Leave it to the French -- they taunt us with the paradox of their high-caloric cuisine and impossibly svelte figures, and now this. Foodlab at Le Laboratoire, an experimental art-meets-science think tank in Paris founded by a Harvard professor, has come up with a chocolate inhaler.
Le Whif was developed by David Edwards, who compares his invention to "the pot, the bowl, the plate, the bento box, the fork and knife, the chopstick." The pocket-sized contraption, which looks like a chic asthma inhaler, emits a mist of tiny chocolate particles into your mouth. And if just the taste of breathable cocoa just won't do, there's mint, raspberry and mango variations.
Edwards, who is collaborating with chef Thierry Marx on more whiffable foodstuffs, is introducing global audiences to his creation during the Le Whif World Tour, which will make a stop in Chicago at the All Candy Expo at McCormick Place from May 19-21. If you just can't possibly wait to inhale, you can order your very own Le Whif through the Le LaboShop Web site (just don't forget your currency converter). There's even a whole book on the subject.
At one one calorie per puff, we can only assume this little device is aimed at us Americans (ever see a French person worry about calories? or their health??). The cost has European haughtiness written all over it, too: at $2 per four-puff inhaler, you're spending 50 cents per calorie. Pass the Hersheys Kisses, s'il vous plait.
