Chocolate University Online Blog
If you plan on heading to southern Ocean County (in the Long Beach Island region of New Jersey) within February 11 to February 20, 2012, and happen to love chocolate, then you’re in for a treat.
Southern Ocean County’s Chocolate Week, which is taking place on the dates mentioned above, was developed with that premise, according to Lori Pepenella who is the destination marketing manager for the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce.
The region’s Chocolate Week is being celebrated annually and it is now on its fourth year. Local bakeries, restaurants, florists, inns, real estate offices, retailers and nonprofits are all taking part in this chocolaty feast.
Pepenella said: “It has the element of fun, and it’s also to plan for your summer… to get people down to visit us mid-winter, meet with Realtors to talk about vacation rentals, do open houses, and offer chocolate candy.”
Chocolate Week serves as a promotional tactic to encourage visitors to come over during the winter and then come back by summer.
“In the winter you need something to warm you up and certainly with Valentine’s Day and winter break and wanting to go out for dinner, February was a good month for that,” Pepenella added.
Chocolate Week is packed with all sorts of exciting and exceptional events in which you and your sweethearts can treat yourself, from chocolate-covered pretzels making and chocolate tasting to fashion shows. Plus, you can also enjoy a Lighthouse International Film Festival Society viewing of an independent romantic comedy. There will be chocolate snacks provided as well, and it’s all happening at the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences.
Camille McKenna, the owner of Camille’s Floral Designs on East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin, is taking part by providing a box of chocolates for certain Valentine’s Day orders. “It’s a good pairing. Our chamber has been doing this for a while and coming up with ideas to bring people to what is usually a resort area,” she said. “And it’s a great promotion for us as well.”
Thrilled? Go ahead and spoil yourself. After all, it’s not everyday that you get to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
For more information see the official chocolate week website at the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate destinations, chocolate week, Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and several events are already planned out in celebration of the love season, one of which is the 10th annual Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate and Ice Sculpture Festival happening on February 10-14.
Chocolate tasting and over fifteen sparkling and humongous ice sculptures are expected in the city center of Salem. Ice Sculpture Themes include the SSU Viking, a crystal snowflake, a single-room room school house, TinTin and Snowy, a dragon, Marilyn Monroe, and the Salem Witch. Huge discounts, along with free chocolate are also to be expected from a lot of many business establishments downtown.
The festival officially kicks off with a Chocolate and Wine Tasting which is happening Friday, February 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at Hamilton Hall, 9 Chestnut Street. Wine and chocolate samplings that will be presented in this drool-inducing event are courtesy of premier Salem restaurants, stores and sweet shops. The tasting will be sponsored by the Salem Waterfront Hotel & Suites. Tickets cost $25 each and you can get them in advance at 265 Essex Street at the Salem Chamber of Commerce.
As long as the weather permits on February 11 & 12 from 12 to 4 pm, you can take advantage of the trolley rides around the festival offered by the Salem Trolley which costs $1 for adults, while children are charged nothing. Pick up locations include the Salem Visitor Center, Pickering Wharf and Washington Street near Eastern Bank.
Furthermore, downtown Salem has an abundance of places to eat. This makes it an ideal venue for a romantic dinner or a casual lunch. And to celebrate the chocolate weekend, a number of the most renowned restaurants in Salem will be offering special chocolate on their menus such as desserts and cocktails. Salem retailers who are taking part in the festival will be having in-store promotions, creative displays, and products that lean towards Valentine’s Day and chocolate. Such products include chocolate fondue/fountain and Valentine-inspired dog treats.
Salem Main Streets, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, and local merchants, restaurant and business owners are looking forward to have you in the 10th annual Salem’s So Sweet, Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival. If you are in the area, don’t miss out on the chance to be in Salem’s sweetest event of the year.
