In cuisine, as with all things creative, visionaries have a knack for staying ahead of the curve. And when it comes to flavor trends and chocolates, chef Phillip Ashley Rix, founder and CEO of the luxury chocolate brand Phillip Ashley Chocolates, is living in the future.
“I never know what we’re going to do until the opportunity presents itself,” relates the award-winning chocolatier. So when a collaboration with Miller High Life, The Champagne of Beers, tasked him with creating a limited-edition collection of chocolates inspired by iconic bar snacks, he couldn’t resist.
“We specialize in taking you somewhere that no one goes with chocolates,” reveals Rix. “There are a lot of places you can go, but we’re going out to the multiverse [by asking], ‘Just how three-dimensional can we get it?’ How imaginative can we be with chocolates?’”
A Tasty Collaboration
The answer is just as intriguing to the mind as it is to the taste buds. For the Miller High Life Bar Snack Truffles Collection, Rix conjured up a set of six chocolate confections that reimagine bar snack favorites usually enjoyed with beer.
The truffle flavors are Grilled Cheese (Rix’s personal favorite), Lemon Pepper Chicken Wing (“It’s so crazy and dope.”), Pretzel Praline (“Salty/sweet that’s my jam.”), Beernut (“It’s a fancy Champagne of Beers peanut buttercup), Buttered Popcorn (The process and the amount of popcorn it took intrigued Rix) and Sweet Potato Fry (“You’ll see me use sweet potato in different formats simply because my grandparents grew them”).
The Miller High Life Bar Snack Truffles Collection retails for $35 and is available for a limited time exclusively at phillipashleychocolates.com.
Flipping The Flavors
Rix’s desire to push the boundaries of flavor combinations came from his late mother, who introduced him to chocolate truffles and baked amazing chocolate chip cookies. The culinary talent also took inspiration, aptly enough, from the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
“Willy Wonka is probably my key inspiration with that 3-Course Dinner Gum in the movie—the one that tasted like tomato soup, roast beef and blueberry pie,” he recalls. “I want to do that; build layers of flavor in small bites that have nuance, complexity and that’s executed exceptionally well.”
Continue reading over at Cuisine Noir.
Words by Jocelyn Amador.
Cuisine Noir Magazine is the country’s first Black food publication, launched in 2009 and dedicated to connecting the African diaspora through food, drink and travel. To read the rest of this article and more, visit www.cuisinenoirmag.com.
