Blogs

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

Today, Monday, March 3rd is the national launch date for an ambitious new line of chocolate products from Starbucks. But don't go looking for them at your local Starbucks coffeehouse because you won't find them there. In an interesting branding twist, Starbucks Chocolates will initially be made available through mass retailers, grocery stores, and drug stores and it is unclear when, if ever, you will be able to buy them at the counter where you order your half-caf no-foam skim latte every morning.The product line consists of 5gr tasting squares, 85gr (3oz) bars, milk chocolate covered coffee beans, and a collection of five truffles. Starbucks is careful not to call these "artisan" chocolates. Rather, they are described as being "artisan-style" chocolates "inspired" by Starbucks coffees, teas, and coffeehouse flavors.Starbucks Chocolate is a product of a partnership between Starbucks and Hershey's Artisan Confections Company announced in mid-2007. Artisan Confections is the wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company that purchased Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Joseph Schmidt, and even though the press release fails to mention them, Dagoba.From the press briefing I attended, it was pretty clear that even though Hershey chefs and product development people were involved, the flavor shots (pun intended) were being called by Starbucks. The flavor profile of the dark chocolate was specifically developed to complement Starbucks Verona blend, and several of the products incorporate flavors found in the Tazo teas Starbucks sells. However, it is unclear who is making the products: the labels say that the products are "made for" Artisan Confections, not "made by." It would be natural to assume that Joseph Schmidt would be making the truffles and Scharffen Berger would be making the bars but this is apparently not the case as Hershey representatives were unwilling (or unable) to disclose who is actually manufacturing the products.One possibility is Astor Chocolates in New Jersey. Astor develops and sells some products under its own brand, but also does private-label work for companies, including Scharffen Berger. (Astor does the molding and wrapping for Scharffen Berger tasting squares and bars, and also manufactures(d) the Scharffen Berger truffle collection.) So they are one possible candidate. Another possible manufacturer is Hershey itself. While they no longer are in the business of roasting beans and grinding their own liquor (they outsourced that business in 2007), they do have the ability to take raw ingredients and turn them into finished product.I mention this not because it has a direct impact on quality but it could provide some insight into how large the two companies believe the business can grow.It is not even clear whether the chocolate used for the product is made by an Artisan Confections company. The scale of the project is large enough that the Scharffen Berger factory in Berkeley would not be able to make all of the chocolate used given their current production capacity as well as meet its own needs. The products are not organic, so that leaves out Dagoba, who has never been a "bean-to-bar" chocolate manufacturer anyway. (Much if not all of the chocolate Dagoba now uses is processed by Debelis, which is part of the Puratos group which also owns Belcolade.)Both Starbucks and Hershey announced that the partnership is committed to purchasing cacao in a socially responsible, economically viable (I assume for cacao farmers as well as both companies, which are publicly traded), ecologically sustainable, and that meets specific (presumably high) quality standards.This represents something of a breakthrough for such a large company and makes a strong statement about Hershey's commitment to playing a leadership role in the growing movement that wants to ensure that cacao farmers are treated fairly and receive a fair price for their crops. Where many companies would abdicate this responsibility to a third-party licensing organization (such as TransFair USA), Hershey's and Starbucks direct involvement is important because even though Fairtrade has been very successful in coffee and other foods, that success has not translated well to cacao. (I was told by someone who had worked for Transfair USA that after 10 years of offering Fairtrade certification for cacao that there are only about 20 certified co-ops worldwide.)Hersheys cacao sourcing guidelines are designed to help to improve farmer incomes, ensure responsible labor practices and protect the tropical ecosystem. Hershey also supports organizations such as The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and The International Foundation for Education & Self Help (IFESH). Both Starbucks and Hershey support the World Cocoa Foundation.Starbucks has developed what it calls its Cocoa Practices Guidelines and Scorecard (both are PDF files), which are being piloted for a two-year period beginning June 1, 2007. The Cocoa Practices were developed out of the company's experience with its C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices, the Starbucks coffee buying guidelines, and are similar in structure and criteria areas. The program is designed to evaluate and recognize producers of high quality, sustainably grown cocoa. To become a Cocoa Practices supplier, farmers, processors and exporters must meet minimum requirements and demonstrate best practices, which are subject to independent verification.In the end however, the success Starbucks chocolate will rest on how it tastes. So, how does it fare from that perspective?Actually, for the most part, it's better than I expected it to be, especially given the price points. The Starbucks Signature chocolate bars have a suggested retail price of $2.99 so technically they do not qualify for the "premium" chocolate category. The tasting square versions probably cost out at more than $15/lb (which is the lower limit to be considered "premium), but it would be hard to classify them as premium products when the base chocolate does not.Interestingly (and refreshingly), Starbucks has opted not to label their chocolates with either cacao percentages or origins. However, with all of the hype that is surrounding both of those characteristics of chocolate it will be interesting to see if it benefits or hinders their success in the market. I have to believe that this aspect of marketing was extensively tested in focus groups which is why the bars mention neither on their labels. All of the products are certified Kosher Dairy.The Starbucks Signature chocolate bars weigh 85gr (3ozs). There are three varieties, milk, dark, and dark mocha made with Starbucks Guatemalan Casi Cielo. The ingredient list is fairly standard for a mass-market chocolate and includes milk fat in both of the dark chocolates. The milk fat, in addition to replacing more expensive cocoa butter, also stabilizes the crystal structure of the chocolate making it more shelf stable. Furthermore, the chocolates are made with "natural vanilla flavor" and not natural vanilla or natural vanilla extract, which are probably more expensive.

