Food

THE MAST BROTHERS GIVE ARTISANAL CHOCOLATE A NEW PORT OF CALL IN MANHATTAN

On a brisk autumn day, my persnickety sweet tooth took me south — way south — to the South Street Seaport in search of a dark chocolate fix. Mast Brothers, the exceptional Brooklyn-based chocolate company, had expanded across the East River from its Williamsburg factory and opened for business on 215 Water Street, and I was now off to enthusiastically sample their goods.

There is not a more suitable locale for Rick and Michael Mast to open an outpost for their delectable wares. Mast Brothers’ “bean to bar” approach to their oeuvre reflects an older model of production: unlike nearly all modern chocolate companies, the Masts add neither soy nor emulsifiers to their chocolate, preferring instead to let the “origin of the cocoa bean speak for itself,” says Rick Mast.

Rather than trust industrial mixers to meet their standards for textural consistencies, Mast adds every nut in their Almonds and Sea Salt bar (my personal favorite) by hand, and all bars are hand-wrapped in their factory. So anchored are the Masts in an old-world approach to quality that in 2011 they chartered a 70-foot schooner in the Dominican Republic and sailed with their cargo of cocoa beans to New York City.

Mast Brother's Chocolate South Street Seaport

Mast Brother’s Chocolate South Street Seaport location.

Rick Mast describes Mast Brothers as “a community-oriented company” that can exuberantly involve the South Street Seaport — a welcome attitude, no doubt, in the notoriously touristy neighborhood.

For the Water Street space, the Masts enlisted another pair of bearded siblings: Evan and Oliver Haslegrave of the design firm hOmE. When I ask Oliver about their approach to the project, the reply from the accomplished designer is humble: “We just tried not to mess it up.” The result is a serene, airy room with a wood American flag installation and Victorian display cases for pastries. “M”-shaped shelves display giant chocolate bars and copies of carefully chosen books (which, presumably, will be joined by the Mast Brothers’  cookbook). Original beams, brick and posts are lit by chandeliers that were custom-built by hOmE. The result: a rustic yet modern chapel for chocolate worship, a place where visitors can sample flavors and purchase pastries, and which hosts private events.

"Mast adds every nut in their Almonds and Sea Salt bar by hand, and all bars are hand-wrapped in their factory. "

To mark the opening of their Manhattan trading post, Mast released a South Street Seaport Bar, consisting of their house blend of dark chocolate sprinkled with Maine sea salt flakes and bedecked in ship-themed paper (perfect for both my reluctant sweet tooth and nautical obsession!). The new confection joins the fleet of other “single origin” bars from Belize, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea, which are each paired with ingredients that range from the traditional (Stumptown coffee and Crown maple syrup) to the adventurous (serrano peppers).

The brothers are not lacking in confidence. They believe that their passion for the craft combined with their commitment to slow-food philosophy produces “the best chocolate in the world,” according to Rick Mast. In this epicure’s opinion, they are absolutely right.