THE ‘PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP’, CREATED BY TESLA DESIGNER REMY LABESQUE

What is it?

A recreated chocolate chip, designed by Remy Labesque with Dandelion chocolate. Labesque works at Tesla as a designer, and usually works on solar powered roofs and vehicle charging, while Dandelion chocolate is a San Francisco based bean-to-bar chocolate maker, who makes dark chocolate from only two ingredients: cocoa beans and organic sugar. The new chocolate chip is square shaped, with a mix of thin and thick edges. They are exactly 1 square inch in size, and weigh around 3.5 grams each, which is very different than the dew drop shape we are all used to in chocolate chips, like the ones the Hershey’s company famously makes.

According to Lisa Vega, executive pastry chef at Dandelion chocolates, the chips melt consistently in baking, and their form interacts with all five taste sensors in the mouth. “They stay whole, but once they’re baked, the center of the chip gets soft”.

Why it’s cool?

• It is a redesign of the traditional chocolate chip, which is considered an industry standard due to its production method, which was letting drops of chocolate cool down on a cold flat surface.
• This new design feels better to use in pastry, due to its shape and how it is affected by heat.
• It also feels great to eat alone, according to Labesque, because the mouthfeel is different than that of chocolate bars.
• The chips are also being released by origin, like Ecuador and Costa Rica, and each type has its own detailed description of taste, available on the bag or on the Dandelion chocolate website.

Future growth potential?

This redesign of what is considered an industry standard will lead to chefs creating new recipes, made possible by the new qualities of this chocolate chip. This could also lead to other businesses to look for new ways to innovate their ‘basic’ products, like Pétrus and Space Cargo Unlimited, who have taken a dozen vintage 2000 Pétrus bottles of red wine, and sent them to space for over a year, and noticed it affected the wine in some weird way. New innovations like these are what keep the food and beverage industry fresh.