Bay Area Chocolate Binge by Abe Opincar

What sets these truffles apart is the contrast between their rough-hewn appearance and the delicate way Gorce flavors them. The bergamot in his Earl Grey truffle is subtle. The raspberry in his raspberry truffle doesn't bring on the sharp dissonance you sometimes get when chocolate is paired with berries.

Baker’s Profile: Chef Jean-Marc Gorce and Casimira Gorce

Jean-Marc and Casimira Gorce brought the pride of France to San Francisco’s North Beach district when they opened XOX Truffles, Inc. in 1998.

San Francisco Walking Tours

...and for dessert you’ll stroll over to XOX Truffles for hand-rolled, bite-sized, chocolate nuggets.

OpenRoad TV with Doug McConnell

San Francisco North Beach Food Tour

There are 27 varieties of XOX Truffles. Jean-Marc is making regular dark chocolate ones for us. Essentially they're chocolate filling, dipped in chocolate and tossed in more chocolate. Jean-Marc says, "But basically this one is chocolate with cream and flavoring, this one is a pure chocolate, just a coating, and that one is 100% cocoa powder, so it's 100 percent bitter." And 100 percent delicious. GraceAnn sums it up, "He and his wife own this business. Family. Simple but good."

San Francisco's' Finest Chocolates

At XOX, watch as Chef Jean-Marc Gorce creates more than 25 varieties of petite, hand-made truffles. There are common truffles and uncommon truffles such as Earl Grey tea and a Vegan soy version.

Chocolate Fantasies by Sarah Fritschner

Dark chocolate is ultra-dark. White chocolate is delicious, too. Don't miss the totally-vegan truffle made with soy milk. Hey! That's good for you, right?

Truffles and Flourishes by Bill Gottlieb

While you're in the city, don't miss XOX Truffles Inc., where Jean-Marc Gorce makes 27 flavors of bite-size truffles so scrumptious he was declared one of the 10 best chocolatiers in America by Chocolatier Magazine.

Truffles come intricately wrapped in ornate packaging. They're the perfect sexy treat for nighttime rendezvous with your special sweetie.

Best Chocolate Shop Discoveries by Jessica Blatt

The chocolates at XOX Truffles in San Francisco look like chunks of gravel, but they taste remarkably smooth. They're made from Cocao Barry chocolate, in 27 sublime varieties - from creme de framboise to coffee crunch.

Forget the Seven Deadly Sins: Behold the Seven Greatest Chocolate in America by David Rosengarten

But, old or new, you definitely need to know about them-for they are producing unbelievably delicious, very artisanal, exceedingly idiosyncratic chocolate truffles. And nothing else.

Ten of our Favorite Artisan Chocolatiers by Joan Steuer

XOX Truffles by Betsy Malloy

Boiling cream is poured over chocolate and flavoring, the mixture is mixed and cooled, shaped into irregular shapes that look like giant raisins, then rolled in cocoa powder or other coatings. Voila!  Chocolate heaven, tiny bite-sized truffles with melt-in-your mouth fillings.

Mangia! North Beach by Stephanie McKinnon McDade

Next up, a little flavor of France. ... where many will leave their hearts. This is XOX Truffles, Inc., where one bite of chef Jean-Marc Gorce's confections makes knees go weak.

Chocolate Kisses

What a boon for chocolate lovers that they did. His handmade chocolates are rich, delicate, and filled with 27 flavors, from a totally addictive caramel to coffee crunch, Earl Grey, and Hazelnut.

Fabulous Food Tours by Jennifer Reese

And there's nothing Italian about XOX Truffles, a pocket-size storefront where Jean-Marc Gorce—who owns the shop with his wife, Casimira—demonstrates how he prepares his melting confections with cream, chocolate, and cognac.

I Love Chocolate by Stephanie Zonis

Forget about those giant, overdecorated monsters sold in some places; these are petite, irregularly-shaped, unassuming jewels of flavor and richness. The thin chocolate shell surrounds a dense, rich filling that will leave you hungry for more...go ahead, they're small!

