Building An Empire With Macarons

The first time I set foot in Mercato Centrale on the first weekend of December of last year, one of the stalls that attracted my attention was that of colorful discs sandwiching some gooey filling that don’t just please visually but also gustatorially. I couldn’t believe my eyes… there, standing in all its glory, in the middle of a weekend market, was a booth offering mesmeric macarons in their pastel prettiness.

“Oh tiny round bits of heaven, your smooth domed top, ruffled foot, mild moisture, and sheer lusciousness that isn’t at all cloying make you truly unforgettable as you melt in my mouth and beyond.” — Dash

Not to be confused with macaroon, a macaron is a meringue-based confection made with egg whites, sugar, almond powder or ground almonds, and food coloring. It is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling spread between two cookies. Its name was derived from an Italian word maccherone, which in turn, came from ammaccare, meaning to crush or beat, used in reference to the almond paste which is its principal ingredient.

The particular concessionaire in Mercato Centrale I was referring to above is none other than Empire Macarons. The brainchild of Georgia “George” Rocha-Chu [uh-huh, the former UAAP sportscaster and sports columnist], Empire started in 2008 with the owner’s specialties: cheesecake balls and, of course, macarons. The idea of venturing into profitable baking crossed her mind when George’s husband egged on for her to whip up some macarons, which happens to be one of his favorite treats. Since she has always wanted to put up a baking business and has been baking way back when she was just a kid, the self-taught baker that George is, found the concept of establishing an enterprise in the form of Empire Macarons more than irresistible.

Now on its third year, Empire has been serving more than a dozen flavors of the macarons/mini macarons/macaron cakes and five variants of the cheesecake balls. Original flavors of the macarons include White Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Triple Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Pistachio. There are also seasonal flavors such as Purple Yam [ube], Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter, and Kalamansi. Both original and seasonal flavors come at P35 each/ P290 for 9/ P390 for a dozen. Empire also has a Premium line of macaron flavors which consists of Cresta [praline], Double Milk, Intense 70% Dark Chocolate, and Intense Mint. This line boasts of fillings made with intensely decadent Lindt Chocolates and is priced at P35 per piece/ P315 for 9 /P420 per dozen.

Continually motivated with her clients positive reaction and raves about her products, George all the more strives for excellence. She doesn’t scrimp on ingredients. She doesn’t make use of premixes nor shortcuts. She does everything the traditional way, meaning, the hard way. That explains the price of Empire’s coveted pieces. This unparalleled passion for her craft is George’s recipe for success. She is, as a matter of fact, perpetually in search for unusual but effective ingredients to come up with new flavors for her macarons.

Here’s the GREAT news. George wants to help me spread the love this month. So yes, that means Empire Macarons, two dozens of them, are up for grabs this week!!! Isn’t that plain awesome?! There will be two winners of a box of 12 each. Excited?! Well, I am!!! Here’s how to win:

1. Like Pieces of A Wunderkind’s Mind on Facebook.

2. Leave a comment under this post telling me why you deserve to win a dozen of these delightful darlings. The best answers win.

3. Spread the word about this giveaway through any of the social networks [Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, Multiply, Tumblr, etc]. and post the links with your answer. I will verify the links so be sure that they are viewable by everyone.

4. Don’t forget to leave your email address. I need to contact you in case you win.

5. Deadline of entries would be on February 27, 2011 at 11:59pm.

6. Winners will be announced here through a blog post on February 28, right before announcing the prize for that week. The winners will also be notified via e-mail.

7. IMPORTANT: Before joining, make sure that you?d be able to claim your prize at the Empire Macarons stall at Mercato Centrale.

Make sure to follow every mechanic. Failure to comply disqualifies your answer, no matter how good.

Ready, set, comment!!! Good luck, guys!

***Special thanks to George Rocha-Chu of Empire Macarons for sponsoring this week’s giveaway.

Empire Macarons

Click HERE to be directed to the official website

Telephone: 514-2546 / 0917-8861190 (for orders and delivery details)

Also available in Mercato Centrale every weekends and at the Baker’s Dozen at the Power Plant Mall from the 2nd weekend of February until 1st weekend of March