Report: eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2014

[Kerry Beal]

And so it begins...

 

I arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 or so this morning, picked up my rental car and hastened over the the Tuscany Suites to meet up with Chocolot.  After a brief cruise through all the loot that she had accumulated for the workshop we headed out to do a few errands.  We checked in with Melissa and Jean Marie to check that all was well for later in the week and to enjoy a little look around the facility.  I also had to deliver several bottles of wonderful looking paté that Alleguede had made for Jean Marie (I kept one bottle here for snacking purposes this week).  There was serious drooling going on over all the equipment they have available for us to play with.

 

What was to be a quick stop at Chef Rubber took a little longer than expected - there is a lot to look at there!  And to buy!

 

We investigated a couple of thrift stores - notably the Habitat for Humanity Reuse to grab a couple of items that will show their usefulness later this week.

 

And for dinner we hit Lotus of Siam.  We know that we are going back there this week - but it is a place I've wanted to check out since FG wrote about it a few years ago.  And you can never eat too much Thai can you?

 

 

Jasmine tea for me.  

 

 

Chicken larb.

 

 

 

Khao soi - noodles with a red thai sauce.  And the condiments to go with them - some sort of pickled green (perhaps mustard), onion and of course lime.  

 

 

Pepper garlic shrimp - didn't see a table without this one!

 

 

And fried rice with veg and egg. 

 

Right now Ruth is cruising the internet reviews to see what we should order when we return there on Thursday.  

[Kerry Beal]

Ran around a bit more this morning - hitting the shop where we ordered sandwiches for the 3 days of classes - and taking the opportunity to visit the 'International Marketplace' and Trader Joe's.  

 

Waiting for gfron1 to return so we can hit a few more spots this afternoon so pulled together some lunch.

 

 

Lovely pate de Campagne (thank you Alleguede) and Beehive cheese (Seahive and Promontory) with some Ak Mak crackers (thank you Trader Joe's).  

[Anna N]

Ran around a bit more this morning - hitting the shop where we ordered sandwiches for the 3 days of classes - and taking the opportunity to visit the 'International Marketplace' and Trader Joe's.  

 

Waiting for gfron1 to return so we can hit a few more spots this afternoon so pulled together some lunch.

 

DSCN2672.jpg

 

Lovely pate de Campagne (thank you Alleguede) and Beehive cheese (Seahive and Promontory) with some Ak Mak crackers (thank you Trader Joe's).

That International Marketplace is my kind of shop and love your lunch!

[gfron1]

For me it was the Korean market, Ranch 99 Asian market then lunch at Cafe de Cebu for lechon and pork in blood.  Both were outstanding.

 

[Kerry Beal]

Dinner tonight at Raku.  Gfron1 and I shared omakase, Willow and Ms Tenacity went a la carte.  

 

 

The middle of the table - needed a little rake to play in the sand.  

 

 

Willow starts with Tomatoes in Bacon. 

 

 

Followed by Chicken Breast in Chicken Skin.  

 

 

Fresh Tofu with chrysanthemum, wasabi, shiso microgreens.  The salt shaker contained salt with matcha and mushroom to sprinkle on it.  

 

 

Willow get's Pork Ribs. 

 

 

Willow and Andrea get Rice shapes - meanwhile gfron1 and I are getting ready to eat the table.  

 

 

Finally asparagus in puffed rice appears.  

 

 

And sashimi.  

 

 

Andrea scores some Tendon.  

 

 

 

A scallop in a very lovely sauce - shells required licking.  

 

 

And a whole sea bream.  

 

 

Which required deboning (at least the head and spine).  

 

 

Still a fair number of bones hidden in this flesh. 

 

 

Waygu beef with wasabi.

 

 

Duck breast with balsamic reduction.  

 

 

Foie on rice.  

 

 

An interesting tea.  

 

 

Matcha creme brulee.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Forgot to post about the facilities in Raku.  

 

 

While sitting on the heated seat of this baby - you can enjoy the view.  

 

 

The wall of fish tank...

 

 

The interesting ceiling installation. 

 

 

But a final piece of advice if you find yourself there - none of these buttons flushes the toilet - the flush mechanism is the European style on the top of the tank.  So standing over the unit and pushing those buttons will not have the desired effect - but you can blow your face dry!

