YetiChocolates

I am also still planning on coming, and I would be interested in sharing a room with someone as well, otherwise I will probably have to find alternative accommodations.

Unfortunately the cottage law that just recently passed in Washington does not extend to chocolate at this time. I contacted the woman who did most of the leg work to get the law passed and she said that they were initially hesitant to add chocolate to the list because it's not baked, and so for the time being the only things allowed for home prep are baked goods that are shelf stable after being baked. She said that hopefully by next year they will extend the law and add chocolates to the list. Until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed! BTW, the Northwest Chocolate Festival is being held in Seattle this weekend, anyone attending? I'm hoping my work schedule will work out that I will be able to!

Hey pastrygirl just wanted to let you know that you got me really excited when you posted that Washington state had passed a cottage law since I'm planning on buying a house in WA this fall and was hoping to get my chocolate operation off the ground on a small scale. However, after looking into the cottage law that was just passed and talking to the lady that has done the leg work to get the cottage law off the ground, unfortunately at this time they are only allowing foods that are baked to be produced out of the home, so for now chocolates are off limits. Rats! She did say though that it is something that is being considered and hopefully will be allowed sometime next year. I'll be waiting impatiently for that day to come! Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I've used the CK lustre dusts with perfect results. My avatar pic is using the CK rouge flambe and holly green lustre dusts. I've also used others and have had no problem with them sticking to the molds. I just use a paint brush and brush them into the mold, they adhere much better than on hand dipped chocolates I've found. I also don't have any problems with them sticking to the mold, I just brush in a thin layer and it adheres perfectly to the mold. It's less finicky than using colored cocoa butters for me. However I recently purchased a new batch of lustre dusts by CK from a company and they had these glaring stickers that said "Not approved for edible consumption by the FDA". I know a lot of you guys are from other countries, but those who are from the States, what's your take on using lustre dusts on your chocolates? I've started swapping over to using colored cocoa butters sadly because I'm afraid of getting sued in the long run for using lustre dusts on my chocolates, even though I prefer to use the lustre dusts for certain chocolates. Thoughts???

I second that patti_h!

OOh, and I don't know if this would be possible Kerry, but if you could show us the screen printing technique for making transfer sheets, that would be awesome! I would love to see how that's done in person! Though if that would be too difficult, I completely understand

I would be interested in the residence accommodation as well. Since I'll be flying in I won't be able to bring many supplies, but will bring what I can. As for things I would be interested in learning would be nougats, and though I know this was shown in the 2012 conference, maybe some more airbrushing or cocoa butter decorating techniques in molds as well. Can't wait!

Kerry, please count me in! Also, just wanted to let everyone know that if on a budget (like me, for example), one possibility for accommodations is right on the college campus. It's more spartan than the hotel, obviously, but extremely clean and comfortable. Plus it's a 3-min walk to the Hospitality Building! As we get closer, I would definitely like to hear more about this option. We spent so little time in the hotel room (a fair amount in the lounge area near the lobby though), I see no reason to spend a lot of money, as long as a room is clean with a decently comfortable bed. I'd rather spend the money buying equipment and ingredients. Jess I second Jess, I don't really need lush accommodations if I could use the money saved from the hotel on equipment and supplies!

Count me in for Niagra as well. After reading about how much fun and amazing things you all learned this weekend I'm very bummed I had to miss it But there is always next year, and will make sure to pencil it in so I don't miss it because of work!

I'm so jealous that I can't make it! Hopefully next year! On a side note, I saw you're planning on going to Cowgirl Creamery on Friday, and I just went to their shop in the San Fran Ferry Building last weekend. Amazing cheeses! I highly recommend the wagon wheel and mt. tam, both quite delicious. I hope you all have a fantastic time, and hope to see a full report on here on how it goes! Have fun!

Those are beautiful Chris! What color did you use for the silverish geodesic mold? Is that cocoa butter or luster dust?

I don't know why you're hesitating, those chocolates look amazing! Very elegant, nice work!

Thanks Kerry! I was really pleased with how they turned out. Cocoa butter can be a finicky thing, but I think I've finally got it figured out!

Here is my Valentine's line-up! I got a new air compressor so I was finally able to do some airbrushing with my chocolates this time, yeah! Clockwise from top left: Raspberry lavender, lime, kahlua and espresso, toasted coconut, cinnamon chipotle, and maple pecan caramel. I wish I would have read the thread on maple caramels before setting out on that adventure, mine as well as others came out more grainy than I would have liked, but the flavor is nice, so I guess I'll take it!

You will also have to put me in the "Can't Make it" category Robert. Just found out I will be working during those dates, and it's something I cannot get out of. Here's hoping to making it happen next year! Have fun, it sounds like it will be an amazing weekend!

Nice work minas6907, those look delicious!

