Cadillac’s chocolate-maker creates electrifying new flavors from rare ingredients
Mark PhelanWhat does a Cadillac taste like? Master chocolatier Phillip Ashley Rix can tell you. Rix creates confections to embody “the perfect blend of experimentation and extravagance” in the brand’s new luxury electric vehicles.
While Cadillac designers and engineers create new vehicles in Detroit, Rix mixes ingredients for custom sweets in his test kitchen. Rix’s unique chocolates — developed and produced in downtown Memphis, Tennessee — have been honored among Oprah’s "Favorite Things" and British Vogue’s "Top Picks."
Rix, owner of Phillip Ashley Chocolates, was also a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
“We first worked with Phillip on the Lyriq,” the first of Cadillac’s new EVs, said Juanita Slappy, head of multicultural marketing. “He brought an engineering mindset to creating the flavors.“ Cadillac distributes Rix's chocolates at some events associated with the vehicles.
An example: A handmade chocolate called the Conductor is described as “magnesium-rich bananas prepared flambé style in dark couverture.” Why? Because magnesium conducts energy, and couverture — chocolate that’s high in cocoa butter — produces an elegant texture and creamy flavor.
Rix, who has a degree in chemistry, consults with Cadillac engineers and designers on each new flavor.
More:Megabuck mystery buyers design their own $350K+ Celestiqs at special studio in Warren
Telling stories with tastes
“Our goal is for each chocolate to tell a different story,” he said. “I ask how the designers bring the art of Cadillac to life, and then how do we distill that to a flavor.”
For the hand-built, ultra-luxury Celestiq car, which features custom materials and colors selected by the owner, Rix made chocolates with rare and expensive ingredients including:
- 100-year-old balsamic vinegar
- Marcona almonds
- Roquefort bleu cheese
- Saffron
- Maldon flake salt
- Winter black truffles
- Madagascar vanilla
- Rix’s own fig molasses
Rix created six flavors for the Celestiq:
- Maverick
- Couturier
- Goddess
- Magnetism
- Icon
- Habanera
He made two more for the Sollei convertible concept car: Soiree and Solimar.
I enjoyed one of each at the Sollei’s recent debut in Cadillac’s cusomter-design center in Warren, Michigan.
Words to describe them fail me, so here’s what Rix said:
Soiree: “A summery peach pie. Airy and light.”
Solimar: “Mango and habanero. It conveys flair, heat and light.”
“I use chocolate more as a platform than a stationary thing,“ Rix said. “We’re only limited by our imagination.”
What does your state taste like?
Rix’s business, Phillip Ashley Chocolates, can also produce vegan chocolates. All made from sustainable, fair-trade ingredients, he works with the five types of chocolate:
- Dark
- Milk
- White
- Blonde
- Ruby
Even the cocoa butter-based paint adorning the chocolates is tailored to each vehicle.
“We ask, ‘Is this chocolate a watercolor or is it metallic?’ ”
Other Phillip Ashley Chocolates products include Taste of America, a 50-piece sampler where each filling reflects a taste of the state painted on the sweet.
The connection between some states and flavors is obvious:
Michigan: Cherries jubilee
Tennessee: Memphis Barbecue
Montana: Huckleberry
Colorado: CBD
Others left me mouth-watering, but wondering:
South Dakota: Apricot and toasted almond tart
Nebraska: Rum-soaked raisin
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.