carol lang

In the Chocolate Connoisseur by C. Doutre-Roussel she says: " Neuhaus developed the first chocolates with soft centers (the famous Belgian moulded chocolates) and his wife invented the gift box, or 'ballotin' to sell them in."

you can find a picture of ballotin boxes here http://www.glerup.com/colordet.cfm?&id=BOX&type=XBA&clr=ALL Carol

Congratulations! Your hard work has put you on the road to success. Carol

I am thinking of using cheese cake as a part of a molded chocolate bon bon. Would this present serious shelf life issues? Could I expect a 2 week shelf life? The cheese cake will be sealed in the mold with other ingredients. I should have planned ahead and done my own test but since I did not, I would appreciate any help from those of you with more experience. Thank you Carol

I so understand what you are say Desiderio. It is really a pain to have to have to work in a rented space and not have your own place. Experimenting turns out to be more expensive and spontaneity of creation is hard to achieve. I experiment at home where temperature conditions aren't optimum and use the rented space when I have orders to fill. I love working with chocolate and I too dream of my own space. I also want to say that your chocolates are most beautiful. Carol

Thanks to everyone who has given me suggestions. It really helps to hear what you have said. jgm I really like that "wish I'd thought of that first" and go from there. Tri2cook your reply gave me some confidence to just go with my ideas. Carol

I am fairly new at working with chocolate. I feel quite confident with my tempering skills and preparing a great ganache. I want to learn to create a bon bon or bar that is unique to me. How does one go about recipe creation when it seems that the best is already out there. Would any of you fine chocolatiers here be willing to share your methods of experimentation? Carol

Thanks, alanamoana. I was there yesterday. They have colored callets but they are not real chocolate. Carol

See if Qzina has a warehouse in NYC. ← Thank you

Would anyone know where I could purchase Callebaut White Chocolate Strawberry Callets in New York City? I would like to try them and don't want to wait for mail order. Thanks Carol

Thank you so much for sharing, Lior, they really have some great stuff. Carol

Lior, I love the teddy bear in your childrens section. Is it a solid piece or a bonbon? Where did you get the mold? Thanks, Carol

Lior, Your website is very beautiful. The work and the detail that you put in to it is evident. The chocolates look perfect. I have been reading about your preparation and learning both here and on ecole chocolat. You are incredible and a role model for me. Carol

Thanks Kerry. I will let you know

Andrew Shotts says in his book that you should not double his recipes but make the recipe over again. Have any of you tried doubling and if so were there any ill effects? Thanks, Carol

so beautiful Tammy Carol

Tammy, your chocolates look absolutely beautiful. Did you use an air brush to achieve those colors ? What type of air brush and compressor do you use. Carol

Chris, I think your habanos look great. I really enjoyed your step by step photos too. How many did you make? Was it the full recipe or did you make a smaller batch? If it is a smaller batch, what method did you use to reduce the recipe. Carol

Kerry, I loved your report on our adventures. Just one correction. The chocolate art on the wall is Christopher Norman, New York Carol

I want to thank Kerry for posting my question. I am the "newer" chocolatier she was referring to. I also want to thank all of you for your helpful responses and suggestions. I bought a small (18 bottle) wine refrigerator and some indicating dessicant and have begun to store both my bulk chocolate and finished bon bons in it. I will keep you posted on how this works out for me, both the pros and cons. I am really happy to finally have participated in the forum and hope to post again soon. Carol