Dateline: 1962, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
I hurriedly boarded a Silversides bus along with other campers, en route to fastidious Amish Country. I experienced my first Dr. Pepper there, along with an admiring glance from a coed after I lent her my sweatshirt. But Hershey Park beckoned the uninitiated into a world of amazement. Chocolate; cacao beans, cocoa butter, a stream of liquid chocolate along with the undeniable urge to plunge an index finger into the marvelous flow of scrumptious liquidly bliss.
Chocolate. Could you imagine a vending machine without a Milky Way? Would you stand in line for a Chocolate Éclair at the Good Humor truck? Most assuredly. There was never a fire at day camp without S'mores and their melted Hershey squares. So enough mouth-watering examples.
How about the young coed to whom I lent my Army-Navy store sweatshirt? In a flush of post-pubescent hormones, I anticipated a token of appreciation, perhaps a hug? And as I inflated my chest to enhance my stature, I felt her grasp my hand. “Here,” she gushed, “your first kiss!” And truly it was – a silver-wrapped Hershey's Kiss. So began my matrimony with chocolate!
Since chocolate, for most of us, is woven into our everyday lives, I thought about what if any relationship it might have on music, and vice versa. Not machine-mixed milk chocolate or imported bar chocolate or miniatures, adulterated with fruit or nuts or covered with creams. No, I had to scour the Hudson Valley for exceptional, hand-crafted chocolates. The real thing. And I found a place in Beacon, New York where truffles are elevated to high art. But are there any ingredients in music that play into the recipes of the chocolatier? I asked Håkan Mortenssen of HÅKAN Chocolatier, and here is his delicious culinary chorus in response to my questions.
Joe Caplan: Have you ever noticed the sounds of chocolate making – tempering, snapping, the rustle of wrappers – as having musical textures?
Håkan Mortenssen: Absolutely! At HÅKAN Chocolatier, the tempering process creates a rhythmic stirring sound, like a gentle percussion beat, while the snap of [breaking] a perfectly-tempered bar echoes like a sharp cymbal crash. The rustle of wrappers adds a soft, whispering melody – it's all part of the symphony that makes crafting chocolate so immersive.
Håkan Mortenssen creates a custom edible sculpture.
JC: Do you think different types of chocolate have an inherent “mood” or “tempo” – is dark chocolate classical while milk chocolate is pop?
HM: Yes, I do see it that way. Dark chocolate, with its intense, layered notes, feels like classical music – deep, sophisticated, and timeless, much like a Bach concerto. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is lively and approachable, akin to pop music's upbeat tempo, perfect for everyday joy. Our Swedish-inspired bonbons often blend these moods for a harmonious experience.
JC: When you taste a particular chocolate, does it ever evoke a specific song, instrument, or harmonic quality in your mind?
HM: Often! A rich, 70 percent dark chocolate from Panama might evoke the deep resonance of a cello or the haunting melody of a Swedish folk song like “Vem kan segla förutan vind.” Our hazelnut praline bonbon, with its nutty harmony, reminds me of the warm, vibrating tones of a guitar strum. It's all about that sensory crossover.
Thin shells, hand-selected ingredients, and a one-of-a-kind visual appeal make these hazelnut, and pistachio and coffee bonbons, something special.
On the Creative Process
JC: Do you ever think about tasting chocolates the way a musician builds a performance – starting with certain percentages of chocolate or the origins of its ingredients in a particular menu item, and moving through a progression?
HM: That's exactly how we approach our tastings at HÅKAN. We start with lighter origins, like a 40 percent milk from Ecuador for an opening “prelude,” then progress to bolder, higher-percentage darks from Guatemala, building intensity like a musical crescendo. It creates a narrative arc that enhances appreciation.
JC: If you were to translate your favorite chocolate into a sound or musical composition, what would it be and why?
