peru is a country that s historically driven men mad, mad for gold, for coca, for its magical, ancient history. but now, there s something else drawing outsiders to its hidden mountain valleys. we love this stuff. we obsess about it, gorge on it, and fetishize it. i m talking about chocolate. once a common treat, it s now becoming as nuanced as fine wine, making the pursuit of the raw, good stuff all the more difficult. i m joining that hunt in remotest peru, but not before i ve re-immersed myself in the booming lima food scene. i took a walk through this beautiful world. felt the cool rain on my shoulder. found something good in this beautiful world. i m in peru with this guy, eric ripert. the guy was looking at us. he went into the tree. that s funny. chef of the world-famous restaurant, le bernardin, in new york, to look at where chocolate comes from, particularly our chocolate. so that s why we re in peru. but before we get all indiana jones, we re spending so
anthony: so, where does chocolate come from? eric: um anthony: the bean. okay. here s where chocolate comes from. the trees produce pods. you split open the pods and take out the beans. the buyer sun dries the beans, then roasts them. after roasting, the beans are extracted from their shells and ground up, producing chocolate liquor. mix this concentrate with milk, sugar, cocoa butter, and you get what we call commercial chocolate. now, our chocolate bar sells for a nosebleed price that s high by even premium chocolate standards. so, where does the money go? and most importantly to me and eric, are we doing a good thing? here s how it breaks down. the raw cacao costs one chunk. labor, the inner sleeve, this much. design, box, packaging, this much. various sundry equipment and miscellaneous, another small
really kooky looking pods as they just come off the trunk of the tree. they sort of look like someone glued them on to the side of a tree. this is a once a year crop? it grows continuously but this is a peak seasons. try that. put one in your mouth. bite it and see the nibs inside? those are the cocoa nib. where does chocolate come from? the bean. okay. here s where chocolate comes from. the trees produce pods. you split open the pods and take out the beans. the buyer sun drys the beans, then roasts them. after roasting, the beans are extracted from their shells and ground up, producing chocolate liqueur. mix this concentrate with milk, sugar, cacao butter and you get what we call commercial chocolate. now, our chocolate bar sells for a nosebleed price that s high by even premium chocolate standards.
anthony: they sorta look like somebody, you know, glued them to the side of a tree, you know. this is a once a year crop? chris: it goes continuously, but this is the peak season. eric: see the way it comes out? try that. like take one in your mouth. bite it, and you see those the nibs inside? those are the cocoa nibs. anthony: so, where does chocolate come from? eric: um anthony: the bean. okay. here s where chocolate comes from. the trees produce pods. you split open the pods and take out the beans. the buyer sun dries the beans, then roasts them. after roasting, the beans are extracted from their shells and ground up, producing chocolate liquor. mix this concentrate with milk, sugar, cocoa butter, and you get what we call commercial chocolate. now, our chocolate bar sells for a nosebleed price that s high by even premium chocolate standards. so, where does the money go? and most importantly to me and eric, are we doing a good thing? here s how it breaks down. the raw
chris: it goes continuously, but this is the peak season. eric: see the way it comes out? try that. like take one in your mouth. bite it, and you see those the nibs inside? those are the cocoa nibs. anthony: so, where does chocolate come from? eric: um anthony: the bean. okay. here s where chocolate comes from. the trees produce pods. you split open the pods and take out the beans. the buyer sun dries the beans, then roasts them. after roasting, the beans are extracted from their shells and ground up, producing chocolate liquor. mix this concentrate with milk, sugar, cocoa butter, and you get what we call commercial chocolate. now, our chocolate bar sells for a nosebleed price that s high by even premium chocolate standards. so, where does the money go? and most importantly to me and eric, are we doing a good thing? here s how it breaks down.