea salt caramel, lavender French knots, tea infused chocolates, chipotle espresso and chocolate paves. To add in-season touches, Diana relies on Morning Song Farms of San Clemente to provide organic herbs, vegetables and fruits plucked right from the fields. The Mother's Day Collection features hand-painted designs in blood orange, watermelon and basil ganache in dark chocolate; Meyer lemon and thyme ganache in white chocolate; and dark chocolate ganache in milk chocolate.


Diana Phillips also makes unique, sculptural chocolate molds unlike anything on the market. In Europe she fell in love with chocolates and the European way of packaging. "Whether it was butter or a hammer or laundry everything was wrapped neatly and tied with string." Phillips says. "When I started designing my own package, I remembered how special I felt about that process, so my ribbon is really more like a glamorized string, to assure the buyer that I care about the contents."

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