lebowits

Bob - I like the idea of sampling different chocolates. Perhaps we should do a side-by-side chocolate tasting, taking notes about the flavors in each and then discuss how each would pair with different flavor centers.

Event Update Event Information Event: 2010 Candy & Confectionery Workshop Dates: Friday 16 April 2010 - Sunday 18 April 2010 Location: L'Academie de Cuisine, 16006 Industrial Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 2087 USA [map] Note: This event is not sponsored or endorsed by L'Academie de Cuisine. Fee: USD $150.00 This fee is intended to cover all facility rental, required staff labor, and materials (edible or otherwise) for the event. Any leftover funds at the end of the event will be donated to the eGullet Society. Accomodation Reservations should be made by Friday 12 March 2010 in order to guarantee the group rate. Links have been provided for each hotel below. The links to the first 2 hotels will take you directly to the hotel web site with the appropriate group code. Springhill Suites - USD $64 - $104 including breakfast [map] Courtyard by Marriott - USD $64 [map] Homestead Studio Suites - USD $69.99 (kitchenette) [map] Call the hotel directly at +1-301-987-9100 and ask for the "eGullet Workshop" group block when making a reservation. Agenda (tentative as of 12 November 2009) Friday 16 April 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Albert Uster Imports with Corporate Pastry Chef Drew Long Albert Uster Imports is a provider of pastry and chocolate products for the professional chef. They are located next door to L'Academie de Cuisine and have a long history with the school. Chef Logan and his staff will spend seveal hours with us discussing and demonstrating a topic as yet to be determined but which I believe will be fun and educational for us all. Chef Logan assumed his position at AUI in November 2009 after leading teams at a number of 4 and 5 start resorts. 7:00 - ??? Evening Social & Chocolate Tasting Show off your work! Bring a little something to share. We'll find a nosh or two and some wine and drinks and spend a little time getting to know each other better. Saturday 17 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast and Introductions 9:00 am - 12:00 pm TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm TBD 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Cleanup 7:00 pm Group Dinner (TBD) Sunday 18 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast 9:00 am - 12:00 TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm TBD 3:30 - 4:30 Final Cleanup Attendees as of 12 November 2009 Yes lebowits beacheschef David J. chocoera Marmish Kerry Beal RobertM psantucc tammylc Desparately wanting to Darienne Maybe emmalish Lior Beth Wilson Desiderio cmflick

I've been thinking about what might have broad appeal. First, I think it would be interesting to have a discussion on flavor development. My inspiration for this has been Andrew Schott's book in which he has a cool table of chocolate vs flavoring agent. This could include simple ganache, multi-layer pieces, combining flavors for contrast, texture, etc. I also think it would be fun to discuss decorating pieces. Specifically, color (e.g. transfer sheets), texture, and/or garnish. I generally try to figure out how to decorate my pieces so that I can somehow "telegraph" the flavor through appearance. We could include a subsection here on making your own transfer sheets. Any thoughts?

Event Update Event Information Event: 2010 Candy & Confectionery Workshop Dates: Friday 16 April 2010 - Sunday 18 April 2010 Location: L'Academie de Cuisine, 16006 Industrial Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 2087 USA [map] Note: This event is not sponsored or endorsed by L'Academie de Cuisine. Fee: USD $150.00 This fee is intended to cover all facility rental, required staff labor, and materials (edible or otherwise) for the event. Any leftover funds at the end of the event will be donated to the eGullet Society. Accomodation Reservations should be made by Friday 12 March 2010 in order to guarantee the group rate. Links have been provided below. Click on the hotel names and you will be taken to the appropriate web site. Springhill Suites - USD $64 - $104 including breakfast - [map] Courtyard by Marriott - USD $64 [map] Extended Stay Hotels - USD $69.99 (kitchenette) [link and map to come] Agenda (tentative as of 12 November 2009) Friday 16 April 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Albert Uster Imports with Corporate Pastry Chef Drew Long Albert Uster Imports is a provider of pastry and chocolate products for the professional chef. They are located next door to L'Academie de Cuisine and have a long history with the school. Chef Logan and his staff will spend seveal hours with us discussing and demonstrating a topic as yet to be determined but which I believe will be fun and educational for us all. Chef Logan assumed his position at AUI in November 2009 after leading teams at a number of 4 and 5 start resorts. 7:00 - ??? Evening Social & Chocolate Tasting Show off your work! Bring a little something to share. We'll find a nosh or two and some wine and drinks and spend a little time getting to know each other better. Saturday 17 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast and Introductions 9:00 am - 12:00 pm TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm TBD 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Cleanup 7:00 pm Group Dinner (TBD) Sunday 18 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast 9:00 am - 12:00 TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm TBD 3:30 - 4:30 Final Cleanup Attendees as of 12 November 2009 Yes lebowits Darienne patris beacheschef David J. chocoera Marmish Kerry Beal RobertM Maybe emmalish Lior Beth Wilson Desiderio psantucc cmflick

