lebowits

Several years ago, I took the Culinary Institute's continuing eduction class on "Artisan Chocolate and Confectionery" with Chef Greweling. It was a 4.5 day course devoted entirely to theory and practice of an amazing number of techniques. Little did I know at the time, that pretty much everything we did was to be published in Greweling's book the next spring. While this course didn't focus on the business aspects of our efforts, it did cover an amazing amount of ground. My only regret was not being able to make every product. Everyone got to make something in each category, but we split up the individual products and shared everything at the end of the week. It was a great experience.

How would this concoction work for piping into shells? Would you share your proportions as well?

I've been meaning to take pictures but never quite get around to it. I'll see about remembering this weekend and post a few.

In all of the reading I've done, and the few courses I've taken, I still have yet to see a good discussion of various types of fillings. Many books and courses focus on types of ganache, hand rolling vs shell molding etc. It would be interesting to discuss not just ganaches (cream vs butter, stiff vs more fluid), but also fondant based fillings, fruit centers, alcohol centers (e.g. starch molding), etc. This would go hand in hand with a discussion of flavor profiles, flavor development, and ingredient sourcing. Of course I think there are a number of us who would also enjoy taking a whack at learning the basics of showpiece construction and design. Perhaps discussing and experimenting both with sugar (isomalt) and chocolate (and modelling chocolate).

We would certainly love to meet you. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Carol - Like you, I have just begun selling my chocolates at a local farmers market. In my case, the market had a set of requirements in that I needed to bring my own 10x10 tent with weights to keep it from flying off in case of a stiff breeze. I also went out and bought 3 5' tables at a local office supply store. When I set up, I drape my tables and and have a "runner" across the front table upon which I place 6" tiles for displaying the chocolates. I put out 3 pieces of each type on their own tile. I bought "matching" corner tiles which sit on the table at a nice angle to label each type. Clear mailing labels printed and applied to each corner tile make the labels look nice. For storage, I bought a Cambro food container which holds standard size sheet pans. My first week, I took 6 full size pans loaded down with 2 types per pan. This turned out to be not just way too much product to sell, but was also very heavy. Remember to travel as lightly as possible. I now take 1/2 size pans each with 3 - 4 types on each. For now, I'm not putting out more than 12 - 14 different pieces. Some pieces will sell well, and others simply don't. One of my personal favorites, Bananas Foster simply isn't appealing to the people in any volume. You'll figure out pretty quickly what appeals to your crowd. Play to those tastes. For the rest of my assorted stuff, I bought some waterproof containers with latching lids at Container Store. They cost $15 - $25 each but are invaluable given the chances of weather. I keep my empty candy boxes in one and put all my other stuff (clip board, table covers, disposable gloves, display tiles, label tiles, hand soap, paper towels, etc.) in another. Don' forget to get yourself a cash box with some type of latch. It doesn't need to lock, but it's important to have something which closes so you can both keep an eye on it, and the wind won't take your cash away. My "bank" is $80 consisting of $1, $5, and $10 bills. I also keep quarters as I sell individual pieces for $1.50. All of my prices are inclusive of sales tax so I don't need to calculate the total and can keep prices in even $ increments. This saves me a great deal of hassle. Don't forget to count your cash box before you start and after. You should also track how many of each type of box you sell so you can reconcile your cash at the end of the day. I use a spreadsheet to enter in those numbers and make sure I've got the right total at the end. And of course, replenish your drawer after you count out for the next event. Finally, I have two "directors" chairs which I take with me. These allow me to sit up higher when I'm not standing, or even to lean against them a bit so I can look people in the eye as they come by. Sitting down lower, keeps you out of view. It is important to engage people as they walk by. Simply saying "Hello" or "Good morning" can often draw someone in who would have simply walked by. Best of luck to you. If you're in the same place week after week, it will take some time for people to figure out you are there. I'm now in my 6th weekend and my revenues have been steady but I'm now starting to get repeat customers. If you have any other questions I can answer, send me a PM and we can talk off-line.

I usually pipe these buttercreams rather than use them in a slabbed form. This might be a good topic for the 2010 workshop! Indeed it might - a comparison of various centers. Even getting into" 'true buttercreams' -is there any way to prevent them from being grossly sweet?" I think that sounds like a great session. Discussion, experimentation. What's not to like?

I usually pipe these buttercreams rather than use them in a slabbed form. This might be a good topic for the 2010 workshop!

Again, everyone is welcome to come. I believe you would enjoy it more by participating than simply watching. Due to space constraints we will be working in teams, so you can do as much or as little as you wish with your teammates. But I would certainly encourage you to step up and give things a go! You'll have a great time and noone will be judging your skills. The goal is to help each other learn and to enjoy each others company.

Everyone is welcome to come to this event. The 2009 event had people at all levels, including those who had never tempered chocolate before. I believe we all got something from the experience and that we certainly all had fun! I hope you'll join us.