Nonetheless, when you put them up against the products in the candy aisle of the local supermarket, the price point, brand name, and quality of the taste and texture mean that these bars are competitive with most everything else on the shelf. This will probably not be true in a gourmet food store, and people who are interested in Fairtrade and organic chocolates will snoot right on by these.The tasting squares is where things get a little more interesting. Three are simply small versions of their larger siblings. Three however, incorporate Tazo teas as inclusions (the actual teas are ground finely and mixed into the bars) rather than as flavorings. These include Chai (in milk chocolate), and Passion and Citron (in dark chocolate).

Despite its name, the predominant flavor of the Passion chocolate is hibiscus, not passion fruit. The tea inclusion gives the chocolate a crystalline graininess that you will either love or hate. The tea flavor itself is quite nice with a tart fruitiness that survives even into the long aftertaste and is very different from the red-fruit (raspberry, cherry, plum) fruitiness characteristic of many Scharffen Berger chocolates or the citrus-y fruitness of many bars made with Madagascan beans. I would pair this piece with a simple black tea in place of any kind of sweetener.The dark chocolate Citron includes both tea leaves (which does impart a grainy texture) and lemon oil, which carries the lemon flavor all the way through this piece from the moment you smell it until you either take a drink or taste of something else. This would be a good piece to pair with an espresso for those people who like the idea of flavoring the espresso with lemon but not the idea of adding sugar. This piece is about lemon, not about chocolate, and delivers the lemon flavor and a hint of sweetness to balance the bitterness of the coffee.The graininess of the tea inclusion in the Chai chocolate is even less pronounced in this piece in which the predominant flavoris cardamom. The chocolate is far less sweet than the concentrate Starbucks uses for it Chai lattes, which is a very good thing because a combination of that sweet Chai with the sweet milk chocolate would result in something very cloying. This would be a good piece to pair with a cappuccino or latte.The suggested retail price for a package of these squares is $4.99-$5.99, but I could not find any indication in the press materials of the number of squares in a package.The next-to-last item in the product line is milk chocolate covered coffee beans. The bean selection is from the Verona blend which is interesting because, I would guess, that the different beans contributing to the blend will deliver slightly different flavors. It's fairly unusual for coffee beans to be covered in milk chocolate so I suppose that Starbucks is going here for the breakfast blend/latte/cappuccino drinker, not the French/Italian roast/espresso drinker. While the taste and texture are good, the aroma is not; this product smelled to me more of inexpensive vanilla than it did of either chocolate or coffee. A 100gr (3.5 oz) box has a suggested retail price of $4.99-$5.99.

Finally, we come to the truffle selection. There are five flavors in the line. Four cost between $4.99-$5.99/box while the fifth, which is available "in Club" only, (whatever that means and it is not explained in the press materials I have), costs $9.99. The four generally available flavors are Milk Chocolate Caffe Mocha, Milk Chocolate Chai, Dark Chocolate Espresso, and Dark Chocolate Vanilla bean. The "Club-only" flavor is Milk Chocolate Caramel Macchiato.

