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Not just any chefs, my friends, but the best chefs in LA were on the street at Melrose Place in West Hollywood last night. The guests - fashionistas & foodies from Europe, New York, LA - were decked! Im neck-craning - where to look? Beautiful people or beautiful food? Ah, the food! Under white tents, elegant amuse bouce and bite size specialties popped out from the chefs' tables - marinated big-eye tuna from Sona, rock shrimp shooters from Zovs Bistro, sashimi & soba from The Water Grill. Meat, too: salt pork from Spago, suckling pig burgers from Bastide, roast beef from Republic. Celebrity chefs, you know em: Tom Colicchio from TOP CHEF, restrauntrepreneur of CRAFT/cookbook fame; Joachim Splichal of Patina with his new restaurant PAPERFISHoh, the list goes on. In fact, heres a link to the list of chefs and the recpetion menu http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/169 . In addition to spring colors of rhubarb reductions and fava green garnishes, we had flashy cars, designer bags & kitchenware as silent auction items to support the James Beard Foundation http://www.jamesbeard.org. Could there be a Best of Show in such a spectacle of perfection? For me, it had to be chocolate of course, and it was JIN PATISSERIE from the shores of Venice, California. Pastry chef Kristy Choo brought refined style, flavor and thoughtful technique to her artisan chocolates and petit fours, and also served a marscapone, peach and passionfruit crumble that was signature stylish with a fragrant note of home. You gotta visit. www.jinpatisserie.com Was there any bad food at this event? Maybe one off dish or two. Was there bad champagne? Not a drop - this was Nicolas Feuillatte, Montaudon and Lanson. The effervescence of Chefs & Champagne united the Los Angeles culinary scene in a bubble of excellence.

Here's a post from my chocolate blog (www.chocolateallthetime.com/blogspot). Comments?You don't get to see cacao pods in the USA unless you go to Hawaii, and even there they a rare sight. Cacao trees (from whence, of course, chocolate) are cultivated only sporadically around the Hawaiian Islands. But Tony Lydgate of Steel Grass Farm on Kauai hopes to change that. His botanical garden (www.steelgrass.org) specializes in cultivating organic plants that bring value to the islanders and the earth. Cacao, bamboo (the "steel grass" namesake of the farm) and vanilla are the favorites. In these crops, he and his family hope to start a cooperative that puts Kauai on the chocolate-making map and reclaims some of the farmland once owned by pineapple growers and sugar cane companies, all long-departed for cheaper labor in far-off lands. You can take a tour, eat some dark chocolate, learn about the health benefits and see a glimpse of cacao's USA future.Another producer is Malie Kai Chocolates (www.maliekai.com), rejuvenating old sugar fields on Oahu. They offer an exceptionally smooth milk chocolate and mellow bitter-sweet made of pure Hawaiian, single origin cacao. "The natural growing conditons on the islands give cacao potential to be even bigger than Kona coffee," says Nathan Sato, President of Malie Kai Chocolates. And check out the beautiful line drawings by Lynn Soehner (www.lynnsoehner.com) that adorn the packaging! For a stronger, earthier chocolate, try The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory (www.originalhawaiianchocolatefactory.com) on the Big Island. The owners (The Coopers) will tell you all about the importance of pure Hawaiian chocolate and how you can start your own crop.But you will have to move to Hawaii! Why no cacao in Florida's orange groves or next to Texas Ruby Reds? Why not nestled in northern California's salad bowl? Chocolate is finicky! Cacao trees only grow and bear fruit in a band 20 degrees north and south of the equator. They like tropical rain, shaded light and warm, moist air. They need forest mulch & midges for pollination; they are susceptible to pests and diseases. Beyond that, however, cacao is a great crop (full of color, literally, and history), and it is easily grown on small farms throughout the tropics. Hawaii is the northern tip of its growing region, so we're lucky to have it and lets hope to see more..

