patti_h

Kerri- hate to ask you to put something else into your pile, but if your isi whip is small, I would love to see you make an aerated chocolate! I am pretty sure I have grand marnier so I will bring that along. I also have a 3/4 size shoe mold (from Tomric) so I will bring it along as well. I made some cacao nib nougatine the other day so I will bring some of that too. I am SO EXCITED for the conference!! Can't wait to meet everyone!!!! Hope no one minds my chocolates with the backroom finish- I promise they taste yummy!

I am expecting that my husband Phil and i will be arriving around 4. I put him down as my plus one because he will be attending everything- I want him to get an understanding of chocolate so that he can help me out when the need arises! I also would like to know what we should plan on bringing with us- I will be bringing my melter and wheel/spout thingy, molds, and samples for the meet & greet but other than that I'm not so sure what we should be bringing. Robert I will pmail you because unfortunately Phil and I have multiple food allergies between us....

Mette, I looked at some websites to try to figure out how man tonka beans I would want and I found that I could order them on Amazon! They are legally being sold for soap making and such. I ordered some, so maybe I will bring tonka bean chocolates! I am getting SO excited for the conference- Kerry I think I need to follow your lead and start making a pile of stuff to bring!!!! So looking forward to meeting everyone!

So glad this thread was resurrected- what awesomeness!!! Kerr I think if I were you I would never leave the house!!!

Kerry I would love to get a thermometer! Please let me know if you have a paypal account, I could go ahead and send you the money now. Also, Mette- can you get Tonka bean? We can't get it in the US but it sounds very intriguing. I would love to try it out. Another thing I am interested in learning from you all is how you market your chocolates. I am not very strong in that department!!!

I will bring my melter and wheel, it is the European version of Bakon. Not sure of the capacity but I think it can hold about 20 pounds of chocolate. I can bring molds, I only have six. As far as books I only have a couple and they're the basic ones. (so far!) SO excited!!! Excited to meet y'all and to learn!!! And to shop at Albert Ulster!

Our schedule at work is out so I am going to be in the "definite" category! (patti_h +1) Missed the deadline for the room but I will see if they will still allow me to book with the block rate. I am definitely interested in decoration of molded chocolates, and not that I would ever use it, but chocolate showpieces! I am curious about flavoring chocolates, not just ganaches but the chocolate as well. (i.e. to make a chocolate bar flavored with earl grey tea). I am also curious about what to bring to share i.e. how much chocolate! I have a tabletop warmer, and an electric wheel/spout that I could bring if needed as I will be driving.

Yes, if you are avoiding gluten you cannot use malt. Many oats are contaminated with gluten as well. I cannot eat gluten and have struggled to make treats for myself as well as others who cannot eat gluten. There are many good recipes in Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone. The chocolate chip cookies are awesome and I use her gluten free flour mix all the time. Other favorites are meringues, peanut butter cookies, pignolia cookies, chocolates. There was a very promising recipe for chocolate hazelnut cookies on food 52 but I haven't made it so I cannot vouch for it. Cheesecake (nut crust), gelato, creme brulee.....I know there are more things I cannot think of right now.

Thank you Kerry! I have been lurking so I don't think I ever properly introduced myself! By profession I am an OR nurse, but I have always loved baking. I started doing some work with a caterer and one day he asked me to make truffles. I had never been thrilled with making truffles because I knew NOTHING about chocolate. But I experimented and came up with some, and decided that I wanted to improve my chocolate skills. I took the professional chocolatier course from L'ecole Chocolat & loved it! I absolutely love working with chocolate & will love the experience of working together with like minded souls! I am also quite intrigued with sugar work and look forward to learning about that too! Also, I know that I use way too many exclamation marks, that's just the kind of person I am- I am very enthusiastic about things!

I would like to be added to the list (+1) as a maybe. I wanted to try last year but the drive would have been tough. Washington is easier for me, yay! I am definitely in our "beginner" group! Thank you!

I made the passion fruit honey butter ganache using reduced passion fruit juice. It has been very popular! I haven't tried the lavender yet but I agree with the previous poster who said if the lavender gets too strong it just tastes soapy. I think with lavender I would err on the side of caution....