Conspiracy Chocolate creates an ode to cacao in its limited-time Theobroma menu
One of humanity’s most ancient foods, with a history of over 5,000 years, cacao is the ingredient responsible for chocolate. Celebrated around the world for its flavour, health benefits and mood-enhancing benefits, cacao is a seed that grows on trees native to humid, tropical regions around the globe.
In the modern world, we are familiar with its mass-produced products derived from cacao like sugar-filled chocolates and candy, but the cacao bean itself has a wide range of flavour profiles that Hong Kong-based chocolate makers Conspiracy Chocolate explores in a vibrant, summer-inspired menu.
Typically focusing on bean-to-bar chocolate creations that involve roasting, refining and tempering chocolate with innovative toppings and flavours, Conspiracy is taking its knowledge of cacao to new heights with eight courses created in collaboration with chef Dennis Pang that aim to celebrate the bean’s true potential.
“To be honest, this menu was quite a challenge for myself and Dennis; unlike our usual stuff, it challenged us to fit something that is traditionally seen as a winter food into a summer menu—so we let the cacao lead the way,” founder Amit Oz tells Tatler at the preview tasting.
Starting with a lighter expression of cacao and gradually progressing to the flavours of dark chocolate, the menu features both sweet and savoury courses, accompanied by a choice of alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage pairings prepared by Grand Hyatt Hong Kong's head mixologist, Drew Chigorimbo.
Named after the "food of the gods" in Latin—and the very tree that cacao is grown from—the Theobroma menu starts with wild-caught hamachi dry-aged for three days in a similar process to meat, using a homemade cacao butter. The fresh fish is served with thinly sliced pickled celtuce, daikon radish and baby shiso leaves as a fresh and subtle introduction to the creamy flavours of cacao.
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Next, a garden salad is tossed in a dressing inspired by the fruit juice that collects below the fermentation boxes on the brand’s chocolate farm in Vietnam. “This fermented vinegar makes half of the salad’s dressing, while the other half comes from the wasted shells of the cacao pods, adding a fruity and earthy note to the dish” Oz explains.
Small entrées follow of freshly baked sourdough, cultured pistachio cacao butter and seared scallops with white chocolate and sake ganache; and a zucchini roulade served on a purée of shallots and dark chocolate, which fuses the bitter chocolate flavour with sweet shallots and fresh vegetables.
Mains include the slow-cooked Iberico pork collar, coated in a crust of apple chips, crispy shallots and cacao nibs, followed by an interesting take on Conspiracy’s signature bonbon—a small chocolate pyramid filled with ginger brandy jam, foie gras and oolong tea chocolate.
Of course, no chocolate-themed meal is complete without dessert, and Theobroma does not disappoint: a classic 75% Dak Lak chocolate ganache, a fresh sorbet made from roasted cacao nibs, and an interactive serving of the popular passionfruit and mango chocolate bonbon round out the menu.
From fresh to fermented, raw and roasted, the dinner presents dishes that shatter diners’ perceptions of chocolate to offer a truly educational journey through the complex flavours of cacao.
Conspiracy’s private kitchen pop-up is available to book on July 7, 8, 14 and 15 online here.
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