The price point for these and the point of sale (mass-market retailers, grocery stores, and drug stores) provides a real good indication of the what can be expected. The flavors are very front and forward and overpower the chocolate. The Vanilla Bean does have specks of real vanilla bean it, however. Overall, however, the flavors are far better balanced and are more sophisticated than virtually everything else in that price point and in those retail locations. If I were Russell Stover/Whitmans, a house brand (where I live the dominant grocery store chain is Royal Ahold's Stop and Shop whose house brand is Simply Enjoy which has a surprisingly large selection of truffles), or even much of the See's product line I would pay close attention to these products. In Conclusion I was more than a little surprised to discover that Starbucks Chocolate would not be available in Starbucks coffeehouses in the beginning, if ever. With 10,000 doors (shops) in the US alone, selling only 10 pounds per week per store represents a huge volume.However, past experience may be, in part, what's behind that move. Starbucks first attempt at a European-style drinking chocolate, Chantico, was not a success.The company is in the middle of something of a reorganization and is focusing much of its attention on reviving its core coffee business in an attempt to regain its luster on Wall Street and stanch the flow of defections of people who have become less enamored of the Starbucks experience. Extending the Starbucks brand into the grocery store into a new aisle, and doing so with a partner with lots of experience putting product onto candy shelves and getting it sold, is a way to generate increased revenues without interfering with what needs to happen to fix the core coffee business.For Hershey, Starbucks Chocolate is another step up the ladder in repositioning the company as not just a mass market candy brand. Hershey itself can not legitimately lay claim to being an artisan chocolate company whose focus is on quality. Setting up Artisan Confections and putting Scharffen Berger, Schmidt, and Dagoba in that umbrella is part of a larger strategy of moving customers up the value chain with the Cacao Reserve collection forming an important conduit. Hershey customers, they hope, will move up from their milk and "special dark" chocolates to Cacao Reserve and then, rather than defecting to another brand after Hershey has spent a lot of money educating them, have an array of Hershey products they can choose from. Starbucks among them.As mentioned earlier, the chocolate is better than either the price points or the points of sale might at first indicate. The flavored tasting squares are the most interesting parts of the product line and the truffles, while quite good for what they are, reflect the partnership's goal of creating "artisan-inspired" products not artisanal ones.

The World Pastry Forum is a series of five-day intensive programs (demo and hands-on) offered immediately prior to the National or World Pastry Team Championship. Both the forum and the championship are organized by a company called Carymax, one of whose founders is one of the founders of Chocolatier Magazine. This year's events are being held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN, August 26-30 with the World Championship immediately thereafter.This year's Demo Program ($1500 for all 10 classes): Donald Wressell , E. Guittard Chocolate, USA- Showpieces and Amenities Anil Rohira , Albert Uster Imports, USA- Chocolate Desires Ciril Hitz , Johnson & Wales University, USA- Breakfast Pastries Vincent Pilon , Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort, USA- Chocolate Confections John Kraus , French Pastry School, USA- Frozen Confections Derek Poirier , Valrhona, Canada- Plated Desserts Michele Huyke , Rimini Gelato, USA- How to Start a Small Business Hari Unterrainer , Hyatt Group, Switzerland- Fusion of Chocolate and TeaTBD - Sugar ConfectionsTBD - Traditional Western Desserts Made with Traditional Asian Flavors Hands-On Programs ($2000 for 5-day class, attendance strictly limited): Program One:Chocolate: Passion, Tradition, Evolution Chocolate is the fastest growing segment of the dessert industry, constantly evolving thanks to new creations and techniques. Back by popular demand for the third year in a row, and once again taught by esteemed pastry chefs Stphane Glacier, MOF and Stephan Iten, this class promises to strengthen your chocolate skills and update your knowledge with the latest trends to keep you current in today's competitive marketplace. Stphane Glacier is an international pastry consultant in addition to the having been the manager of the 2006 World Pastry Team Champions. Chef Glacier will focus on the techniques and recipes for Showpieces, Entremets, and Verrines (desserts in glasses). Stephan Iten is the Corporate Pastry Chef/Chocolatier of Felchlin Chocolate Switzerland. Chef Iten's portion of the class will focus on seasonal pralines and chocolates, petits fours, and amenities. Program Two:Wedding Cakes and Gumpaste Techniques A unique learning experience for any pastry chef, sugar artist or cake decorator. During the five days, students will have the opportunity to learn from two of the most respected and sought after instructors in the field of cake decorating and sugar arts, Nicholas Lodge and Colette Peters . Each class will spend two and a half days with Nicholas and two and a half days with Colette. A maximum of 20 students ensures a low teacher-to-student ratio, allowing for a more personal learning experience.Students will work on dummy cakes and create a multi-tiered creation that will be covered with rolled fondant and finished with fondant and gumpaste decorations, as well as a variety of gumpaste flowers. Colette will focus on preparing a wedding cake and will discuss in depth the covering and decorating aspects.Nicholas will demystify the many levels of gumpaste creations.Students will have the opportunity practice an assortment of popular gumpaste wedding flowers, including roses, lilies, orchids, buds, leaves, filler flowers and foliage, that will complement the wedding cake that was created with Colette. Accreditation and Discount Details: Participation in the five-day programs qualifies for points toward IACP-CCP certification and re-certification, and is pending approval for 36 hours of continuing education units by the American Culinary Federation (ACF).Tuition fee for all three programs includes classes, recipe book, chef jacket, daily lunch, admission to the 2008 Amoretti World Pastry Team Championship and Gala Dinner.For more information and to download registration and volunteer forms for the Forum, visit www.worldpastryforum.com.For more information about the Championship, visit http://www.pastrychampionship.com/I have attended (as an observer, not a student) the past 6 Pastry Forums and Championships. From my experience, this is one of the most compelling educational programs you can be involved with this year. Besides, the Competition is always great fun as well as being instructive.