From over at Serious Eats , an article on decoding PLU stickers .It turns out that there is more there, there, then you might immediately infer. For example:Conventional produce gets a four-digit number. Organic produce gets a five-digit number that starts with 9. Genetically modified items also get a five-digit code, but that code starts with 8.4139: Conventional Granny Smith apple94139: Organic Granny Smith84139: GMO Granny SmithThere is also coding that will tell you that a specific item was grown in a specific country or region. Read the article for links to learn more than you ever thought you might want to know on PLU codes.But don't look for cacao (it's a fruit) - at least not in the US or Venezuela. It's not in the list of foods that have PLU codes.

Just when you think you've pretty much seen it all, something comes along to let you know that you just can't make these things up.A Swiss company is selling a box of four chocolates for $620. That's not a typo - six hundred and twenty dollars. What makes these chocolates special is not the chocolate, that's plain old Felchlin Maracaibo Clasificado 65% or the Cru Sauvage 68%. No, what makes these chocolates special is that they are decorated with gold or silver leaf or "edible diamonds" and packed in velvet-lined wooden boxes each with an individually signed and numbered plaque of authenticity.According to the site, it takes eight hours to decorate the chocolates with the gold or silver leaf, which is painstakingly applied with a small paintbrush. The "edible diamonds" (rock candy?) are apparently hand carved and polished to resemble real diamonds.Production on your box does not begin until you place your order. When you do, it takes 2-6 weeks for your box to be completed. Wonder what shipping costs? You're worried that shipping is going to cost too much? If you have to ask you can't afford them.And, although the site cloaks itself in an aura of Swiss authenticity, everything is produced in Malaysia, about 15km outside of Kuala Lumpur. Apparently it's hard to find competent chocolate craftsmen in Switzerland these days. The company claims that the products are Swiss even though the everything (except the chocolate) appears to be manufactured not in Switzerland. It may also account for the fact that the chocolates are priced in US$ and Malaysian Ringgits. But not Swiss Francs or Euros.Obviously, this company is appealing to the super-rich for whom ostentatious consumption comes as naturally as breathing. They're certainly not appealing to people who know anything about chocolate because we know we can buy the chocolate for a very small fraction of the cost and we can go to one of many chocolatiers who use Felchlin chocolate to buy truffles that are almost certainly as well or better made.If $620 sounds like too much for four chocolates, you can purchase 2 for only $506. Why so little discount? They're both shipped in the same size box. Think you can save some money by ordering silver rather than gold? You're out of luck. Apparently the labor costs (the company claims it takes 8 hours to decorate each confection) even in Malaysia outstrip the difference in cost between gold and silver. Which is absolutely ridiculous because gold is trading (on April 15th, 2008) in the $920-$950/ounce range while silver is trading around $17-$19/ounce.However, if $620/box does not seem like too much to pay, for a minimum order of 200 or more boxes (a mere $124,000 - that's right one hundred twenty four thousand dollars), the company will ship your chocolate personally escorted by two master chocolatiers (at no extra cost - how generous) to ensure that it arrives safely.Hmmmmm let's see, at one finished decorated chocolate per worker per 8-hour shift, it takes four chocolatier/decorator-shifts to produce one box. So, if there are only four chocolatier/decorators on staff, they can produce one box per day which means that your 200 box order will take 7 months to produce, by which time the first chocolates to be decorated will be well past their prime. Let's be a little charitable for the moment and give them a little benefit of the doubt. Let's say that your 200 box order is going to take six weeks because it takes that long to produce the boxes. If they delay the production of the chocolate until the last week - they do want it to be fresh after all - that means they need 800 chocolatier/decorator shifts. To finish the production in five work days assuming two shifts per day, they need to have 80 chocolatier/decorators on staff (80x2x5=800).No wonder the factory is in a country where labor is dirt cheap. There is no way a company operating in Switzerland could possibly afford such ridiculously low productivity. Even if we cut them a break and say that they are exaggerating just a wee bit and it really only takes four hours to decorate each chocolate ... well, let me just say that it's hard for me to comprehend (or condone) the profit margins in this.I am curious to see the presentation in person as well as taste the chocolates (with or without the gold). But I am not curious enough that I am willing to shell out over $500 for the "privilege" of doing so.Dying to actually see what a $150 piece of chocolate looks like? Click here .

