Chocolate University Online Blog
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
In 2006, a nongovernmental organization in Japan started an annual chocolate-selling campaign to benefit and provide support to pediatric cancer patients and hospitals in Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, Basra and Erbil. This year, some of the proceeds will go to the children in Fukushima Prefecture, where the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is situated.
Minoru Kamata, chief of the Japan Iraq Medical Network, said: “We received many messages of support from Iraqi people (after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami) that made us determine to allocate part of the proceeds for Fukushima.” Kamata, a doctor and an author, has also shown his support for Belarus after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster by participating in medical programs. He also said that certain group members have played their parts in the removal of radiation in Fukushima Prefecture.
The Tokyo-based group is looking to sell 140,000 tins of chocolate, each priced at 500 yen, before Valentine’s Day. If they meet their objectives and generate profit with the total amount of 70 million yen, they plan on giving 7 million yen to Fukushima, 42 million yen to Iraq, and the remaining 21 million yen to pay the chocolate production, distribution, and other operating costs.
The group already started the latest campaign on December 1. They have already sold 102,000 tins of chocolate. According to Maki Sato, the secretary general of the group, the charity money for Fukushima will be used for activities such as traveling day care programs and measurement of food.
The packaging of the chocolates will feature the drawings of a 15-year-old girl who recovered from leukemia with the help of the group. Sato said: “We received a letter from an Iraqi girl saying she drew red flowers to show her support for Japan,”
You can show your support by buying the chocolates offered in the campaign. Go visit www.jim-net.net. OK, that’s a Japanese language website, so good luck with that! You can still get an overview of the organization on their English language page at www.jim-net.net/en.
If you happen to be in Tokyo between February 1 and 15, then head to Daitokai, a restaurant in Takadanobaba, in which an exhibition on child artists in Iraq and Fukushima will be held.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate candy, chocolate destinations, chocolate production, functional chocolate, working with chocolate
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
York Technical College’s Baxter M. Hood Center (South Carolina) was jam-packed with people last Sunday afternoon to celebrate Keystone Substance Abuse Services’ third annual Decadent Dreams Chocolate Festival.
With tickets on hand, people could purchase samples of cookies, cupcakes, and truffles, among many others. They even offered a trip to a tall chocolate fountain. Additionally, they were able to stop over at a chocolate spa and get pampered with a massage using chocolate cake-scented oil.
Those people didn’t only get to satisfy their sweet-tooth cravings but were also able to help a cause. The affair is a fundraiser for the non-profit Keystone, which offers treatment and prevention services for substance abuse in York County.
Monica Hanna, head of marketing and events for Keystone, said the festival has captivated about 800 people and made about $10,000 in the past two years and looked forward to a much better outcome this year. It involved three times as many vendors and had at least 1,000 visitors. Among the list of vendors are Periwinkle Café and Bakery, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Jazzy Cheesecake Company. The chocolate festival is two-fold, said Hanna. “It’s chocolate, but you’re helping a good cause,” she said.
Like most nonprofits, Keystone has been affected by the poor economy. Some two years back, they thought of potential fundraisers to catch the attention of people, and they immediately leaned towards chocolate.
“Who doesn’t love chocolate?” asked one of the attendees, Holly Winn. “And it’s a great cause.” One of Winn’s children, whom she brought along with her to the event, was a judge for the cupcake wars that afternoon. Just last year, she won the said contest herself with her own homemade chocolate chip cupcake. According to her, the perfect cupcake would taste like a brownie with nuts and some type of filling.
It’s just good to know that participating in this kind of events, you are enjoying yourself in a not-so-selfish way.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate companies, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate fountain
If you are a self-proclaimed true blue chocoholic and want to satisfy your need for anything chocolate, then why don’t you head to the Field Museum in Chicago?
“Chocolate: Around the World”, a smash hit exhibit which sold more than 360,000 tickets in its first Field run in the year 2002 is back not only to entertain you, but also give you juicy and interesting information.
In the past nine years, “Chocolate” has already been to 22 other American museums and will go international when its present Field run is done in January, said the Field president and chief executive officer, John McCarter.
“Chocolate” is a combination of both the Field’s focus on anthropology as well as natural history and its attention to the origins of cacao beans and the role chocolate played in the past centuries. “This is one of the great combination stories,” McCarter said.
From the modest examples of cacao beans to a vintage chocolate mold with the shape of a rabbit driving a scooter, “Chocolate” aspires to present a food that Americans love dearly.
One of the “Chocolate” exhibition keepers, Gary Feinman, said that visitors were interested as much toward the exhibit’s story as the subject matter. “Everybody loves chocolate,” Feinman said. “The story is great, and the exhibits are about stories.”
The exhibit is almost untouched since it first premiered at the Field, very little has changed. Among the new items featured are excavated ceramic vessels in which chocolate residue was found. This aids in explaining how chocolate was used.
There is also information about the disturbing situation at African cocoa farms. “There are issues with child labor, the labor conditions,” Feinman said. “There are still issues but I think there’s more consciousness about some of the problems.”
Try visiting there and have a shot at kicking your love of chocolate up a notch.
-Through Jan. 8 (9 a.m.-5 p.m. every day but Christmas)
-The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
-The exhibit is included in the Discovery and All-Access passes, $22-$29 for adults, $18-$24 for seniors and students with identification, and $15-$20 for ages 4 to 11.
-(312) 922-9410; fieldmuseum.org
Categories: chocolate education, chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate art, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate history, chocolate museums, cocoa, Field Museum
People who come to pay a visit at the Bruge’s Choco-Laté Festival, held in the Belfort bell tower, can relish their much loved dessert in whatever shapes & forms possible! So all you chocoholics, listen up and unite. Succumb to your every chocolate craving and indulge in your favorite sweet treat!