I would think that this could easily be a "spouse friendly" event. If spouses (or any other guests) don't wish to hang out with us, it wouldn't be hard to get them to the "Metro" so they could go downtown and see museums, art galleries, or any of the other attractions DC has to offer. We're also near several shopping malls if they have that particular urge. I'm sure Betsy will be with us at least some of the time. Maybe we could press her into playing "tour guide". As for molds and other equipment, I'm sure we'll need as much as you can swing. I now have a large Chocovision temperer (in addition to my little Rev 2) and a bunch of molds. The school will have pots, pans, food processors, etc. that we can use. It is more the specialty equipment that we'll need to bring with us.

Event Update Event Information Event: 2010 Candy & Confectionery Workshop Dates: Friday 16 April 2010 - Sunday 18 April 2010 Location: L'Academie de Cuisine, 16006 Industrial Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 2087 USA [map] Note: This event is not sponsored or endorsed by L'Academie de Cuisine. Fee: USD $150.00 This fee is intended to cover all facility rental, required staff labor, and materials (edible or otherwise) for the event. Any leftover funds at the end of the event will be donated to the eGullet Society. Accomodation Reservations should be made by Friday 12 March 2010 in order to guarantee the group rate. Links have been provided below. Click on the hotel names and you will be taken to the appropriate web site. Springhill Suites - USD $64 - $104 including breakfast - [map] Courtyard by Marriott - USD $64 [link and map to come] Extended Stay Hotels - USD $69.99 (kitchenette) [link and map to come] Agenda (tentative as of 12 November 2009) Friday 16 April 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Albert Uster Imports with Corporate Pastry Chef Drew Long Albert Uster Imports is a provider of pastry and chocolate products for the professional chef. They are located next door to L'Academie de Cuisine and have a long history with the school. Chef Logan and his staff will spend seveal hours with us discussing and demonstrating a topic as yet to be determined but which I believe will be fun and educational for us all. Chef Logan assumed his position at AUI in November 2009 after leading teams at a number of 4 and 5 start resorts. 7:00 - ??? Evening Social & Chocolate Tasting Show off your work! Bring a little something to share. We'll find a nosh or two and some wine and drinks and spend a little time getting to know each other better. Saturday 17 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast and Introductions 9:00 am - 12:00 pm TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm TBD 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Cleanup 7:00 pm Group Dinner (TBD) Sunday 18 April 2010 8:30 am Breakfast 9:00 am - 12:00 TBD 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm TBD 3:30 - 4:30 Final Cleanup Attendees Yes lebowits Darienne patris cmflick beacheschef David J. chocoera Marmish Maybe emmalish Lior Beth Wilson Desiderio psantucc

NEWS FLASH Today I was fortunate to meet with the new Corporate Pastry Chef at Albert Uster Imports, Drew Logan (aka drewman on eGullet). Drew and his staff were gracious and excited that we will be having this event come April. Chef Drew has extended the offer to host us at AUI on Friday April 16 for a demonstration and discussion on a topic TBD. I suggested that perhaps something he and his staff could do which would have broad appeal would be a demo on the design and construction of chocolate centerpieces/showpieces. We'll see how it morphs in the coming months. Logistics note: I've managed to secure blocks of rooms at group rates at 3 separate hotel nearby. Room rates will vary from USD $64 - 104. One hotel will include breakfast, and another will be small suites with kitchenette. I should have the details sorted out in a few days and will post them when it's done. If you have any questions, please post here or send me a PM or e-mail. I guess it's time to start making (and checking it twice) of attendees. Y'all come down!

