bdonaghy

Kerry. I just did a project with the sheets have some suggestions that helped . . . * don't pre-print the sheets, print the number of moulds that you have. * warm the metal backer to the mould with a hair dryer to warm it up. * use chocolate a degree or two warmer than you usually use when in temper. * after depositing chocolate, leave at room temperature for 15 minutes. * go cold for complete crystallization, my fridge is sub 40F. * bring back to room temperature before unmolding. Following these recommendations I was getting a more than a 95% success rate. But we can talk about this when you visit next week. brian

The Notter School is in Orlando. Don't know their Summer schedule but they do a variety of professional pastry and chocolate classes. brian

I use #5 stock boxes with layer board if the items are cupped. If not cupped I use a tray that is designed to fit in the 5# stock box. All of these items are available from Tomric Systems. b

Kerry. I have been airbrush white colored cocoa butter behind the transfer with good results! brian

I've been using samples I got from Centerchem I think. ← I like the Centerchem polishers as well, I think they are called Capol. I try to polish w/out as much as possible but the cool thing about the polishers is that you can add color or other things. I just panned pop rocks and to the polishing glaze I added color (red), strawberry fruit powder and red interference color. I think they turned out really cool! An aside, I find varnishes to be more important than the polishers. They really help to extend shelf life shininess. b

Boiron makes a pretty good one . . . also, is that silcone mould the dessert is formed in from Pavoni? b

The meringue, if you keep it in a dry coolish environment should last for awhile. But as you state in your post, add your cream just prior to service and you will get the crunch that you want. Good Luck! b

You can make rings out of the acetate, so you don't need the metal rings at all. Or at least you can remove the metal rings right after you add the mouse and let the acetate support it. ← Instead of metal rings - go to Home Depot and get PVC tubing and cut it - it will be less expensive and work the same way. Still line the rings with acetate and they will pop out nicely. b

Kerry. We can do them faster than that if needed . . .but for the project in question an inexpensive mould sounds good too and clearly, that's in our (Tomric's) wheelhouse. brian

For what it's worth . . . curry is a "hard" flavor to get right. Different spice blends taste different and therefore will be different. I think you hit it on the head, if you wanted to nail this recipe it's about developing your own spice blend to highlight the flavors you want to see in the finished piece. However, I disagree that coming up with a good chocolate curry recipe isn't worth the effort, in my world curry is far superior to PB&J. LOL

On my last trip to Koln, we really enjoyed Weinhaus Brungs. It was Carnival and that might have added to the fun but the food was good and the wait staff was somewhat like watching a British sitcom. Here's the link . . . http://www.gasthaus-brungs.de/ brian

Could you just leave earlier and eat in Philly? Then you have lots of choices!! b

The 13 gauge is what I use for my Martellato guitar. b ← 13 gauge is how many mm? ← It is about .08cm or 1/32nd of an inch b

The 13 gauge is what I use for my Martellato guitar. b ← 13 gauge is how many mm? ← Don't know, I'll find out. b

The 13 gauge is what I use for my Martellato guitar. b