Robert Campbell is wild about chocolate. He developed his devotion to cacao during his time as a semi-professional mountain biker in Venezuela. He was obsessed with consuming many of nature's energy foods, and chocolate was his secret weapon.
A few years later, Robert returned to his home state of Pennsylvania with Judith, his Venezuelan bride, to open Sazon Restaurant in Philadelphia. Chef Judith runs the kitchen, and Robert's domain is the front of the house. While Judith created daily meals of fine, authentic Venezuelan fare, Robert longed for his own culinary identity, yet did not want to tread on Judith's turf. His solution was to launch a chocolate laboratory and store within the restaurant.
Today Robert serves a year round revolving menu of more than twenty varieties of hot chocolate, along with his unique chocolate truffles. His chocolate workshop is housed behind the bar at Sazon (in the front of the house, of course), and during off hours he can be found there concocting and testing new recipes. Robert is very proud, and very propietary, about his recipes, so we were thrilled when he agreed to share four of his creations with the readers of Dessert Professional. Enjoy these hot chocolate and truffle recipes (one tradicional and one the Sazon way for each) along with the images of Robert, Judith, and the edible delights that make Sazon Restaurant a unique destination for chocolate aficionados.
Dessert Professional Magazine | February 2011
Savon Venezuelan
Northern liberties while Robert Campbell and wife Judith Suzarra-Campbell specialize in home-style Venezuelan cooking at Sazon (941 Spring Garden St., 215-763-2500), Campbell says his hot chocolates are his most inspired creations, drawing equally from a love for both the old and new worlds. "I am the king of hot chocolate in Philadelphia," He says. "I have tried all of the popular hot chocolate places in the city with horrible disappointment ... I am hungry for someone to challenge we." There are over a dozen exotic varieties, for which Campbell chips directly off blocks of pure cacao. La Cuaima is a tart variety with cinnamon and three kinds of chilies mixed right in; the sweeter, exceptional Calabaza King brings together pumpkin-infused chocolate.
