gfron1

I think its the same thing. I'm hoping this topic becomes our wishing well

I have a friend from Mexico, who became one of my best customers (and most critical) who makes the best flan I've ever had in my life. I have worked on her giving me the recipe/technique for about a decade. Her health isn't good and she's not getting any younger, and so almost every interaction I find a way to say, "btw, about that recipe." I've finally decided it must be from Betty Crocker or a packaged mix, and she's just embarrassed to admit that it isn't her abuela's recipe or some other silly reason like that. Her flan is 3" tall, delicate but sturdy, never a crack, absolutely not overcooked, curdled, or cakey. She always makes it in a 9" pan so its a monster. But that's not the point...I wondering what elusive recipes have you all been fighting for years to get?

My final submission for critique. This is a re-do of the Eye technique. Closer, but not quite there, but I see the variables that I need to manipulate to get the result.

A bunch of us have taken Melissa's classes and she really is the best. That said, she is for a certain level of production with all of her Selmis at her beck and call. But, she is very pragmatic and if you watch her feeds and posts she is on a crusade right now to get people to focus on the quality of their chocolates not just the quality of their Instagram pics. BTW, I'm taking her Sept class. I've found that no matter how many classes I take I always learn something new and improve my game so I can't wait.

Dang! Catch it while you can on ChocolateLab's IG story feed! Absolutely gorgeous, stunning and doable! They painted a leaf, and then pressed it into the mold. You have 24 hours to see that post! (and this is where Story feeds suck in relationship to forums, and why forum's are more valuable.)

Last night they sorta answered it on their IG story feed - various things including leaves and bubble wrap have been used in their recent efforts. So various forms of dabbing. #CarryOn

...the technique that they told us they would explain but never did as far as I can tell.

Who knows how many sales I lose by not giving more options, but I barely keep up as is, and I factor in my time to package and staff. I strongly believe that if you have a great product options are not important. But you have to get to the point where people know that your quality is that good. . Free samples, but not free. A free sample will lead to a purchase. Possibly live music, free drinks, champagne toast/ribbon cutting... I'm thinking guest amenity gift baskets, but it depends on the hotel. Make a really nice basket and then ask for a meeting with the GM or the Event Manager and just see if they have any interest and what they would need.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think stories are stupid. They last 24 hours and poof! ... That said, they are getting more eyes than static posts because of how the algorithms work nowadays. No platform offers chronologic timelines anymore so you go where the eyes are. And I'm not suggesting one versus the other. My quality pics are a regular posting IG-shared to-FB. My lower quality pics or videos are stories. My high quality pics are added to my stories.

Here some things to consider: -Visit any and every shop you can and see what you like and don't like from paint, to lighting, to signage, customer interaction, packaging, music/sound, smells, clutter/cleanliness; and keep notes so you remember what stands out to you. -What direction is your window facing? A big, big name pastry chef opened in my town recently and I went in to support him on opening day only to find his full line of bean-to-bar chocolate bars in clear packaging on a shelf perpendicular to his main south facing window...every one of them had bloomed. Message...think about the sun throughout the year and how it will effect the use of your space. -Everything needs an upsell or a co-sell. EVERYTHING. Its hard to make a living selling a cookie. But if someone wants a cookie, a bakers dozen may be attractive, or a hot tea to go with the biscuit. For me, I never sell individual chocolates. I used to sell 5 boxes, now only 10s. That's a personal choice based on customer feedback. If they buy the cinnamon cookie you offer them the chai bonbon...I think you see where I'm going with this. Over the years I've learned that customers don't really know what you have to offer, they came in for one thing, and they did that because they like your food, so make sure they know what else you have to offer that they likely will enjoy as well...verbally, not just in signage. -Even in a small space, try to create a decompression zone at the entry way. Think about most larger groceries...they want you to walk in, orient yourself, then get serious. The good ones don't over clutter the front because your mind doesn't relax enough to be open to everything that is coming (this is a researched subject not my own theory). -Create partnership even before you open. Any complimentary business - galleries, B&Bs, museums, possibly coffee shops if its not competing, your immediate neighbors for sure, office buildings (think end of year corporate gifts), realtors (they blab a lot), certainly any food blogger, media...on and on...take them a gift basket with a generous sampling of your creations - the investment WILL pay off; and then invite them to a VIP pre-grand opening the night before you open to the public so they feel special. If anyone is a super duper VIP then give them a private invitation to come by even earlier - this might be the newspaper editor. -Think about what charities you might want to support. I built my last restaurant with 100% charitable giving versus advertising and it paid off in dividends with how the community viewed us. -As for landlords, they are tough. Just remember: honey not vinegar. -Be sure that the lease is specific about who repairs any mechanical stuff? Lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning, broken windows, etc. -Do your best to be a cash-operating business instead of building up debt. That won't be easy, especially at first, but any time you can pay immediately, do it. That will train you to be efficient and non-wasteful. -If you haven't already get your web presence going! Website, facebook, instagram, and even twitter. Now, not later. In FB and IG, use stories liberally - they are the future. (I'll stop for now and see what else comes up later)

