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Hi, It does allow you to inhibit fat migration in your bonbons, if you have a gianduja bonbon, for example. Best

Hello, The best way I think to reconstitute a ganache is to burr mix the hell out of it, after warming it up, of course. Why not just make the entire line of truffles and then freeze the extra OR calculate your needs and make the necessary amount? Hopes it helps.

Hello, You can use powdered soy lecithin to inhibit fat migration in chocolate bonbons. Best!

Okay....it's a broad brushed statement...fair enough. Congrats Bill! I am still amazed that a year later after taking this class we are both starting our stores, crossing paths, giving each other advice, and sharing stories....it's pretty stressful and amazing with all the twists and turns. I can't wait to see your shop on Monday and training to launch another line of confections at Notter's!

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/ControlTempPack.htm I have shipped using them and know people who do, with no problems thus far. For shipping price, you can do a generic 'quick qoute' on the fedex website. You put in the zip codes and the weight of the box and then it lists all the different options and costs. Plus if you create an account with fedex you get a discount on shipping. Hopes that helps.

We had to put in a 100 gallon grease trap underneath our 3 compartment sink. According to my utility company, if you are putting anything else besides water and soap down your drains, you need one. Be very sure that they are looking for an under the sink trap, NOT something like a 1000 gallon trap that has to be put outside....then you are looking at 5,000.00 plus...at least in North Florida.

Hello, We did it a week ago with a couple hundred PBJ's, all we did was put them on a full sheet pan, wrap them in cling film tightly and straight into the freezer...no special bags, vacuum, etc. Took them out and put them in the low boy over night and took them out the next morning...taste like heaven...so...go figure....

I do a mix of enrobed and molded pieces, and the ratio is still working itself out. I won't be storing chocolate there much, if at all, since I'm just making to order and not maintaining a stock. One of the challenges of working in a space that's not just mine is how to manage air-drying/crusting times. Ultimately, I'm going to investigate getting some sort of enclosed cabinet that I can use for that (like this one, although that's really much bigger than I need), but for now I'll just be managing my work times around their schedule. Fortunately, they are closed on Sundays, so I can leave things out overnight on Saturday. Anyone have any thoughts on whether using a fan would help speed up this process? Although I expect that sometimes I'll have to "cheat" and use the refrigerator. ← You're NOT cheating by using the frig. That's a myth.

Hello, NO SHAME WHATSOEVER! I think that it's great to want to be a 'French Pastry Chef,' if by that you mean an unqualified commitment to great products, flawless technique, a wonderful palette, and making things that first and foremost TASTE GOOD! As for as books to read, I would go ready 'A Meal Observed' about a reporter's dinner at a Michelin 3 Star, that has an intern working in the pastry kitchen after writing to all the best French restaurants, so it's possible. Another thing, think very seriously before laying down the $$$ to go to school, look around your area to see if you can work for free to see what the Life is all about. But if you do, look into the French Pastry School OR Notter School which I think would work well for you, if you wanted to take that kind of leap, plus they are around 15k less than where I went to school. Do not fall into the trap that you have to go to school, it is nice, but NOTHING beats working in a real kitchen AND having true passion. Not all the French are jerks, etc, etc...some are...but then again, so are Americans, Germans, Japanese, South Africans....that's a human thing, not a 'french' one. As a matter of fact, spent last week working very closely with one of the best french pastry chefs in the states, and it was one of the most pleasant and wonderful experiences of my own pastry career....so there you go, just another perspective. Good Luck!

Also, look at Paris Gourmet. They have alot of distributors throughout the states, such as Rader Foods in Miami, which offers great pricing on shipping.

Hello, I would agree with www.qzina.com Also, Swiss Chalet, which distributes Felchlin, the good swiss chocolate brand. Chocosphere has a wholesale pricing list, so if you are in business, let them know that you are before you buy, but they have a $250 minimum order for wholesale pricing. Now, it has to be stated that the more than you buy, i.e. the larger your order is, the better pricing you will get, period. If you don't, then you need to go somewhere else. I am starting my own company and hope that by next year I will be able to order by pallet. That is nearly a ton of chocolate, but the pricing it sometimes 40% less than what other people sell for wholesale. Good luck to everyone!