After the success of the 2009 eGullet Confectionery Workshop arranged by Kerry Beal, I've taken on the challenge to organize the 2nd of these events tentatively scheduled for April 16 - 18, 2010 to be held in Gaithersburg, Maryland outside of Washington, DC. Click here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums. This topic will be used to track interest from all who would like to participate, "register" those of us who will be in attendance, and collaborate on developing the agenda. First: The location. I've gained commitment to use the facilities of my culinary alma mater, L'Academie de Cuisine (LAC), in Gaithersburg, MD. We will have use of one kitchen and the adjoining "classroom" for the two days of Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18. Immediately next door, to LAC is Albert Uster Imports (AUI), a large chocolate importer and pastry supply house. I've spoken with the Corporate Pastry Chef, Anil Rohira, who is a world class pastry chef, chocolatier, and sugar artist. Anil has tentatively agreed to host us for about 1/2 day on Friday April 16 for a demonstration and discussion on a topic as yet to-be-determined. I believe we can reasonably accommodate between 20 - 25 people at this event. It is open to all, regardless of skill level or experience. It is my hope that like the 2009 event, we will have a broad range of skills represented so that those more experienced can teach/mentor others, and that we will all learn something from each other. COST As with all things, we need to pay for facilities, supplies, breakfast/lunch, etc. Tentatively, I have set a price point of $150 per participant which at the moment seems like it will cover all we need. For now this is only an ESTIMATE, but I think it's a reasonable one. As we get closer toward the end of the year, I'll being collecting names of those who would like to attend. Several hotels are near the school and I'll look to setup a group rate once I have the dates finalized with LAC. I would like to invite you to begin the conversation with a discussion of WHAT would you like to DO during this weekend? What items would you like to see on our agenda? Speak up! Let's have some fun! HOST'S NOTE: This is an member-organized event, not an official eGullet Society event. Please see here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.

For any who are interested. I've begun an experiment in "price elasticity" if I remember the term correctly from my college economics classes. After doing a bit more research, I came to the conclusion that I was pricing myself a bit higher than the local market. So after fiddling with the numbers, I came to what seems to be a similar "tiered" pricing structure that is more in line with the few local competitors who are doing similar work to mine. Interestingly, my weekly sales have stayed roughly the same in whole dollars. I'm selling more chocolates, and a few more of the higher priced boxes as opposed to the smaller boxes, but the revenue is relatively constant. I've also started selling in "quantity" to a local restaurant at a "wholesale" price which still provides me a reasonable profit margin since I don't have to package the pieces for them. I hope to have another restaurant offering my chocolates in the next week. Now, I just hope all the exposure, samples, business cards, etc. pay off in orders for the holidays!

I make Greweling's hazelnut gianduja and pipe it as soon as it's reached something near room temp into chocolate cups that I mold ahead of time. I then top it with a whole roasted hazelnut. It's really delicious and looks very nice. The down side to piping gianduja into a shell is that you get "fat bloom" after a while on the shell. I simply make less of them more often which has worked well so far. You can make the chocolate cups pretty far in advance as long as you can store them. Sorry for the fuzzy pic. I need to get some good photos taken.

Well, first of all, my CURRENT sales are RETAIL at a local farmers market. I'm hoping that this will help me build a few relationships in the community and begin to generate some demand that I can leverage when talking to other businesses. My one current "wholesale" (I use the term loosely) is a restaurant which I sell small 2-piece boxes. The boxes aren't fancy because they are using them as small gifts to the table at the end of the meal. Generally one per table. I've done one other wholesale job to a restaurant which was simply the chocolates themselves with no packaging. In this case, they used them for a dessert buffet. From the reading I've done, if you want other people to resell your product, you need to give them 70% - 100% markup from their purchase price to their sale price. For example, sell them the chocolates for $1/ea and they resell for $2/ea. In the past, I've made product specifically to fill an order, but with the holidays coming up very soon, and with my farmers market days running into November, I plan to keep an inventory for a while and let that wind down as we reach the end of the year. Congratulations on your new space! When are you posting pictures?

I'd like to expand the conversation a bit to include milk chocolate. I've only used a very few chocolates and have been using Des Alpes from Albert Uster. I find the "gem line" to be very tasty but the milk chocolate is extremely thick (viscous) and can be difficult to work with. I've raised my working temp to about 90F and still find it hard to work with. I'm planning on trying the "orchid" line chocolates soon. Does you have any thoughts about milk chocolates you work with?