For any questions regarding the festival, contact (978) 744-0004 or visit one of these websites: www.salemmainstreets.org or www.salem-chamber.org.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate holidays, Valentine's Day
With Valentine’s Day nearing, it seems as though love is already in the air, but not necessarily the romantic kind of love. If you have been paying attention, numerous fundraising projects are taking place this February and many of them involve chocolates! Case in point: The 13th Annual Chocolate Love A’fair in Dover, Ohio.
Lucky are the chocoholics who will come and get the chance to spoil themselves with all the chocolaty pleasures. A generous assortment of chocolate treats such as candy, truffles, tortes, and cakes, are being presented by more than 20 area restaurateurs, chefs, bakers, and chocolate makers.
The fundraising event, which is sponsored by, and will also benefit the Union Hospital Auxiliary, will be located in a roomier place now in order to accommodate more exhibitors and chocolate lovers who will pay a visit. The Chocolate Love A’fair will be held at the Buckeye Career Center cafeteria from 1 to 3 pm on February 4.
“As this event has continued to grow over the years, we’ve had to move to ever-larger facilities to accommodate more and more chocolate sampling,” claimed Lynn Ballantyne, Auxiliary project chairwoman. “We stated in the Union Hospital cafeteria, moved to J.I.M’s Place, and now we’ll be at the Buckeye Career Center, where there will be more room for everybody.”
You can get tickets in advance at Buehler’s Supermarkets in Dover and New Philadelphia, and at the Corner Shop Gift Shop at Union Hospital, and they are put up on sale for $8 per head. However, tickets can still be purchased on the spot if any are left from the advance sale.
During the affair, a panel of local celebrity judges will taste test every creation from among the entries. The chosen one will be the Judges’ Chocolate Choice Award winner. Patrons can take part by voting for the People’s Choice Awards. At 2 pm, an array of donated chocolaty treats and other gift items and certificates will be sold at an auction.
Complimentary take-home containers will be given to everyone attending the event so that aside from indulging themselves in chocolates at the event, they can also savor them at home.
You can reach the Development & Community Relations Department at (330)602-0778 if you have any more concerns.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit
The Union County Literacy Council is throwing its first fundraiser called Chocoholic Frolic which will be held at Dale Jarrett Ford on Hwy 74 in Indian Trail, NC from 6 to 8 pm on February 9, just a few days before Valentine’s Day.
Chocoholic Frolic is a chocolate sampling event that will feature delectable bite-size tastings of foodstuff from participating restaurateurs, caterers, private chefs, bakers, and wine merchants coming from Union and nearby counties. Such food items include luscious desserts, sumptuous dishes made better with chocolate and chocolate beverages.
An estimated 20 to 30 vendors and about 400 guests are arriving who will get to listen to live instrumental music by My Gentle Harp and support the Council’s mission to teach adults to read, write, and understand English constructively. The beneficial programs involve one-on-one tutoring, group instructions, books, and working around computers. “Our goal is for adults to read with confidence the most basic daily information, such as a street sign, their child’s report card, a medicine bottle, and a job application,” said Kelly Norton, Executive Director.
Norton said: “The response has been really good. People are really intrigued by having a chocolate party, and vendors are really interested and excited about it. Some of the smaller vendors see it as a great way to get out in the community and let people hear about them.”
“Gallery Restaurant is looking forward to creating a delectable dish for Chocoholic Frolic,” said Heather Tapper, the Assistant Food & Beverage Director at The Ballantyne Hotel which was among the first ones to sign up for the said event, followed by Crossroads Grill , Dolce Paradiso, Gimme A Cupcake, Lone Buddy Boy Candy, Cone Toffee, Barking Dog Bakery, and Macaroni Grill, among many others.
And don’t worry about the drinks, they got it all covered. Bottled water, as well as coffee, will be served. Beer and wine will be put up for sale and you know how they go perfectly with chocolate-flavored dishes. The Council reportedly chose February as the date for the particular festive and playful affair since they thought it screams fun especially when Valentine’s Day is nearing.
