RobertM

I'm at the hotel and looking for a ride tonight if anyone has any sympathy on an old man....either that or I need to start walking soon because it's about 15km (about 9 miles).

It began early early this year for me, up at 2:30 am to catch a plane to Toronto. Choclatier are very, very dedicated group of people. I got in earlier than the "Party Plane" so after I got to the hotel I walked across the street to this Mall of America sized hopping district in search of sustenance. 11 1/2 hours without food was a bit much even for me. Found a cute little salad/sandwich place so I settled on a Caesar Salad and Tomato Bisque Meanwhile, I'm getting dozens of updates from the "Party Plane" and they do look like they started early....

Thai? But of course!

I'm in for the Master class as well.... cant wait to spend time with my chocolate buddies

I'm in if available to me but can allow another to have my spot....

OK....thank you.

Thoughts on if it would be easier to fly into Buffalo or Toronto? Obviously, a rental car will be required either way.

I hope this is appropriate to post here, but I think I've finally been successful on changing the name of the Facebook page to eGullet Chocolate & Confection Workshop, Toronto, 2016

White Chocolate Truffle and Chocolate fudge Cake

Disney restaurants are typically designed for "the masses" (when you have almost a million people per day you need to do something to appeal to the broadest base possible). But there are a couple of good restaurants on site. We haven't tried the Yachtsman Steak House (but have wanted to) however some good friends of ours went there and proclaimed it "not so good" especially when you're paying $48.00 for a steak -

Disney Dining doesn't make reservations for Victoria & Alberts (I don't know why) the reservations are handled directly at and by the restaurant.

If you're intent on Disney Dining - try Narcosse's (also at the Grand Floridian) we actually liked it better than V&A - You can see the fireworks from the boardwalk around the restaurant or walk down to the dock - The California Grill at the Contemporary is also good (excellent Pork Belly) plus you get to walk out on the walkway to get an amazing view of the fireworks - WAVES on the main floor of the Contemporary is also good. We can set you up with a waiter at the C.G. - he will take great care of you - Victoria and Alberts will set you back (depending on the wine you select - if any) a few hundred dollars for a couple. If it's a big family night, I wouldn't suggest V&A -

The area has lots of very good restaurants, depending on the type of food you want as well as the atmosphere and of course, how far you want to travel Restaurant Row near Christinis: Big Fin Seafood Kitchen (Seafood) is very good Seasons 52 (American Cuisine) is very good Stefano's Grill (Steak and Seafood) is small but excellent Christner's Steak House is one of the best steak houses in the area (pricey) In Winter Garden there is a restaurant called "The Chefs Table" which is very similar to Victoria & Alberts (someone said the chef used to work at V&A) - but, the price is no where near what you'll spend at V&A If you want a great meal, very reasonable, but with a definitely more relaxed atmosphere (and a wait as the snow birds love this place) you can go to Manny's Original Chophouse. They are just opening one on 192 near WDW, I can't say what that restaurant will be like but the original one on 27 just south of I-4 is wild, crazy, (loud) and fun. You won't spend a lot of money, you will leave full and the happy hour is great. Near Disney Springs sits Johnny's Hideaway, another seafood restaurant that is also very good. Let me know if you want more - because I can supply additional recommendations

Mushroom Corn is designed to be more durable than Butterfly Corn which allows it to stand up to the necessities of being stirred into the caramel. I've not heard of "extra large" corn before.

Thanks! I recall it was warm.....I like to keep my room about 68 when I'm working.....

Interesting - at this years conference, we discussed temperature of our work rooms and (If my memory is working) Mark said that a work room should be around 90F (+/-) but that is impractical to work in.....does anyone else remember that? I try and keep my work room around 65 if I can -

I just did a small "class" here at the community center and showed off the amazing EZTemper. They were amazed at how wonderful, and easy, it is to temper with the EZTemper. Especially when we demoed other methods of tempering.... Next class 12/10....

Formula development - turning an idea into a confection? Shelf Life Common Problems (and how to fix them) - for example, cracking shells; chocolate that won't release from a mold; Different tempering techniques How to determine what chocolate to use - matching a center to a specific chocolate and percentages

Ummmm.....lemon......

Had a dinner party the other night - Sous Vide scallops with a corn ragout: Bison Ribeye served with shrimp risotto (in thermomix) and fresh green beans cooked with Mycryo - what a damn fine meal We had the guests going - that's for sure. Not sure we will be invited anywhere for dinner now -

Psantucc - good to see you here! We missed you last weekend!

Put me down as a definite

Just tried out the EZTemper for the first time. I needed a small amount of white chocolate (approx 200 gems) to temper to use as a decoration for some enrobed pieces. After melting the white chocolate - which is an all organic chocolate - I added about 1 gram of cocoa butter from the EZTemper and in seconds the white chocolate was tempered perfectly....it was the easiest tempering I've ever experienced. When I decided to get one, I envisioned using it for my ganaches and meltaways and even small amounts of chocolate for hand dipping, but now I will be using it for tempering smaller amounts of chocolate for decorations... Consider me impressed!

Sunday was a day to "play" in the kitchen. Everywhere you looked people were immersed in activity. Ruth was doing a demo on hand dipping; Kerry was doing a demo on the EZTemp; Steve was doing a demo on decorations; Curls was doing a demo on ganache development; and on it went throughout the day. Mark even showed up for the day, giving us the benefit of his expertise. He even showed us his tabling technique. I was so busy, I forgot I had a camera, so, the only picture I got was Ruth showing us how to use a guitar - in which her technique to determine proper tension on the wires was confirmed - (the "strings" all play the same note)

Sunday was a day to "play" in the kitchen. Everywhere you looked people were immersed in activity. Ruth was doing a demo on hand dipping; Kerry was doing a demo on the EZTemp; Steve was doing a demo on decorations; Curls was doing a demo on ganache development; and on it went throughout the day. Mark even showed up for the day, giving us the benefit of his expertise. He even showed us his tabling technique. I was so busy, I forgot I had a camera, so, the only picture I got was Ruth showing us how to use a guitar - in which her technique to determine proper tension on the wires was confirmed - (the "strings" all play the same note)