Best Binge for a Buck

No bulky, hood ornament-sized shell of chocolate will keep you from the good stuff. Instead, slip directly into pure, deep, cocoa-dusted chocolate bliss, gently kissed with a range of flavors from Earl Grey (a citrusy hint of bergamot) to crème de menthe, cognac, and framboise

Chocolate Heaven in San Francisco - XOX Truffles by Martha Bakerjian

The shop is warm, cozy, and inviting. I had a great hot chocolate and James had an espresso made with Graffeo Coffee from across the street. But the best part was the free truffle that comes with each drink.

Roker on the Road, Food Network Chocolate

Say "I Love You" with one of America's favorite foods-chocolate! Al's going to make truffles with a New York chocolatier, and a top French chef who has turned into a truffle maker....

Truffle heaven by Donna Maurillo,
Santa Cruz Sentinel

Recently, one of our vendors sent me a box of the most amazing chocolate truffles from XOX in San Francisco. I am sorry to say (no, I’m not sorry to say) that I did not share them. They were too good for anyone but me.

The Inside Scoop by Grace Ann Walden

Jean-Marc Gorce and his wife, Casimira, are expanding their 6-year-old XOX Truffles business to the East Bay. By November they hope to open a second store and production facility at 6126 La Salle Ave. in the Montclair section of Oakland.

Besides retail and online sales, XOX Truffles supplies Neiman Marcus and just got into the Whole Foods on California and Franklin streets in San Francisco.

Taster's Choice by Carol Ness

Locally made XOX came in second. These truffles are small, hand-formed nuggets of dark chocolate ganache rolled in bitter cocoa powder. Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake liked these best, saying "tastiest and perfect size." Other tasters loved their "creamy texture" and "chocolatey flavor but not too sweet,"...

Mother of All Days by Bonnie Wach

If you're already doing the flowers, why not lock up the inheritance with chocolate? XOX Truffles, voted the top American truffle by publications ranging from Food & Wine to the New York Times, are made right here in North Beach. Aside from an assortment of exotic flavors -- from cocoa-powder- dusted creme de framboise to white chocolate with dark chocolate centers -- Chef Jean-Marc Gorce makes each creamy wonder a perfect pop-in-your-mouth size, just right for moms who invariably want "just a bite" (usually of whatever you're having).

Better Than Sex? Makers of sumptuous chocolate truffles bring their rich craft to Montclair.
By Jonathan Kauffman

What makes these truffles so sexy? Freshness, yes, and the small size. But key is the chocolate Jean-Marc uses to make the ganache centers: It's a mix of high-quality French semisweet chocolate and cacao powder, with no added sugar to blow out the palate. The various truffles are flavored with everything from reduced red wine to hazelnut paste.

Hit List

Chef Jean-Marc Gorce had always wanted to open a restaurant where he could play with his ideas, however crazy they might be. In January 1997, he and his wife, Casimira, settled for a gourmet chocolate house. Since then, XOX Truffles has become one of the top-seven rated chocolate makers in the US, with 27 handmade and carefully chosen flavors.

Noel in North Beach: families shop for seasonal treats in San Francisco's Italian enclave
by Abigail Peterson

And don't miss Jean-Marc and Casimira Gorce's XOX Truffles (754 Columbus; 415/421-4814). Their charmingly lumpy, nugget-size chocolates make yummy gifts.

For Chocolate Lovers Only
by Stephanie Zonis

In the North Beach section of the city sits this tiny shop/coffee bar, where Jean-Marc and Casimira Gorce work their chocolate wizardry. Twenty-seven varieties of handmade truffles are the big draw here, along with some very creative packaging. The truffles, unlike those offered by most American companies, are quite small and irregularly-shaped, but they are marvels of richness and good flavor.

Indulging Mother's Sweetest Obsession by Michelle Slatella

My mother and I live in different states. But this year, in a supreme show of self-sacrifice, I decided to send candy anyway. Of course, I'm not a copmplete masochist, so I won't go so far as to send, say, truffles, certainly not the cocoa-dusted dark chocolate ones from XOX Truffles on San Francisco. They have haunted me every waking moment since I moved to the Bay Area last year.

Some people say it's nearly impossible for a truffle not to taste good, given its basic premise: you start with a rich blend of chocolate and cream and butter callend ganache, then add nuts or fruit or roll it in cocoa. So what makes XOX truffles particularly irresistable?

"First of all, I use good ingredients and they are made fresh and by hand every day." said Jean Marc Gorce, a co-owner of XOX Truffles. "We don't do volume like some big companies where you never know how long the chocolate has been sitting in refrigerators."

