sote23

they do give a space in the refrigerator and freezer, but there are 6 other bussiness's using it already, so there were lots of stuff in both, and i'm worred about the chocolate picking up all those other flavors. they don't give you a locked area. I would be fine with a straight $14.50 an hour, but they are already getting $485 and there is no way 8 hours a week is enough.

Hi, I just went and looked at a commercial kitchen and the rates seemed high to me. I was wondering what others paid for use of a commercial kitchen, or any thoughts on the subject. I know it will depend on the location. they wanted $485 per month which gives you 8 hours a week. If you need more time it's $14.60 an hour up to 11 hours, 12-24 hours brings it down to $13 an hour.

Well, you do have to list all the ingredients, although you can use "flavorings" and "spices" and the like. Our debate was on how specific the package labeling had to be, with me arguing that "assorted chocolates" was fine, and her saying that I needed to explicitly spell out what the assortment was. The confusion was probably mostly my fault, I have to admit. In my current business model, I have special occasion sales, where I make lots of chocolate at once to fill a bunch of orders. There's a limited flavor selection to choose from, but people can be quite precise about what goes in their box (2 caramel, 3 passionfruit, 1 hazelnut, etc). So I thought the best way to go would be to make a label that gives the ingredients for each of the potential chocolates, knowing that not everyone will have all those flavors. I make a flavor guide insert with pictures, so people can cross reference if they need to know the ingredients for a particular piece. If I'd just presented her with a label that assumed an equal amount of each chocolate and had the ingredients for them lumped all together, she probably wouldn't have batted an eye. But she got all caught up in the level of specificity and worried about "fanciful names." Live and learn! ← [/q I was in the class with andrew shotts and I believe he said there is no law that requieres you to list ingredients. Unless I heard him incorrectly. I also happen to have a box of jacque torres chocolates and he doesn't list anything on his box. Luis

thank kerry, that is in my neck of the woods. It's about 10 mins from me. Luis

thanks alana, I will get it from jbprince. the thing that sucks, I was just at their store last month in NY. oh well luis

mol d' art also sells molds. http://moldart.be/

and does the acetate behave the same as say some bought specifically for chocolate work?

That's where we settled things, actually - I agreed to go look at a box of mass market chocolates and follow their lead. Because I know that they are not required to do what it is she's asking for. Thanks, Mark! ← that's right, there is nothing that states that you have to list all ingredients.

I get mine from www.chefrubber.com

Depends what you want to use it for! My most important criteria was finding a place that was affordable, since paying much for rental could quickly eliminate any profits I might make. We worked out a profit sharing arrangement, which makes it low risk for me and gives them and incentive to help me grow my business! You will want some designated space to store your supplies, so there are no conflicts about what belongs to who, and your materials aren't ending up on the floor or something. Obviously you'd want to be sure that everything in the space was in good working order. You'll need to have a conversation about sharing equipment - are you bringing all of your own equipment, or can you use theirs? I'm sharing sheet pans and a food processor and things like that, but needed to bring my own small saucepans, as they just don't have the size that I need. Those are a few ideas to get you started. Hope that helps! ← thanks, that does help. How did you work out the storage of the chocolates? Do you mainly do enrobed or molded pieces?

kerry, will any acetate sheet work? or does it have to be a certain kind? Luis

Anyone know of a good place to buy acetate sheets for chocolate work, at a reasonable price? Luis

congratulations tammy!!!!! I had a quick question. I'm looking at a commercial kitchen tomorrow, and was wondering what I should look for? Luis

This is fabulous, I wonder if any other eG'ers made it in on the waiting list? I'm there. Check out this thread and maybe add something that you might want some information about. Chicago in March ← thanks kerry, I will check out the thread. Luis

I am coming from Seattle. Staying at the Hotel Monaco about a 1/2 mile away from the school. Where is everyone else staying? Excited about the class, maybe even a bit nervous! This site is site is an incredible wealth of information, might take me a bit to get through it! Everyone seems so nice and willing to share their knowledge. ← hi mary, welcome, it will be nice to meet you as well. yes, this site is wonderful. not sure where i'm staying yet as I just got in today. any suggestions anyone as to what is reasonable? luis

hi kerry, I got a call this morning and I got into the class in chicago in march with jean pierre. will you be attending? luis h thanks kerry, i knew someone would know. Any idea what city it's in? i don't see an address or anything on their site. Luis ← I think it is in NY. On the contact us page it gives an address in NYC. ← hi kerry, jean pierre is indeed teaching in june at the notter school jun 13-15 07. its not on their calander, but i just got off the phone with them and put a deposit down. Luis ← Luis, It was Alana who mentioned the Notter school. I knew I had seen it somewhere that he was going to be there, but didn't see it on the calendar either so I didn't mention it. We are all going to have a lot of notes to compare after all these courses. Two or three (or 4) of us are attending in Chicago. Anyone else going to be at any of his upcoming courses? ←

try tomric.com, although they are usually out of stock.

Many thanks to sote23 for the link. I've been looking for these for almost a year. Thanks to all who replied. BTW, like most of you I'm so greatful for having found EG forums. I have learned so much in he last week. I hope that I an be of help to others. Jack ← Your welcome, I'm glad I could help out.

if you look on this site, under products, then luxury packaging, then under chocolate boxes, it shows both garrisson confections and jacque torres listed. http://www.jvi.com/Luxury%20Packaging/tabi...04/Default.aspx Luis

That's true - I have been forgetting about cutters, and that would certainly be faster and more consistent than cutting by hand. I'll have to go take at look at Tomric myself. I saw a set of chocolate cutters on JB Prince recently, but they were v. spendy. ← I don't know how well they work, but you might want to take a look at chocoflex. it's a silicone mold made specifically for ganache. you can see it at www.pastrychef.com

hi vanessa, to answer your question, I was in the shotts class and did get to use the enrober. yes, the coverage with an enrober is superior to hand dipping. someone in class asked him if you could only get one piece of equipment, what should it be. He answered an enrober.

aww, that is such a bad picture of me. Luis

thanks kerry. so no more than 140 degrees farenheit. also says to store in refrigerator, is that correct? any idea on how much to use. Luis

I've read through the posts on invertase and there seems to be contradicting information. some say to add it at a high temperature and some say at a lower temperature. Can anyone clear this up for me. thanks Luis

thanks kerry, I will give them a shot. luis