You can get tickets beforehand for $25 online (www.literacyunion.org) and at the Literacy Council’s office, 105-A E. Jefferson St. in Monroe. But you can get your general ticket on the spot for $30. Or, for $50, you can get a Patron ticket which will enable you to come in an hour earlier (for 3 hours of tasting) and get one free beer or a glass of wine.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate dessert, chocolate destinations, chocolate party
The Festival of Chocolate, Florida’s only all-chocolate event and the grandest celebration of everything chocolate in the Southeastern United States, will be taking place on January 14-16, 2012 at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI).
Local and regional chocolate and confection companies will be featuring and selling treats such from truffles and cupcakes to ice cream and chocolate drinks.
Guests and patrons can also participate in fun chocolate competitions conducted for the young and the young-at-heart. Go nuts in piling a skyscraper of cookies or in their signature “Face the Cookie” contest.
If you’re a chocolate geek, eat your heart out as you learn about the history of chocolate and the process it undergoes from tree to treat. Fulfill your fantasies about becoming a detective in a hunt where you’re supposed to uncover fun chocolate facts in the Chocolate Museum.
Chocoholics of all ages will surely have fun creating chocolate lip balm and armpit fudge. Get to witness models in “Yum-way” as they strut their stuff made out of candy bar wrappers. The tasteful (pun intended) and artsy creations will be displayed at 2:30pm on Saturday, January 14.
Renowned pastry chefs and chocolate makers will be sharing some chocolate treat creation tips. You can do this at home whether you are a chef looking to master your skills in working with chocolate, or a die-hard chocolate fanatic on the lookout for new, creative, and interesting chocolate treat recipes to whip up for yourself or for people in your life. Also, you’ll get to see these experts in the flesh and live in action as they compete with another.
As you may have seen in previous blog posts, wine and chocolate pairing is becoming all the rage. We know for a fact that chocolate per se is a pleasure, and so is wine. Get down to details to know how to match these two properly as you take part in interactive classes hosted by a professional wine and a chocolate expert.
Head to Tampa, Florida, to experience the Festival of Chocolate and have the sweetest three days of your life!
Time: January 14, 2012 at 9am to January 16, 2012 at 5pm
Location:
Museum of Science And Industry
4801 E. Fowler Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33617
http://tampa.festivalofchocolate.com/
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate companies, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate facts, chocolate museums, working with chocolate
Yael Rose has loved chocolate pretty much all her life. She finds Zen in drinking a cup of hot chocolate or munching on cocoa nibs. “To be honest, I think it’s an addiction,” she said. “There’s something about the smell and colors of chocolate I simply can’t resist every single time.”
She took this intense love for chocolate to a pro level and became the director of The Chocolate Festival. This event will be happening in Brighton, London and Oxford around Christmas and Easter. It will be all about chocolate and it’s taking place down London’s Southbank Center Square (Belvedere Road) from December 9 to 11, 2011.
The ongoing affair will be presenting more than 30 stalls that offer a selection of delectable chocolates, from hot chocolate to artisan truffles. Plus, you can try most of them for free! People who visit can also get the chance to have chitchat with renowned British chocolatiers such as Paul Wayne Gregory, Bill McCarrick, William Curley, and Damian Allsop to learn a thing or two about chocolate.
Furthermore, you can take advantage of the free tutored tasting, talks, and culinary demonstrations in the Chocolate Cookery Theater with the culinary expert Valentina Harris. Top names in the chocolate world such as Chantal Coady who founded Rococo Chocolates, chef Steve Walpole, and the authors Rachel de Thample and Signe Johansen. Even people with health conditions like Celiac Disease and Diabetes can join the fun as the demonstrations will include recipes that are free of gluten, wheat, dairy and sugar.
Visitors will also be able to learn professional and top-of-the-line culinary techniques and recipes from Rococo Chocolate and Sir Hans Sloane Chocolate during “Masters of Chocolate” Day on December 10. This will only cost £5 per head.