There are lots of us who've made that step so you'll get plenty of advice. My suggestion is sit back, let it roll in and don't respond right away. Let all the ideas from this forum ferment for a bit before making a judgement or explanation or acceptance.. ETA: I am looking forward to offering a more practical response when I get out of the kitchen tonight.

There's disagreement among the group, but I will never buy colored cocoa butter again. I haven't done the cost comparison but I'm sure its a savings, but the level of control are creativity is what I need.

That goes back to him saying it was possible in a production kitchen...QTips would take too long.

I thought wadded up saran wrap but he said he didn't sponge it which I would think would be the same thing.

1. IDK, but its just alcohol from the drug store. Very cheap, very easy to obtain. 2. Again, that's what Dubovic says: 50º, 26º, 29º and that has worked much better for me. When things cool down again I will try going back to Melissa's method of heating and putting in the freezer and shaking. But for now I'm too happy with my results.

New techniques are exploding right now! Most seem to be coming from ChocolateLab, Dubovic or Vincent. Thoughts on this one from ChocolateLab that says - not sponged, not brushed, no air brush, and they say it can be done easily in a full production kitchen.

This is funny because someone PMd me earlier thinking I needed to edit my comment because it didn't make sense, and I scoffed and said, "sure it does." Apparently it doesn't. Chamber sealers can be used to leach tannins out of acorns. Open the chamber and remove any inserts/risers. Take a bowl/hotel pan or other open container and put your shelled acorns in the container. Cover the nut meat with water and put in the chamber sealer. This means the bowl will be uncovered, but still fit inside the chamber sealer. Close the sealer and let it go until you see the water start to bubble/boil. Hit cancel. Drain that water off, refill and repeat two or three times (or more depending on the tannic qualities of the acorn. Remove the bowl from the chamber sealer, drain acorns, dry and use. Does that clarify things?

One thing I've learned since the publication of the book is that if you have access to a vacuum chamber sealer you can leach the tannins by placing the acorn meat in an open hotel pan, covered in water, bring to a boil three times, drained and refilled and boiled. Takes the leaching process from days to minutes.

of course. I made lime pate de fruit/marzipan so I ate a lot of them. Just not so many with the red seal.

The dotted circle is a pastry tip. And the problem with the red seal for me is that you have to add so much colorant to get that waxy color that it becomes bitter to my palate.

that's exactly what those were - letter seals that you can buy online. I don't remember why but I bought them for a chocolate project ages ago. And I really just wanted to get this assignment over with. I hate hand-dipping. I don't hand dip. I won't hand dip in the future. So I let some feet show up on some of them. Really the only thing I was interested in was to see if the seal would easily release from the red chocolate, which it did.

Final assignment. Not sure why this is last instead of first. But now I can circle back and start working on the eye design.

Latest assignment for me. One more, then I'm going circle back and work on the eye.

Hope you enjoy it. I was happy to hear that Barnes and Noble in the bar area still has it on the shelf. Pretty great considering we're two years out from release.

Word has it that I get the honor of welcoming our humble crew to St. Louis in 2019 for the next workshop. I relocated to St. Louis about two years ago (born and raised here, but gone for 30 years), and already know all the chocolatiers and culinary school staff, so this should be fun. At this point I'd love to hear your thoughts on a few things: 1. Dates. Typically in May. Often there are conflicts like the NRA convention and weddings. The facility may drive this answer but I'd like to hear what you all would prefer. 2. Content. What would you like to see covered and what maybe hasn't worked so well in the past? 3. Here in town we have Rick Jordan and Nathaniel Reid in addition to a bunch of casino chefs and other artisanal chocolatiers. Christopher Elbow is across the state (5 hours). No question, just throwing that out. 4. Does anyone live nearby who can help with planning, or even if not close can support the planning from afar? I know that when Ruth and I worked on Vegas neither of us were on-site, but Ruth made a few trips so the work can be done from anywhere. 5. Any must or absolutely nots from previous events? As always I hope we have a great mix of new and old, experienced and novice. St Louis is central, and being a secondary airport you can normally get really cheap flights!