Yes, we are still on track to have this event. I'm sorry if I've been absent from this thread for a while. My day job was getting in the way of my chocolate work. We've been confirmed for our location and I'm having some discussions with folks who have ideas for content. I'm hoping to meet the new Corporate Pastry Chef at AUI in the next week or so and will also begin working on securing a block of hotel rooms. One topic which has been suggested is making chocolate "from bean to bar". I've been put into contact with a company from Atlanta, GA that makes small grinder/melangeurs and will be talking to them about doing a demo for us. The time constraints will prevent us from fully executing the process so we can use the resulting product, but this might be a really fun topic to explore. If you have ideas for things you would like to try, post them here or send me a PM.

Mix - cocoa by itself can be a bit of a shock to some. Definitely mix them. The powdered sugar cuts the bitterness of the cocoa powder and provides a nice soft, hand made look.

With commercial fondant being so cheap vs the time and effort to make my own, I've been using the commercial stuff. I get mine from AUI in large buckets. It lasts pretty near forever.

I heard he is leaving too. I've left him a message (before I had heard) and hope to hear back from him this week.

You could always do a pumpkin mousse parfait which is very quick to make and easy to assemble. No muss, no fuss, and all you need is a stand or hand mixer at the other end. Ingredients are easy, and if you want to make it fancy, you could roast some pumpkin and do a fine dice and mix with crystallized ginger to decorate the top. Maybe even add in a layer of chocolate anglais which you could either make ahead and chill for driving (easy to keep in a thermos) or make it on site. Hope you have a great trip!

Greatly looking forward to hearing your reports!

So the first results are in and are rather inconclusive. The first weekend of my new pricing, total revenue was roughly the same as before. Sold more stuff, but at a lower price. Not a bad result, but not great either. Last weekend, I'm not sure what really happened, but my revenue was up 50% from previous weeks. This could be that I'm beginning to gather a following of sorts, or that people are now used to seeing me at the market. This weekend will be interesting as the weather is supposed to be cold and wet which will probably drive people away. I've got my fingers crossed.

It would also be interesting to learn some basic chocolate showpiece construction.

We are now OFFICIALLY confirmed for April 17 & 18 in the "Palladin" (named after Jean Louis Palladin) kitchen of L'Academine de Cuisine. I'll begin working on confirming April 16 with Albert Uster Imports Corporate Pastry Chef Anil Rohira and look into local hotels for blocks of rooms. Y'all come on down!

And I thought it got cold here in DC from time to time!

That could be done given the location we will be in. Have to see if it appeals to enough people. We could show the bowl technique for coating too - if you can't afford a panner. It won't give you shiny product, but coated with cocoa or confectioners sugar makes nice individual nuts. My preference would also be for 4 days. My reasoning being that if I have to travel to a place for any sort of conference I would like to tack on a day or two of sightseeing and shopping and this way you can tack on a couple of days and make it a mini vacation. But beyond that, there is often as much to be learned from other attendees as from the course itself. In 4 days there is opportunity to do a fair bit of socializing and picking the brains of those who are more experienced. It would also perhaps allow time for a couple of round tables on subjects of special interest during course time. Looks like we are stuck with 2 days - given the location we have. I'd love to be able to do the 4 days for sure - because as you say - the socializing really adds to the learning experience. Have you focused on a date (or month)? What location?

I've given some thought to wearing a chef's jacket, but it has been either too warm or too cold. I'm not sure if I would put off people by appearing "stuffy", or if they would be attracted to it. I've got 4 weekends left. Maybe I'll give it a shot. I do work hard to engage people with a greeting as they walk by. You would be amaze at how many people simply can walk by and not notice you right there. I suppose being across from the local coffee roaster (with hot coffee) and the fresh breads, muffins, etc. is a good or bad thing.