I am just really starting to awaken my senses to the chocolate world around me. It is one thing to eat chocolate, but to actually open your self up to the flavor notes and textures, is another thing entirely. As a child I knew that certain chocolate tasted better , or had a smoother texture than others, but I would never have imagined the extent at which chocolate is reviewed and revered.I am surprised at all the notes --- to have tasted a piece of chocolate that is perfumed with banana is wonderfully exciting.I am excited to continue learning about the fine points of chocolate.After looking at some of the post in the forums, I decided to compile a list of retailers and chocolate suppliers. I posted it on my blog . I hope no-one minds that I used some of the recommendations noted in the "Where to buy chocolate" thread . I have included web links to the places listed if they were available.click on this image to go to the list: Please take a look and tell me what you think. If you know of more sources send me a message or leave a comments.Cheers!

A couple of years ago I experimented with some of our local wild berries and made some jellies for people to taste. I added them to my chocolate collection that I had put together. There is a berry here that the locals call "laughing berries". They are salal berries and are extremely flavorful. People use them to make jams and jellies and pancake syrup.I made jellies out of the salal berries and they were very well received. They had ten times the flavor of the other jellies I had made with wild blueberries, salmon berries and raspberries. I never even got to the point of coating my jellies (pate de fruit) with chocolate, which was the original plan. The jellies were eaten up and I ran out of berries. Last year was a terrble year so I didn't get to pick any salal berries but I indend to get as much as I can this year.My ultimate question is: Would the general population accept something like this? Something very, very flavorful but very local? Some people outside our community think that salal berries are poisonous which is wrong. maybe I should just market it as laughing berry jelly candy.Does anyone have any opinion on this?

Well today April 4th ,2008 I have decided to join the blog by sharing with The Chocolate Life members my story of taking historical figures from American History/culture and transforming these historical people famous faces(profiles) into what I call "Profiles in Chocolate"Back in 2004 I started to think about a ways to combine my Passion for American History and Chocolate ! and after a few weeks the concept of our first "Profiles In Chocolate " was Choosen it was to be our 16th President--Abraham Lincoln ! The inspiration for Collectible Profiles comes from Megan's passion for Abraham Lincoln and wanting to honor his life and what his life and legacy means to her!The Collectible Profiles, Inc. mission is making American History come alive for others! Our company, has developed Profiles In Chocolate for Presidents Abraham Lincoln & John F. Kennedy to surprise and delight your Customers!Our detailed candy molds produce a beautiful chocolate 3-D sculpture of John F Kennedys or Abraham Lincoln's Profile (hair, cheekbones, beard, ect.) in a finely detailed 3-dimensional chocolate image.From my flyer :Seven Reasons Your Customers will buy Lincoln Profiles!1. Mold profiles in your choice of chocolate-white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate for display in your case! What an eyecatcher!Suggested retail price of $5.99 each would mean more revenues for you and higher profits! Package the chocolate profiles in the Collectible Profiles Patriotic Gift CD Package for higher unit profits,2. Sell and/or cater to local museums, hotels, as a unique candy or dessert! Imagine a chocolate Lincoln Profile inserted in a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Or drizzling red, white and blue sauce on a plate then placing a chocolate Lincoln in the center! For an elegant look place a chocolate Lincoln Profile on a gold foil doily!3. The chocolate profile of Lincolns face is showcased in a new innovative packaging, a clear CD jewel case. You can add an insert that can be patriotic (red, white, Blue or the American flag.)4. Its great as a tourist souvenira mini-biography of Lincoln is featured on the back of the CD for a memento long after the chocolate is eaten and has been enjoyed. Refills could be sold.5. This 4x4 size chocolate profile, thick inches is an irresistible impulse buy and its small and ideal size to take home in a briefcase/purse.6. Get free advertising by showing your new product!7. The packaging could promote Holidays and Special Occasions-such as July 4th or the Lincoln BicentennialFive ways to boost Your Sales with Lincoln Chocolate Profiles!1. Your customers are seeking specialty products tied to Abraham Lincoln!2. Your customers want something different! This fresh, new product both the candy mold and the packaging!3. Your customers want to give a gift that is only available in shops like yours!4. The gift packaging is innovative and unique! A crystal clear CD case showcases the Lincoln profile against a patriotic background and suggests a framed cameo. Both children and adults will love it!5. The beautiful, detailed profile of Lincolns features is a museum quality sculpture in chocolate! People say Its almost too beautiful to eat!We want to sell our Abraham Lincoln & John F. Kennedy Profiles in Chocolate candy molds and packaging to any intersted small chocolate Company's , does anyone know of any?the rest of "Profiles in Chocolate" story to come...Thanks.Megan Hardgrave

