How to choose chocolates as a gift

• If you want to impress someone but you're not sure what to buy, get a beautiful ganache, a simple mixture of chocolate and cream, with the absolute thinnest coating of chocolate on the outside.

• Is a Whitman’s Sampler okay? According to Clay Gordon, this might appeal to someone because maybe they had it in their childhood and reminds them of their childhood, but in terms of impressing a real chocolate lover it wouldn’t be his first choice.

• How about really fancy schmancy chocolates? (NOTE: These come from Marie Belle in SoHo, NYC). These kinds of chocolates are absolutely gorgeous to look at. And, as a matter of fact, yes, these are high quality chocolates and a connoisseur would love to have these. The box featured here would probably run you about $20.00.

• A package of six little chocolates from Jacques Torres would be around $6.00.

• Godiva is very familiar to a lot of people. It’s a safe choice and everybody knows exactly what it is that you’re giving them.

• As for chocolate bars, when you buy bars as a gift, exotic is better. For example, Clay shows us chocolate bars from Ecuador and Spain.

• If you don’t live near an artisanal chocolate store, turn to the internet. Some of the best chocolates in the United States are in fact available online. Just make sure they ship them overnight.

NOTE: Clay recommends chocolates.com, chocolatesource.com, and chocosphere.com as good resources for online chocolate.