Death by Chocolate

For other uses, see Death by Chocolate (disambiguation).

A slice of flourless chocolate cake.

Death by Chocolate is a marketing term for various desserts that feature chocolate (especially dark chocolate or cocoa) as the primary ingredient. The trademark in the United States was owned by S&A Restaurant Group, the parent company of Bennigan's restaurants, but with the subsequent bankruptcy of the company the current legal status is unclear. In the United Kingdom and European Union[1], the registered trade mark rights belong to F.T. Wood & Sons Limited.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} Nevertheless, unlicensed uses of the term are common^{[example needed]} though still constitute trade mark infringement under the Trade Marks Act 1994^[8] and Council Regulation (EC) No. 207/2009.

In 1981 Jeffrey Fields opened a restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles called Les Anges. He and his French Pastry Chef, Claude Koeberle, invented a chocolate cake which they called "la Mort au Chocolat", translated as "Death by Chocolate" and "Chocolate Death". It was on the menu on opening day and remained very popular throughout the life of the restaurant. Reference to the dessert first appeared in a Los Angeles Times review, by critic Lois Dwan, on 13 September 1981. Subsequent mentions appeared in a January 1982 Travel & Leisure column by Sharon Boorstin, an October 1982 review of Les Anges in Gourmet Magazine, by Caroline Bates, and a feature in the Premier Issue of Chocolatier Magazine in 1984.

The original Les Anges creation included multiple layers of chocolate genoise, mousse, ganache, and meringue. It was dressed with chocolate creme anglaise.

The term was coined by Erik Russell in 1984 whilst working for London-based dessert manufacturer, Kaysens. On tasting the sample for a proposed new chocolate product he exclaimed, "This one's death by chocolate".^{[citation needed]}

A dish called "Death by Chocolate" might be:

• A layered chocolate cake, with fudge, ganache, or chocolate mousse between the layers
• A dessert made in a trifle bowl from alternating layers of broken-up Kahlúa-soaked brownies, chocolate mousse, crushed Heath bars, and whipped topping
• A molten chocolate cake
• A flourless chocolate cake (sometimes called "chocolate decadence")

"Death by Chocolate" is also the name of an ice cream flavour. In the ice cream, there is usually chocolate fudge, chocolate chunks and chocolate ice cream.

Chef Marcel Desaulniers wrote a book, Death by Chocolate, on the theme. Subsequent other books in the series had similar names.

The Scottish band Simple Minds wrote a song called "Death by Chocolate," as did Australian singer Sia Furler.

References

1. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 1463363". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1463363. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
2. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 2003400". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=2003400. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
3. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 1327732". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1327732. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
4. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 1463364". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1463364. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
5. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 1564727". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1564727. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
6. ^ "Case details for Trade Mark 2125626". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=2125626. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
7. ^ "Death by Chocolate® – Desserts to die for, for true lovers of chocolate". Deathbychocolate.com. http://www.deathbychocolate.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011. 
8. ^ "Trade Marks Act 1994". Opsi.gov.uk. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1994/ukpga_19940026_en_2#pt1-pb3-l1g10. Retrieved 18 October 2011.