Chocolate used to be simple. The most exotic thing you'd find in it was a bit of fruit or a nut. Oh, how times have changed. Spices are everywhere and the old school fruits have given way to the superfood fruits like goji and people are adding things like olives and bacon into the mix.

And now cheese.

Yes, cheese. On a certain level it makes sense. Milk and chocolate are a natural combination. And what is cheese but old milk? Ok, it's a lot more than just old milk - theres rennet and stuff and I don't know hardly a thing about how they make it but at the beginning of it's life it's a dairy product, right? So in some ways it's not that far a stretch. In others.... well, it cheese for goodness sake! I mean, yes, there are cheeses that work with chocolate after some effort - nothing wrong with chocolate cheesecake - but in general it just isn't the sort of combination I would come up with myself.

All confusion aside it should come as no surprise that Vosges Haut-Chocolat, the people who brought us the fabulous Mo's Bacon Bar, are behind this new taste sensation. They have a nice Italian themed box of chocolates including the following:

• rooster: Dark chocolate with taleggio cheese, walnuts, and Tahitian vanilla beans (cheese!)
  
• olio d'oliva: Dried olives and extra virgin olive oil in white chocolate (this one frightens me somewhat)
  
• balsamico: Balsamic vinegar, roasted hazelnuts, and dark chocolate (this sounds great to me)
  
• sale del mare: Pine nuts, burnt sugar caramel, and sea salt in milk chocolate (also sounds fantastic)
  
• finocchio: Fennel pollen, anise, and dark chocolate (this sounds like it could be really good - maybe)