Aired on July 28, 30, 31, 2005

Small, delicate and lightly dusted with cocoa powder, each aspect of an XOX truffle is purposefully made to create an amorous sensation. The bitterness of raw cocoa powder gives way to the crack of a delicate shell, then the soft center spreads along the palate, allowing infused flavors to come through. Traditional favorites include dark chocolate, noisette (a smooth hazelnut filling further encrusted by hazelnuts) and peanut butter. The red wine, rum raisin and Earl Grey truffles are equally unforgettable.

Chocolate

Carole Terwilligers Meyers is a native San Franciscan and she has written many travel books. For Backroads, she told us four of the best places in the Bay Area to indulge in chocolate and see how some gourmet chocolate is made.

Here are her picks:

At XOX, watch as Chef Jean-Marc Gorce creates more than 25 varieties of petite, hand-made truffles. There are common truffles and uncommon truffles such as Earl Grey tea and a Vegan soy version.

...

Sweet Spots for Chocolate

In time for Valentine's Day, USA TODAY's Kitty Bean Yancey enlisted chocolate-loving colleagues Veronica Gould Stoddart and Robert Abitbol to test some notable U.S. artisan chocolates. We took recommendations from experts, including Joan Steuer, whose Chocolate Marketing firm tracks trends. "It's an exciting time" for high-end, hand-made chocolates, she says. Here's our sampling from seven top chocolatiers

Chef Jean-Marc Gorce is famed for hand-rolled creations with exotic fillings.

Appearance: Bite-sized orbs in a dazzling gold-and-blue box adorned with a faux monarch butterfly.

Taste: Melt-in-your mouth truffle paradigms, whether cognac (the chef's favorite); red wine (delicate); hazelnut (satisfyingly nutty and crunchy). The subtle flavors build, then linger. Less pleasing were the dark soy/vegan and too-sweet white chocolate truffles.

...

XOX Truffles

If you like chocolate, you most likely love truffles, and if you love truffles, you have to go to San Francisco.

San Francisco is the home of XOX Truffles, who make the best truffles, period.

A little experiment was conducted. Two chocoholics go to XOX Truffles and have the truffles of their lives, which are the dark chocolate, lemon and raspberry. "They could not have been that good," they say to each other, and spend the rest of the afternoon eating other truffles. Hands down, all other truffles are droppings when you have had XOX Truffles, though the quest for something as good better continues.

Sweet Temptations

What is it about chocolate that has made humans nuts for thousands of years?

by Eugenia Bone

...(Although men purchase plenty of chocolates--for women. Casimira Gorce, co-owner with husband Jean-Marc of XOX Truffles, San Francisco, an award-winning confectioner, says, "Men come in to buy chocolates when they are in the doghouse, and they tell us what happened. Sometimes I feel like a bartender. Or a therapist.")

By Betty Hallock

Jean-Marc and Casimira Gorce started XOX Truffles, also in San Francisco, in 1998. They were "scared that people wouldn't like them. We thought people would expect them to be perfectly round," Casimira Gorce says. Their truffles, unlike Schmidt's perfectly formed chocolates, look like the actual truffles that come from the earth. They're lumpy, and dusty with cocoa powder.

At Debbie, Charles, & Eric's - February 20, 2004

For the blind tasting, chocolates were placed into bowls identified only by random numbers. We asked people to rate the chocolates in two ways. First, we asked everyone to rank them in order of their favorites, from first to last. The average is the first (rank) column, where the average favorite is the XOX. Then, we asked them to rate five parameters (appearance, texture, odor, taste, overall), giving each 1 (worst) to 5 (best). ...

San Francisco Chocolate Adventure Tour: XOX Truffles, Scharffenberger & Recchiuti Among Winners

A Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network Exclusive by Jennifer King - October 25, 2004

All three chocolate connoisseurs agreed that, so far, this was their favorite stop. And they weren't just saying that because Jean-Marc was present.

"XOX Truffles makes it to the top of my list, in great part, simply because of the melt-in-your-mouth delicious tastes," stated Nancy, Paula and Catherine.

Nancy, a homemade truffle creator herself, was also inspired by Jean-Marc as he stood there making his truffles. She will bring back this inspiration to Denver where she and her husband make truffles every holiday season as gifts for their friends and family.. ...