Okay, I've always thought Canada is a pretty rad place, and continue to feel so...just found "Chocolate Decorations" here for around $86 US. Not sure how much would be to ship to the US or London for punk patissie but at least it is out there for a reasonable price. I've always thought I should move to Canada, and it seems like there are a lot more chocolate resources up north than here in the states...tempting

Thanks for the advice, I've worked with cocoa butter in the same way with some other molds I have with much better results. I think what might have been the cause is that I didn't let the mold come back to room temp. after putting it in the fridge before swirling the green in and that might have been the issue. I followed the same technique as before but making sure to let the molds come to room temp. before adding the next color and they released just fine. As for melting the cocoa butter, I don't currently have a microwave, so I just put the bottles of cocoa butter into warm/hot water to melt the outside layer and then shake it up to distribute and warm the rest of the cocoa butter, and it seems to be an alright method for now. I appreciate the feedback though, as always, it's quite the learning curve we chocolatiers have to endure

$850? Are you sure about that? I'll have to check my books... I'm almost positive I have the English version in mint condition and, if I do, the first $100 can have it shipped to their door within Canada/U.S. I think I flipped through it once when I got it and haven't touched it since. Well here's the price on Amazon And here's the price on Alibris Maybe the book is currently out of print in English and therefore the reason for the ridiculous price? I haven't searched other places, say Powell's books for instance, but those two sites are usually my "goto" for books. If I had $100 to spare I would buy that off of you in a heartbeat. Maybe after the holiday chocolate rush is over, if the coffers are a bit fat and you still have the book I'll hit you up for it

Well when you find that book, let me know, because to my knowledge, the only one that might be close is "Chocolate Decorations" by JP Wybauw and it's $850+ (in the states at least) if you want it translated into English. The German version Schokoladendekore is a lot cheaper (in the $80 range), but unless you know how to read German the pictures would probably be the only thing helpful. I would say that if you are only interesting in methods and techniques then finding a class that focuses on just that would probably be your best bet.

Hello Stu! And Welcome! Some great books that have helped me out thus far in my chocolatiering journey are Chocolate and Confections by Peter Greweling and The Art of the Chocolatier by Edward Notter. Both go into the techniques of making chocolate, as well as talking about coloring/airbrushing molds. They also have formulae for chocolates, so you get a 3 in 1 essentially. I would say the other best resource for learning how to working with designs in molds is reading the threads on here (they've been a big help for me) and just experimenting. I'd also check out Norman Love's website, it doesn't exactly give you a lot of info on techniques (though you can take a class from him if you find yourself in Tampa, FL ), but it does give you an idea of what level you can take your chocolates to and ideas. I love looking at his chocolates, they are stunning! Anyway, I hope this helps. I would also check out the Pastry and Baking Index that is pinned at the top of the Pastry and Baking page, halfway down the page it has a bunch of useful chocolate threads (if you haven't found that already) or you can link directly to it from here Good luck!

I love the look of those frogs Kerry!

Those sound heavenly, and I just recently picked up some golden syrup! I'll have to give these a shot!

So I've read through this thread probably 5 or 6 times in the past few years, and most of the comments have been really helpful, but I don't remember if this question was asked specifically so I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask it and hopefully won't get heckled by everyone for asking something that's already been asked I recently got the half dome molds that Norman Love uses with most of his chocolates to create that beautiful cocoa butter shine. I picked up some colored cocoa butter from Chef Rubber, and decided to try the swirl technique that's talked about at the beginning of this thread. I did the white first, then the green, making sure to chill each one before doing the next and let the mold come back to room temp before adding the dark chocolate. The chocolate was in temper when I filled the molds, but I noticed right away that they weren't releasing like they should, when the other mold I filled was releasing just fine. I filled the chocolates, capped them, and they still weren't releasing. I put them in the fridge, and only a few came out unscathed, after probably 2-3 hours of fridge time most of them had big chunks of mostly green that stayed in the mold. I guess the question I'm posing is whether it was because I didn't buff first (felt like I didn't need to since the molds were brand new), the cocoa butter was too thick, or did I get a little over zealous and poured the mold too quickly and it wasn't quite in temper i.e. should I let it sit a minute or two before I start shelling (as the other mold I shelled came out just fine, though it didn't have any colored cocoa butter, it was just a plain dark shell. Note I did hand temper the batch of chocolate, and I do remember giving the molds a quite rinse because the packaging materials it was shipped in was sticking to the molds. So maybe it was a buffing issue? Dang, what a silly mistake! The other question is pertaining to a quote made earlier in the thread about molds being like cast iron pans and needing a good seasoning. Since these are brand new molds should I shell them with a chocolate before attempting a colored cocoa butter design to "season" them, or do you all feel that would be unnecessary? I'm obviously not going to give up trying this, but I was hoping someone would see the error in my ways, as I'm a bit perplexed.

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