Second Installment of the Z Club

This year for Christmas Jay got me 2 installments of Zingerman's Z Club, "a gift for the adventurous eater." Each installment arrives in a box on my doorstep and includes carefully selected culinary treasures (usually limited production items). It is a total surprise what we'll get, but we haven't been disappointed yet. The best part is the description that comes with the items. Written without pretense, it explains the story behind the product and makes you feel all special about what you have just received.

Included in my second (and last) installment that arrived Thursday was "Askinosie San Jose Del Tambo 70% Chocolate Bar." I find this chocolate is made by a former lawyer who left his very well paying work to pursue his passion for chocolate making, which he is apparently pretty good at. The description goes on the explain the flavor of the chocolate, the raw material (he meets every one of the farmers in South America where he buys the beans), the chocolate making (he does not use lecithin or vanilla, but does add cocoa butter, which he makes himself), the sustainability of the product (fair trade prices and bonus checks for the growers), and so on.

I am now in love with the chocolate before I even taste it, and knowing all the wonderful details on how it was made, I don't even feel guilty about eating it. This does not really matter since Abby and/or Sable decided they would take care of it for me! Jay came home to find the dogs licking the empty --environmentally friendly-- paper packaging. Not a shard of chocolate left.

Jay calls Zingerman's and leaves a voicemail to explain the situation and asks if we can order a new chocolate bar (many of the z club items are produced in such small quantities that they are only distributed through the z club). Within a few hours we receive a message back. First of all, the wonderful stories about the products are not just marketing genius...these people really are that nice. The customer service rep introduces herself and first expresses her concern for the dogs based on her knowledge that chocolate is toxic to animals. Little does she realize that I had a much higher likelihood of killing the dogs. Besides, Abby and Sable have clearly come from a long line of counter cruisers and have conditioned their stomachs to handle pretty much anything left in smelling distance. The rep goes on to let us know she will be sending a new chocolate bar to us in the mail as a free replacement and closes with a final comment about hoping the dogs are OK. (Yes, we could hear her colleagues laughing in the background).

Anyway, new chocolate bar is on its way and there are plenty of other delicacies to enjoy in the meantime.

Abby did have gas.