Choco-Laté is the annual festival of our favorite guilty pleasure. The vibes that chocolatiers give off at several stands lure the customers and magically bring them to a chocolate haven.
The festival will be hosting an array of activities to make visitors drool with tons of interesting and fun interactive programs such as body painting, chocolate recipe exhibitions, creations such as sculpture by chocolate artists and sculptors, a chocolate village for the little ones, and a “chocolate walk” through the town of Bruges, among many others.
The patrons are given a chance to learn about chocolate creations and recipes that are easy enough to do by themselves during live demonstrations by top chefs, bakers and chocolatiers.
Today, chocolate is used as a health aid and also for aesthetic purposes, not just to curb our sweet tooth cravings. Some of the innovative means of using chocolate are through treatments such as chocolate massages, chocolate packs or cocoa therapies.
Practically any chocolate is tempting, but as with what was stated on yesterday’s blog post, pairing it with a nice glass of wine will surely kick the chocolate delight up a notch. Choco-Laté will be revealing the art of delectably combining chocolate with other delicacies. Case in point: fruits dipped in chocolate fondue, and that is just one of the basics.
And finally, for the true blue chocolate lovers, the festival presents a Choco-Laté junior – a creative corner for kids where they can nourish their imagination in chocolate through fun body painting, sculpting and decorating, and many more.
When: 11 – 13 Nov 2011
Where: Belfort, Belgium,
Cost: €10; under 12s €6; under 6s free
Opening Hours: 10am-6pm
For more details, visit www.choco-late.be/en.
Categories: chocolate in the news, fine foods & beverages
Tags: Belgian chocolate, Choco-Laté Festival, chocolate art, chocolate celebrations, chocolate destinations, chocolate exhibit, chocolate games, chocolate pairings, chocolate party
The title is one of the advertising slogans of Thorntons, a household name in UK for chocolate retailing. The company was established in 1911 by Joseph William Thornton who eventually turned the business over to his sons, Norman and Stanley Thornton. Since then, it has always been Britain’s go-to store when it comes to high-quality chocolates. This year, it celebrates its Centenary birthday. And what better way to celebrate their 100th birthday than sharing it with their customers?
The first ever Thortons chocolate shop was opened in Sheffield in the year 1911 and it was called the Chocolate Kabin where you are magically transported into a chocolate heaven as you step inside the store. Today, as a Centenary birthday treat, Thorntons wants to give their customers a chance to experience such delight. They excitedly bring you the recreated Thorntons Chocolate Kabin where a Golden Key to the chocolate factory is hidden. And the lucky winner gets to be Willy Wonka for a day! Isn’t that such a sweet treat?
Go and grab the chance to experience the chocolate lucky dip, or see chocolates come plummeting down a truck directly to a super duper chocolate scooper, where you can also have yourself a chocolaty treat.
As you leave the delightful and almost enchanted Kabin, you can give donations to the Live Mechanical Chocolatier in exchange for chocolates. Such donations will be going to the NSPCC, Thorntons charity of the year.
One lucky customer who finds the Golden Key from each place the Chocolate Kabin visits will get a chance to see behind-the-scenes at Thorntons and visit their chocolate factory to take a look at how they have been manufacturing their chocolates for the past 100 years. You don’t get to experience this everyday, so for our readers in the U.K., try your luck and let us know how it goes!
The Thorntons Chocolate Kabin will be visiting:
- Covent Garden, London on Friday 2nd September
- Liverpool One Shopping Centre on Saturday 10th September
- Nottingham off Market Square on Saturday 17th September
- Edinburgh Castle Street on Saturday 24th September
- Sheffield Fargate on Saturday 1st October
For more info visit Thorntons Centenary website.
You can also find your local Thornton’s store or buy chocolates online when you click here.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocola, chocolate celebrations, chocolate companies, chocolate destinations, chocolate history, chocolate manufacturing, favorite chocolate, Thorntons
According to the TripAdvisor website, www.tripadvisor.com, they have come up with a list of US attractions that satisfy a sweet-tooth.
Not all of these include chocolate, but I thought the list was pretty interesting anyway.
Here you are (drum roll please) the top 10 US destinations for the lovers of all things sweet!
- Hershey’s Chocolate World, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Chocoholics rejoice. Jump aboard a free tour ride on a simulated journey through the chocolate making process. Of course, samples are part of the experience.
- Jelly Belly Factory Tour, Fairfield, California
The Jelly Belly factory offers free 40-minute tours of their candy-making process.
- Food on Foot Tours, New York City, New York
A three-hour guided tour to some of the city’s sweetest offerings of cookies, cupcakes, candy and more.
- M&M’s World, Las Vegas, Nevada
Visit their four-story retail outlet and see M&M dispensers dishing out every color of M&M’s possible. And shop ‘til you drop.
- Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, Waterbury, Vermont
30-minutes of your time will include a movie about the history of the company and a guided tour of the ice cream making process.
- Gourmet Walks, San Francisco, California
Take in the artisan chocolatiers with a three-hour guided tour. Three hours may not be enough!
- New World of Coca-Cola, Atlanta, Georgia
Explore Coca-Cola’s history and check out the samples of Coke from around the world.
- Bellagio Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
This hotel boasts the world’s tallest chocolate fountain! Guinness World Records records the fountain at 27-feet tall and uses more than 2,100 pounds of dark, white, and milk chocolate.
- Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory, Daytona Beach, Florida
Tour Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory and get a glimpse of candy making the old-fashioned way. The factory opened in 1925.
- Eli’s Cheesecake World, Chicago, Illinois
Take the guided tour of their bakery and learn about the history and cheese making process the way Eli’s has for last 30 years.
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate destinations
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