In a Nutshell

Or, actually, in a peanut butter filled chocolate shell. I recently read about a grandson of the founder of Reese’s Cups who is suing Hershey Corporation. He claims the current owners of his grandfather’s brand have changed things and that now the treats are neither actual chocolate nor real peanut butter.

As Reese’s Cups were a childhood favorite, I’m sympathetic. Having had occasion to taste a few over the past decade – leftover Halloween candy – they just didn’t seem the same. Of course, my tastes have changed. And, hopefully, matured. Quality over quantity, and all that. LOL I now try to confine myself to freshly made chocolates from small, local artisans. Which also has the salutatory effect of limiting my intake, as there are very few nearby and I certainly can’t just walk to them.

In that regard, our recent trip to Basque Country was a revelation. I knew the Basques were famous for pintxos (tapas) culture, and for seafood, ham and Espelette peppers. I didn’t realize Bayonne, in the French half of Basque Country, was also known for chocolate. Apparently Jews fleeing the Inquisition were welcomed and protected by the Basques, bringing with them one of the few trades allowed Jews in Spain – chocolatier. We stumbled into one of the many charming chocolate shops in Bayonne’s Old City and, at the shopkeeper’s insistence, climbed yet another spiral staircase.

Upstairs we were thrilled to find a genuine Victorian chocolate salon – dark wood, cozy seating, polished urns, antique chocolate cups with mustaches guards. And the best hot chocolate we’d had in years. Since I can’t share that tasty treat with you, here’s a  painting of the view from Hondarribia, a charming fishing village in the Spanish half of Basque country. It’s looking across the bay to a French town nestled below the Pyrenees mountains.