“Even when I am at the festival, after days of eating chocolate, I find it hard to resist if a chocolatier offers me a taste,” Ms. Rose said.
So gather up chocophiles there in London! This event doesn’t happen every day so why not take advantage of it?
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate recipe
Event International is presenting a show that would make any chocophile’s heart melt. The 14th Annual New York Chocolate Show, the largest event solely dedicated to chocolate, started yesterday November 10th and will be taking place until Sunday November 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 125 W 18th St.
More than 65 national and international chocolate companies are gathering to offer their finest chocolates and chocolate-inspired products to entice all the chocoholics who will pay a visit.
Hurry up and get to the show! You don’t want miss the chance to treat yourself to different head-tilting good chocolates in this once a year event. If you have any self-control remaining, you can even buy chocolates for the self-confessed chocoholics you may personally know.
The show assures visitors that they don’t only get to eat chocolate, but they’re also in for other interactive and fun-filled activities. Little kids will have a shot at creating chocolate-themed arts and crafts in the Kids Zone.
Renowned and award-winning cookbook authors will be present for book signings and there will also be culinary demonstrations from the expert chocolatiers and pastry chefs. Be there and get to witness chocolate-inspired theatrical performances! Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts and Food Network’s The Next Food Network Star are also participating. Yes, you read right. It’s that fun, educational, and entertaining all at the same time.
“Visitors can expect to taste a lot of good chocolates, but, more than that, to be able to buy a lot of really good chocolates for a very cheap price,” said Rotem Lichak, the event coordinator.
Cut yourself some slack and sync your cheat day with this event! People of all ages will surely enjoy this family-friendly experience.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate celebrations, chocolate companies, chocolate exhibit, chocolate show
Eighty students of Royal Oak, Michigan, had a field trip downtown last October 12 and turned a pedestrian plaza on Washington Avenue into a work of art which will be used for the Chalk & Chocolate Art Tour scheduled this weekend. There will be a tent set up at Fifth Street just in case it rains.
Shop curators and restaurant owners downtown will be hanging chalk art masterpieces done by 100 elementary school students in their windows. Also, they will be offering their confectionaries for the first-time affair in Royal Oak.
An opening night party starts at 6 p.m. Friday with a benefit at Fifth Avenue for the Royal Oak Neighborhood Schools art curriculum. The door charge is $40 which includes live entertainment and food from six restaurants and all sales incurred go directly to district art programs.
The free tour runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday followed by specially priced items for “chocolate happy hours” at restaurants who will be taking part in the event from 4-7 p.m. Children will get to eat all weekend at Andiamo and Rock on Third without spending a single dime.
Gayle’s Chocolates will also be participating by making a special box of chalk-shaped chocolates which will cost $5 which will be donated to student art projects.
Anne Kuffler, Ariana Gallery owner, said: “I like the fact that it’s a cultural event raising money for school art programs,” She will be providing chocolate brownies and chocolate-covered strawberries for visitors in her gallery this weekend. “It will bring out people to look at and appreciate art that isn’t necessarily on canvas or permanent. Some of the high school students are unbelievably good and inspiring. They don’t get enough pats on the back — even from their family. I remember my grandfather telling me don’t be an artist.” she added.
The Chalk & Chocolate Art Tour is sponsored by Our Credit Union, Absopure Water, Mediation Center of Southeast Michigan, Fifth Avenue, Andiamo, Rock on Third, WOW High Speed Internet; Hour Detroit and d Business; Groupon; Piece of Cake; Gayle’s Chocolates; Five 15 Media Mojo & More; Peggy Goodwin of The Goodwin Co.; Fox 2 News; and Metro Times
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate art, chocolate celebrations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate party
I know it is absolutely nowhere near Easter, but it just feels right to share this info on the spur of the moment. C’mon now, cut me some slack! 
