CACAO LORENZO C H O C O L A T I E R 1818 Pot Spring Road, Timonium, Maryland 21093 (Corner of Pot Spring & Ridgely Roads) Phone (410) 453-9334 Fax (410) 453-9380
"Love Letters" bonbons from Cacao Lorenzo Chocolatier
"Exploring Baltimore Chocolatiers"
Mason-Dixon Arrive Magazine
February 2011
Let's start small. To be a world-class chocolatier (and for this we'll use the French pronunciation, shock-o-la-tee-A) all you really need is about 800 square feet: two prep rooms, a small office/storage space and a front counter. That, plus years and years of commitment to the craft. Larry McGlinchey of Cacao Lorenzo has trained all over the world, studying German, Swiss, French and Belgian chocolate making. As new trends are constantly evolving, McGlinchey must travel abroad to meet and interact with other internationally-recognized chocolate experts. It's a tough job. Someone's got to do it.
If you've never tasted artisan chocolate, please drive immediately to Cacao Lorenzo for a moment of chocolate glory: Basque figs soaked in port wine, mixed with a milk chocolate butter ganache, enrobed in dark chocolate. These remarkable morsels take three days to make. They disappear in a moment. They alone are worth the drive to the intersection of Ridgely Road and Pot Spring Road in Timonium.
Or maybe you'll want to try Dos Corazones ('two hearts' in Spanish): perfect, pure little white hearts with pistachio filling. They are real white chocolate, so hard to find, so delicious. What makes this creamy confection a chocolate lover's dream is the cocoa butter, stripped out by too many makers. McGlinchey makes all of his chocolates by hand, with the highest available quality ingredients, including his fillings, made in small batches right on the premises as well.
McGlinchey's parents are Irish, and he has both Irish and U.S. citizenship, but McGlinchey travels most frequently to Europe and Canada to meet with other world-class chocolatiers. He lectures to other chocolatiers in Montreal - no small feat for anyone not born to European chocolate traditions.
Cacao Lorenzo (named cacao for the chocolate beans, and Lorenzo for the South American region where chocolate was first documented in history) started as a hobby out of McGlinchey's home. "I had worked medical sales for 30 years with a Swiss vascular company. I became accustomed to eating exceptional chocolates on many trips there. When I couldn't find the same thing here, I started a hobby, making chocolate out of my house. Soon they were gifts for friends and clients, and then people started calling up with orders: Can I get 2 dozen boxes? Five dozen? One day one of my accounts called with a request for 200 boxes. I knew that day it was time to retire and get into the chocolate business."
Cacao Lorenzo offers a fine website, cacaolorenzo.com, focused less on selling chocolates and more on helping buyers learn more about what makes good chocolate good. Besides making good chocolate, McGlinchey loves to educate palates. Except for cream and butter, Cacao Lorenzo uses only French suppliers because of their quality standards. "I don't ever want to mass produce. I want to stay a boutique business," he says. "If I had to compromise on ingredients or standards, I'd close my doors."
...In closing, we asked renowned McGlinchey of Cacao Lorenzo two important questions: What is the best thing to drink when eating chocolates, and is there a 'best' way to eat them? "Well, I drink tea when I eat chocolates. Have a warm drink. It'll keep your mouth warm and the chocolate will melt more quickly for more intense flavor." That was good and unexpected advice. Our next question was "What's the 'right' way to eat a chocolate?" McGlinchey laughed. "Put it all in your mouth at once." Sounds like good advice!