I'd like to revive this topic but with a bit of a twist. I have recently gotten my own business under way and intend to develop more of a "wholesale" market as opposed to retail. My targets are going to be local restaurants, party planners, etc. In the mean time, there is a local farmers market that I am using to establish myself in the community and start to build some relationships. I've read this thread regarding pricing of my pieces and have worked out an average food cost and total production cost (including labor)which I am marking up what I hope is an appropriate amount. My real question is this. I don't have issues with providing samples to potential customer (e.g. restaurants et. al.) but doing so at the farmers market for free would quickly see all of my stock consumed. People will pick up anything that is "free". So what I've done is to offer single pieces at a lower price that what the same number of pieces would be in any of my boxes. This presents a problem. I have priced my boxes (4, 8, and 15 pieces) in such a way that the price per piece declines as you buy larger boxes. If I continue this price curve to single pieces, I very firmly believe that I would exceed the price people are willing to pay for a single item, no matter how beautiful and tasty it might be. I have priced my single pieces (sold as "samples") at the same as all of my other boxes but without including the cost of packaging since there is none and include local sales tax. I've had very positive reactions to my chocolates from everyone who has tried them and am starting to get repeat customers. People are also coming by to tell me how much they or their friends for whom they bought them enjoyed them. There are always a few people who come by and look at my prices and comment how they can buy 4 single pieces for 1/3 less than the cost of a 4-piece box. I am proactive in telling them that the "sample" price is to encourage them to try my pieces and that it doesn't "cover" packaging and some other overhead costs which they seem to accept readily enough. So with all of this lengthy introduction, what do you do about samples in a retail environment where you have constant foot traffic while you're open? Do you have any additional advice as to how to position "samples" (whether customers pay for them or not) in your pricing structure?

Just curiosity on my part. Where would you purchase shells already sprayed with chocolate? The only catalog I have is from Qzina and they don't carry them and my googling did not turn up any empty shells to purchase. Do premade shells taste as good as the ones the pastry chef might make? Are they actually cheaper because of work hours saved? Thanks. ← what a good question......care to enlighten us steve? PS-craving your lovely mint pattie dreamy chocolate things today. bad. ← As is mentioned above, Albert Uster Imports carries them. I haven't used them often, but when I had big jobs, it simply wasn't cost effective to make my own. The quality is good and the cost per shell is hard to beat.

The Albert Uster Imports catalog has all-butter shells sprayed with white or dark chocolate; I've never tried them so I have no idea if they are thin, thick or what the coating is like. I keep their small 2" plain and chocolate shells on hand for those 7 am calls for same day orders. They're pretty good for commercial shells. ← I've used the Albert Uster shells several times. They are a good size and thickness and the spray coating is very thin.

If you do mini tarts you can purchase shells which have been "sprayed" with chocolate which eliminates any moisture issues with mousses and creams. I would stick to cooked creams (e.g. pastry cream), curds, etc. If they don't sit out for hours on end, they will be fine.

I've always been a fan of mini tarts filled with chocolate mousse. You can either buy or make your own sucree shells. You could even do a chocolate sucree shell. Even better, make real chocolate shells and fill with a variety of items; mousse, hazelnut gianduja (or your favorite nut flavor).

I bought a few small amounts of several colors and have applied it for the first time to a set of finished chocolates. It takes a bit of getting used to in order to apply it without looking I'm trying to cover something up. Any suggestions as to the best types of brushes to use? The dust appears to adhere to my brush rather "aggressively" so I am making sure to only dip into the jar as little as possible and then to brush against the lip to try and shake off the excess.

Are you looking for a a 3D "full body" mold or something with a flat side? If you can use the flat sided mold, you might look for a large copper gelatin or terrine mold.

I do indeed have an update. During my trip to visit with TruffleGuy, we made a couple of a casts in the molds. Each time, the shells came out just fine. The method that we used that weekend was this: 1. Fill the molds and scrape 2. Empty the molds and scrape 3. Place the molds with the cavity openings DOWN on top of parchment for a few minutes to let the chocolate begin to set and lose it's "gloss" This also allows any excess chocolate to form a "lip" at the "bottom" of the piece which is useful for grabbing onto the cap when poured later. 4. Place the molds in the refrigerator with the cavity opening UP for about 30 minutes Proceed as usual. After I got home, I used this technique again with almost exactly the same results. In between uses, I am also polishing the molds with my faux cloth. Another useful tidbit was TruffleGuy's use of a dehydrator to warm the molds for cleaning. The warmth of the dehydrator melts the chocolate and let you clean molds with dry paper towels (avoiding the interior of the cavities).

In reading this thread it seems we're getting away from the real issue which is all about the application, which in Lior's original question relates to making a mousse. I won't speculate as the value of using tempered chocolate for this app as I don't make mousses very much and am very happy with the formulas I use. As to the general question as to whether it is better to use tempered chocolate for ganache, I believe again this is a question of application. In my (admittedly limited) experience, I will use tempered chocolate for ganache when I want a firmer product in less time as in when I will pour a slab for cutting. If I am piping ganache for molded chocolates or truffle shells I will usually NOT use tempered chocolate because I want the ganache to remain "loose" and to firm more slowly. This allows for the ganache to "settle" in the shell. Since I don't have a continuous temperer it also means I spend less time (and hence less money) in making that particular product. If I did have a continuous temperer (and I certainly wouldn't mind that), I would use whatever chocolate I had once I understood how to get my work done in the least time while maintaining my desired level of quality. Certainly shelf life is important, but so far, I'm not having to worry about that (yet).

IMHO there is absolutely nothing more delicious than a fresh, still warm croissant just a few minutes out of the oven!