For starters, Easter is known as the most sacred Christian holiday of the year. Jesus Christ’s resurrection after his crucifixion is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday.
Did you know that ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year? No child’s Easter basket is ever complete without a chocolate Easter bunny or two. But how did Easter get mixed up with a rabbit? Where did that come in?
No one knows for sure but rumor has it that this is so because rabbits are well known for their enthusiastic breeding habits, making them a common symbol of fertility.
Another legend points the Easter bunnies to the Goddess of Fertility, Eostre, for whom the term “Easter” was derived. The legend says that Eostre found a wounded bird in a snowy forest one winter. In order for the bird to survive the cold, she turned it into a rabbit. But the transformation was unfinished, because the rabbit continued laying eggs. As a thank you, every spring, the rabbit decorated her eggs and presented them to Eostre.
Or maybe because rabbits are known for their high-energy mating schedule and it was just intended as an Easter inside joke, but who knows? People started creating rabbit-shaped pastries and cakes by the beginning of the 19th century, and later on came up with Chocolate Bunnies!
Whether to eat the ears first, or the tail or the feet, it’s all up to you. But most of the Easter bunnies lose their ears before the other parts of their body. Chocolate bunnies have evolved into creations that are milk, dark or white chocolate.
And there you have it, the origin of chocolate Easter eggs, bunnies, and all of those spectacular chocolate stuff that chocophiles cannot live without! Life without it is just downright boring, especially at Easter, which is, yes I know, and I’m saying it again, nowhere near.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate bunny, chocolate celebrations, chocolate holidays, Easter bunnies, holidays
It’s not very often that you get to devote one whole week just for a particular food. Suffice it to say, if the subject is chocolate, we get all the more devoted, and craving, so to speak.
Chocolate Week, UK’s favorite themed week, or should I say, favorite week, is here again for its seventh consecutive year to celebrate the foodstuff that has its origins in ancient Aztec and Mayan culture. Even though we know we can enjoy it any time of day and any day of the year, it’s the time of year when we can ultimately celebrate chocolate… for a week! Imagine that.
Chocolate week 2011, starting October 10, has a plethora of events lined up for everyone, over 350 events happening across the whole of Britain, from chocolate art workshops and tasting to hot chocolate sampling and dessert-making demonstrations, indulge yourself in chocolate madness.
The UK’s renowned chocolatiers and chocolate companies celebrate Chocolate Week by hosting the said events, as well as producing exclusive products, new launches, offers, chocolate meals, cocktails and recipes.
The events include:
- Chocolate Unwrapped – a chocolate exhibition in London on the 15th & 16th October. Over 4000 visitors and 40 exhibitors are expected to come. It showcases top British chocolatiers and chocolate companies along with chocolate makers from France, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Holland and Germany. Patrons get a shot at viewing chocolate art, meeting the chocolatiers, taste the top-of-the-line chocolate, watching chocolate being made in the tiniest chocolate factory in the world, and the list goes on.
- The Great Chocolate Cake-Off – a hunt for the best-tasting amateur chocolate cake.
- William Curley’s pop up shop on St Martin’s Lane, London
- Hotel Chocolat initiates its tasting adventures pack so visitors would be encouraged to do chocolate tastings at home.
- Paul A Young, one of the most popular chocolatiers in UK, teams up with another popular fusion chef Peter Gordon to make a 6-course chocolate dinner at Providores, don’t fret if you missed it yesterday, there will be another one on Friday, the 14th of October.
- Thorntons continues its 100th birthday celebrations by giving away a chocolate smile to their visitors.
Chocolate Week was intended to promote the world of fine chocolate, the independent artisan chocolatiers and the chocolate companies who work in direct partnership with the cocoa farmers. This is to encourage chocolate buyers to pay a fairer price for their chocolate.
For more details on the week and participants, visit chocolate week.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate art, chocolate celebrations, chocolate companies, chocolate exhibit, chocolate party, chocolate week
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