Thanks guys for reading and commenting on my posts. It means a lot to me.I heard this morning on the news that the US lost another 80,000 jobs in March. Thats added to the 50,000 lost in February. Wow! Thats a lot of jobs. So now its more important than ever to start a new business. Any business is good. The food business is good but tricky. But if you hit a winning formula, you have a block buster. It seems you might have a bit of an edge if you have a chocolate business. Ive discovered that a lot of people are passionate about chocolate. (I always knew that but its recently been driven home from our interaction with the chocoholics of the country.)I attended the Beer and Wine Festival here in Portland last week looking for a great Stout for my Chip and Ale Brownie Shotz. (Currently Rogue Chocolate Stout is the leader, but if you have other suggestions, let me know. Ill send you free samples.) Lo and behold, I found a chocolate company right in the middle of the whole thing. Very nice lady. She has collected many unique and exclusive chocolates and has tastings and pairings. The site is at http://www.tastechocolate.net . I like to promote other businesses as much as I can right now. Another product thats really good is at http://www.somethingsweeeet.com . Actually, they have lots of products including brownies. You might think it odd that I would promote another company that has a similar product. But I dont see anyone as competition. If you consider that there are more than three hundred million people in this country alone and I would say at least half of them eat some sort of dessert at some point during the month (probably chocolate), that creates a huge customer base. Theres room for everyone.A couple of comments I would make about Gwens post. I think a lot of people who start businesses think, Ill start a chocolate business because I like to make chocolates or Ill start a car repair business because I like to repair cars. I think you should start a business to start a business, no matter what service or product it creates. There are a lot of similarities between businesses, any businesses. Starting a business should be about starting the business, not what it does. The less you can do in your business, the better it will succeed. Business is about setting up a series of systems that work together to produce something, (goods or services, doesnt matter). Its about working ON your business, not IN your business. (If you just want to make chocolates, work for Godiva or Sees or any of the dozens of other chocolate makers. Youll save yourself a lot of headaches.) Because of that, you can find lots of support. A couple of agencies that are available to everyone are the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Both of these offer business classes and seminars in starting and developing a business. But more importantly (at least for me) they helped in expanding my network. Also, look at joining the Chamber of Commerce in your town. Here its called the Portland Business Alliance. Again, its about mixing it up with people.As far as someone stealing your idea, I think sometimes thats an excuse to not get your business going. Ideas are one thing, a full blown business is another. One can come to you in the middle of the night in a flash, the other takes months and even years of concerted effort and generally great expense to achieve. Thats what makes an idea valuable. Even having a finished prototype is no guarantee of having a successful business no matter how much time and money you put into it. Of course you have to have a great product (or service) but thats about the system of quality control. So when you start your business, think in terms of integrated systems. Design your business so it is self sustaining and needs as little input from you as possible. Then when you have that one up and running, start another. Start as many as you can. We have at least 130,000 jobs to fill!

Hi hi! my first post here! still an amateur btw, looking forward to learning from everyone =) chocolateschool.livejournal.com

I have found a service that enables me to 'cast - in real-time over the web while simultaneously hosting a chat session. I am interested in knowing if holding regular, say every two weeks or so, video chats would be interesting to members. If a reasonable number are, I will set things up, get the equipment working, and schedule the first chat for sometime after Tax Day.One thing that I thought might be cool to try is a sort of quasi-interactive chocolate tasting. We could agree on one or more bars to taste and then we could all gather and chat and share our opinions. Or whatever you think might be interesting to discuss in real-time.Reply to this post to let me know if you think the idea is interesting and if you have ideas for some topics.Thanks in advance,:: Clay