One Year Later

[Truffle Guy]

congrats bill, you've come a long way since the shotts class.

Luis

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Hey Luis, Thanks! I have to say Andrew's classes are really a must for anyone starting in the business, his knowledge is incredible.

[alanamoana]

just want to throw my congratulations in as well! i think it is amazing how much knowledge there is here on eGullet and i'm going to finally have to make a donation (i keep meaning to) to grease the cogs .

i wish you continued success and hope you continue to add your $0.02 to all the great topics on chocolate here on eG.

[ejw50]

hey do you mind sharing your coloring technique?

On your website, there's a 1/2 green, 1/2 yellow with chocolate drizzle.

there's a red, white, and blue . If it is OK, do you mind mentioning how you do those?

[Truffle Guy]

hey do you mind sharing your coloring technique?

On your website, there's a 1/2 green, 1/2 yellow with chocolate drizzle.

there's a red, white, and blue .  If it is OK, do  you mind mentioning how you do those?

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On the green/yellow (Lemongrass/Coconut) I take a pastry bag and fill it with tempered dark chocolate and pipe thin lines in all the molds. I then airbrush with 2 shades of green and follow up with 2 shades of yellow.

Same technique on the other (Rosewater Caramel) but again with multiple shades of both pink/red and blue.

One thing though is be careful with the amount of cocoa butter....it is not pleasant tasting and if you use white chocolate, the colors will pop.

It is amazing how little color will work. I use a powerful compressor for airbrushing and that really helps get a fluid flow of chocolate. I think I could paint my car with it.

[Desiderio]

I think I could paint my car with it.

Beautiful!

I was wondering what air brush you suggest, I have been using the same badger for the past 2 years, but I think I could improve some of my pieces with a better air brush. Any suggestion.

Thank you

[Truffle Guy]

I've used quite a few and the one I like best and has been working well for months now is a Badger 360. It can do both fine and wide work and never really clogs. My air compressor is the big one on chefrubber with 114 psi and can run 5 brushes. It has been a great investment for my work. The only problem with high psi is that it can really put out the cocoa butter and I need a mask. I'm getting a chocolate cabin with a vent to keep me breathing and cocoa butter off everything.

[Desiderio]

Thank you so much for the info. I can immagine have to spray so many molds and all that cocoa butter around, maybe isnt too good for our lungs

[Ekaterina]

Dear Bill,

from one entrepreneur to another: congratulations! You have accomplished so much in a year, but even if you count your whole journey from 2004 - it is still amazing!

It does take a ton of work and a lot of courage to get started and keep going. And, from my experience, sometimes you cannot plan for the good things - you just get lucky. The trick is to not be afraid to jump at the chances, not to think too much far in advance (at the same time to always be aware of the big picture) and use those lucky breaks. Sounds like you were blessed with a few, and were strong enough to take your chances at "fame and fortune". I am very happy for you, truly! It's always so exciting to hear of someone's success story. Gives all the rest of us so much hope.

Thank you for taking the time to post!

I must admit, that I did not follow your story before, and after I am done with my huge amount of work this week, I will take the time to read through the past threads. I have one question - how much do you rely on your team, and how difficult was it for you to give up the control and trust someone else with your product?

I have started a luxury celebration and wedding cake business in Moscow, Russia. For a city with such a ton of money and a need for exuberant ways to display the wealth, the high-end cake niche is wide-open. I have been building the business from an idea/business plan in October 2006 to an extensive internship with Sylvia Weinstock to slowly starting to build a portfolio of work in July 2008... And it is so scary to see your product on TV or in print! You can never first quite believe it is indeed yours.

It has been a journey, and continues to be. Maybe once I am done with this Opera House cake, I will find the time to put it into words here.

For now - once again, congratulations on your HUGE success. I wish you all the best, and I hope that you find time to enjoy the sweet life.

[ejw50]

thanks for the tips!

[Lior]

OUr very own Bill won as a finalist!! Congratulations!!

He's a winner!!

yay!! There are also pictures- click on "photos" upper right hand corner of page!!

Edited November 7, 2008 by Lior (log)

[CanadianBakin']

The chocolates you entered are gorgeous! Not only are you a chocolatier you are obviously an artist as well. Well done!

[Truffle Guy]

Congratulations, Bill.  And the address of your website is ??????

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www.williamdeanchocolates.com We finally got it up and running. It still has some revisions but I'm happy with the design and work of the firm we hired to give us an online presence.

[Kerry Beal]

Very professional website - must be a relief to have it up and running.

And I love the boxes!

Edited December 26, 2008 by Kerry Beal (log)

[carol lang]

Congratulations, Bill.  And the address of your website is ??????

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www.williamdeanchocolates.com We finally got it up and running. It still has some revisions but I'm happy with the design and work of the firm we hired to give us an online presence.

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Congratulations Bill,

The website looks great.

You are an inspiration to me, I love your work. And the sharing you have done on this board has been very honest and helpful.

[Truffle Guy]

Very professional website - must be a relief to have it up and running.

And I love the boxes!

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Kerry,

Thanks, we had them custom designed and they actually look better in person. We have magnets on the edges of the diagonal cut so the box really stays shut well. It is a 20 piece box with 2 trays of 10. It was designed to be a great shipping box and you can actually toss it in the air and spin it without any chocolates moving.

We should have 3-4 more custom designs in the next few months. It really does a good job of "branding" us.

[Lloydchoc]

I just checked out your website and noticed you used a chocolate display case similar to Christopher Elbows.

We are, after 6 years of producing only wholesale, planning on opening a retail shop and are looking for ideas.

Where did you get your display cases? Are they refrigerated? If so how does the refrigeration work.

Thanks

Lloyd Martin (lloydchoc)

Chocolate Visions