HM: My favorite – our cardamom-infused dark chocolate – would translate to a fusion piece blending Swedish folk with jazz. The spice adds an unexpected “improvisation,” while the chocolate's smoothness provides a steady rhythm, reflecting my journey from Sweden to the Hudson Valley and the creative freedom in blending flavors.
JC: Have you experimented with pairing music and chocolate to see if certain songs enhance bitter, sweet, or complex flavor notes?
HM: Yes; we've hosted informal pairings in our Beacon shop. Upbeat jazz like Miles Davis’s So What amplifies the sweetness in our milk chocolate bars, while ambient electronica, such as Sigur Rós, brings out the subtle bitterness in our 85 percent dark. It's fascinating how rhythm can heighten complexity!
Here's a chocolate garnished with goat cheese.
On Inspiration and Influence
JC: Has a song, composer, or music genre ever inspired a chocolate creation, pairing, or tasting experience?
HM: Definitely – Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén's pastoral works inspired our lingonberry bonbon, evoking the wild, earthy notes of Scandinavian landscapes. Jazz genres from my New York days have led to experimental pairings, like matching our espresso ganache with bebop for an energizing tasting.
JC: Do you associate specific music with chocolate-related moments – quiet evenings, celebrations, meditative tastings?
HM: For quiet evenings, we pair soft acoustic folk with our hot chocolate elixirs – think Joni Mitchell for introspection. Celebrations call for upbeat pop or ABBA, enhancing our festive bonbon boxes. Meditative tastings? Classical minimalism like Arvo Pärt, allowing the chocolate's nuances to shine without distraction. The Beatles and Miles Davis are major inspirations for us too.
JC: If you could collaborate with any musician to create a synchronized chocolate-and-music experience, who would it be and what would you create together?
HM: I'd love to collaborate with Daft Punk, Gorillaz, or Erykah Badu. Their innovative soundscapes would pair perfectly with a multi-layered bonbon series. We'd create an immersive event blending music with evolving flavors, from fruity highs to earthy lows.
On Experience Design
JC: How do you think ambiance – music, silence, or specific sounds – affects how people taste and appreciate chocolate?
HM: Ambiance is key; soft background music can relax the senses, making subtle flavors pop, while silence encourages mindfulness, letting the chocolate's “snap” and melt take center stage. In our shop, we use gentle ambient sounds to create a cozy, Hudson Valley-inspired escape that deepens appreciation.
JC: Would you ever design a “listening tasting” where each chocolate is meant to be experienced with a specific song or soundscape?
HM: We're already planning one, and [we] did one with Louis Tres [cognac]. Imagine a curated playlist where our pistachio truffle pairs with a nutty, rhythmic beat from a drum solo, or our sea salt caramel with oceanic waves and gentle piano. It would be a sensory journey. Stay tuned!
Each chocolate is crafted by hand.
Håkan Mårtensson is a chocolatier known for his creativity and skillful use of out-of-the-ordinary ingredients. His chocolates are crafted with razor-thin shells, perfect tempering, uniquely-sourced ingredients, and a snap that melts in your mouth. In addition to chocolate, Håkan is a baker who has brought traditional Swedish cardamom buns to the locals, and espresso-based coffee drinks made with beans from Brooklyn roastery Devocion.
Håkan's passion for pastry and chocolate began when he enrolled at the Culinary Institute in Kristianstad, Sweden, at age 15. Three years later, he began his career at Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) department store in Stockholm. In 2005, Håkan joined the Swedish National Culinary Team as a sculptor and brought home gold medals from the World Cup in Luxembourg and the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt. In 2008, Håkan moved to New York City to become the master chocolatier at FIKA NYC. Today, Håkan is thrilled to have his own chocolate speakeasy in Beacon, New York.
For upcoming tasting and other events at HÅKAN Chocolatier, please visit hakanchocolatier.com.
Header image: Key of Life bonbons with key lime pie and white chocolate ganache. All images courtesy of Håkan Chocolatier.
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