Hello! I would try to get their fedex # or something, so that it becomes very clear cut. I wouldn't merge the costs together, but keep them apart, at least that is what we are thinking about doing. I think that having to cover the shipping, isn't fair, since they are probably paying you net 30 or 45....

It's not really thickness so much as hardness. Don't cut with your 'bottom' on top, i.e. the side with your chocolate pre-coat. Another major thing is that the excess chocolate from your pre-coating should be removed from the edges of your slab, because this is what is more likely to break your strings, than the ganache itself. As for height, 15mm, which is slightly over .5 inches high is a good height, doing more than that I think it kind of pointless and perhaps hard to eat....don't want people to have to have their mouths gapping to eat a piece of chocolate.

Hello, I went to the previous class of Andrew Schotts and want to hear about the one that just took place at Notter. I hope a fellow egullet member went and is willing to share!!!

Hello, I agree that JBPrince is a GREAT place to see things that you might hear or read about in person. Another place you might want to check out is Kitchen Arts and Letters on Lexington Avenue, near 96 st. They have the best selection of cookbooks I have ever seen and the staff are very experienced and well informed about the culinary world in NYC and beyond. Have fun! FCI is my alma-mater!

I would take either class since it seems you are more constricted by timing than anything else. Schotts is a great chocolatier, perhaps one of the best in the US, so a chance to learn from him is not something to pass up. Wybauw is about the fundamentals, theory plus application, from his book, 'fine chocolates.' Schotts is geared a bit more to banging out recipes, seeing how to make certain interesting types of ganaches, such as dual layers, etc. So if you can only take one, and are not a professional chocolatier, I would go for Schotts, Wybauw is more of a professional class, i.e. I think if you come to his class with questions, then it makes a huge difference on what you take from it. As for shelf life, Schotts gives you a good way to freeze your chocolates, which I think might be what you are interested in doing, rather than using formulas to squeeze out more shelf life, on the shelf, as it were, which is what Wybauw is a master at.

Hello, In order to answer that question, let me know what your expectations are from taking a chocolate class in general and what your previous experience is. I took both Schotts class and Wybauw class at the Notter school. So tell us what your experirence is, what you are looking to get out of a chocolate class and I'll tell you, FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, which one might be up your alley! Take care.

I agree with the above. I am still looking for an enrober solution and have called people all over the US about what they thought of the machine they had. Everyone was cool, from mom-and-pop shops to Pastry Art and Design '10 best chef'....after they know you aren't in their market, which is only fair. If you're cool about it and not sketchy is some way, I mean....why not tell you....not like you're asking her how she makes her 'creme brulee' bonbon or something....

Kee's is open Tuesday through Friday, 9am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday 11am to 7pm. Closed Mondays. For inquiries, please call 212-334-3284. She's super cool man. Just call her up and ask.

Why not just call her and ask?

Hello, I am looking for square bottom chocolate truffle cups? Has anyone seen them before and know of a supplier? Best!

Hello, I am looking for anyone with experience/critique of the mold'art enrober. Did you have issues with feet? Paper tension, etc. Best

Hello, Has anyone done business with this chocolate machine company? http://www.chocolate-machines.com/site/index.php?getlang=en Best

Did you mean Ken Goto, Jacques right hand man? ← Yes! Sorry for the mistake. It was a story on him, where he stated that his favorite piece of equipment was the Sollich enrober because it gave a perfect coat. I think it was the mini-mars enrober. My line of credit probably won't materialize, so the LCM for me is a non-issue now. Do you or anyone else have info on the Mol'd Art Temperer with enrobing line? I am mostly concerned with having 'feet' on my enrobed pieces.

Different strokes for different folks. For me, finding out what equipment other chocolatiers and pastry chefs (Elbow, Schotts, Wybauw, Bellanger, Love, and Branlard) use and/or recommend is significant endorsement and reason to consider the machine. But, c'est la vie and good luck to you with your expansion. http://www.lcm-chocolatemachines.com/index.html Torres uses a Sollich, not an LCM, at least according to the article. I don't remember the month of the article, but it was with Ken Soto on the cover, I hope that I remember his name correctly.