I only started at this market in September. The first few weeks were warm enough to melt some or all of the chocolates on display, so I disposed of them by the end of the day. If I can keep them out of direct sunlight and the temp is below the melting point, I'm ok. Last weekend, the temp was about 65F (18C) and the pieces out of the light did fine. My tent has side walls and I'm going to put one up this weekend and see how that works.

Lior - the display looks wonderful. I've only been putting out a limited number of pieces simply because I haven't had the time to figure out what else to offer (or what would sell) and the time to make it all. I also believe that have a limited range of products can sometimes be an inducement to customers as they perceive that there is something "special" about what you have. Interestingly, as people have gotten to know me and my products, I'm developing a bit of a following and with that comes repeat business. This past week, my sales went up 50%. I don't know if that is a one time event or a trend. I'll have to see what happens the next few weeks. I do admit that I'm jealous about having an indoor venue. That would be so much easier in many respects.

Cambro Manufacturing (southern California near Los Angeles) makes a large line of commercial food products, focusing on service and storage. Their web site is here. I tried going there a few minutes ago and it seems their server is down. Here is a link to a restaurant supply company that sells their stuff. Cambro sells almost exclusively through restaurant supply companies. I display with minimal product for two reasons. 1) If the weather is warm and there is danger of melting the pieces, I only have to sacrifice a small number. 2) The product on display is very likely being breathed on (or worse), touched, or otherwise contaminated by being in the open. Keeping the real stock in a temperature "controlled" and closed container, keeps it safer and makes people feel special when you go in to fill their box with whatever they want. You would be surprised how many people ask me if they can choose anything or if the boxes are pre-packaged. I tell them that I would never get in the way of someone and their favorite chocolates.

Really nice display. I like the way the green and brown colors work together. I'm still trying to find a graphic artist/designer to help me with a logo/identity.

So here are the promised pics of my farmers market setup. A view to a tent, me in my chair... An array of goodies... License, prices, boxes, and stock... Inside the stock container... Hand washing station...

Steve, what a fabulous post. I thank you too! What detail... so helpful... I have never done a show or farmer's market. I keep scratching my head as to how to keep the chocolates from melting (at an outdoor event or farmer's market). I have been considering getting some of those Cambro sheet size containers. Do the lids fit very tight? I freeze my chocolates and so far have been boxing them in assortments and freezing that way. I'd like to offer more choice to my clients but being home-based I don't go through inventory like a shop does. I was thinking of using these Cambro half sheet size containers to store different flavours in my upright freezer. I'm assuming they would hold 2 layers? I'm quite confident that with an absorbent pad on top - and if the lid fits tight - the chocolates would be just fine. I can then dip into the containers as needed and get whatever selection is asked for and thaw appropriately. Whatcha think? Would it work? I've made a concious decision NOT to freeze product and to make smaller batches. In general, I make 64, 96, or 128 piece batches depending on how an item is selling. For the products I'm making, I get between 6 and 8 weeks of shelf life, but don't like to keep things longer than 4 - 6 so this gives the customer some time to consume them. I store all my product at room temp on a "speed rack" with a cover since I rent kitchen space and don't want other things floating onto my stuff. To carry and serve out of, I bought a Cambro "Camcarrier" (Code 1826MTC) which holds 6 full size sheet pans or 12 1/2 size pans. As I learned my lesson NOT to take more than I really need, I generally take 4 1/2 pans with 12 - 13 products. This leaves room at the top of the carrier for a 6th pan on which I can put a freezer pack wrapped in several layers of paper towel. The paper towel absorbs most of the condensation and since I'm using 1/2 pans, I push this pan to the back of the carrier so condensation doesn't fall directly on top of the tray directly below. Now that the weather has turned cooler, I don't even bother with the freezer pack. BTW... I did take some pics yesterday and will upload them ASAP.