 

[rotuts]

yes, but does it have Wi-Fi ?

[Chocolot]

Some of us are not so adventurous. In N Out was a new experience for the East Coaster.

Cheeseburger, animal style.

 

 

[gfron1]

Ruth, Kerry and I also stopped by Jinju yesterday since we'll miss the Friday demo.  Very gracious woman (Jin) and interesting space that is a dedicated work/live complex.  We were sure to buy some of her goodies.

 

[David Ross]

Well you have certainly dined at two of the top Asian restaurants in Las Vegas in Raku and Lotus of Siam.  If you go back, Lotus has a crispy rice dish, (which I can't define by name), that is outstanding.   Now I'm looking forward to some sweet confections!

[Kerry Beal]

 

Breakfast this am at 'eat'.

 

 

 

We shared these cinnamon biscuits with strawberry coulis.

 

 

Ruth opted for Bacon and Eggs with Sourdough. 

 

 

 

Bob and I enjoyed chilequiles.

 

 

The door on the way out!

[pastrygirl]

Well shoot, you didn't tell me there'd be sushi!

[Kerry Beal]

Lotus of Siam again this evening - 

 

 

Crispy Rice - thanks for the suggestion David - right out of the park.  

 

 

The Garlic Pepper Prawns again.

 

 

Crispy Duck with Panang sauce.

 

 

Short Ribs with Panang sauce.  

 

 

Sliced Beef Salad.

 

 

Pounded Jackfruit with Pork.  

 

 

Squid Larb.

 

 

Cellophane noodles.

 

 

And sticky rice with coconut and mango.

[Chocolot]

Lotus of Siam repeat.

 

Chicken Satay w/peanut sauce 

 

 

Tempura Prawns

 

 

Part of the group. Having a great time. Fun really begins tomorrow.

 

[RobertM]

Some of us took a side trip to visit Red Rocks Canyon before we headed to dinner at Lotus of Siam

[Kerry Beal]

Yesterday Ruth, Bob and I went to a grocery store to get supplies for the lunches for the weekend.  

 

Never seen slot machines in a grocery store before - 

 

[Kerry Beal]

 

Too tired to post tonight about our day or our dinner - but will leave you with this one image that represents Jean-Marie Auboine's facility where we are doing our workshop this weekend.  

 

The Bogota clock represents Mellisa - our instructor today.  The Paris clock for Jean-Marie the other partner in the business.

 

 

[RobertM]

Friday with Melissa was a truly outstanding day. My head is still spinning from everything she shared. When we left Melissa, everyone met up at Chef Rubber for a once in a lifetime shopping experience, with discounts. We had to hurry back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, along the way our driver caught a glimpse of a a poor guy who evidently lost everything at the casinos....

[Darienne]

Yesterday Ruth, Bob and I went to a grocery store to get supplies for the lunches for the weekend.  

 

Never seen slot machines in a grocery store before - 

 

 

Went through Las Vegas back in 1985 and stopped for gas at 5:30 am.  And the gas station was full of slot machines.  We definitely weren't in Ontario any more!

[Mette]

OK, I've not seen any chocolate work yet, and I'm already green with envy! Hope you all have a lovely time

[curls]

I'll post pictures after I get home from the workshop. Not to worry, there are lots of pictures of chocolate and candy.

[RobertM]

It's been an amazing weekend, like Curls, I will post when I get home and can sort out the photo's and properly describe them. Lots of confections and work to share....

[misstenacity]

There's not a lot of description on the photos, but this is some of my take of the goings-on, including Rob & I's trip up from Silver City.

 

I wasn't in the workshops, but the social stuff and the chocolate gorging was definitely in my agenda. I made this album public so the link should work for anyone....

 

Enjoy!

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152428256146763&type=1&l=4a721cbadf

 

Andrea

[Tri2Cook]

There's not a lot of description on the photos, but this is some of my take of the goings-on, including Rob & I's trip up from Silver City.

 

I wasn't in the workshops, but the social stuff and the chocolate gorging was definitely in my agenda. I made this album public so the link should work for anyone....

 

Enjoy!

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152428256146763&type=1&l=4a721cbadf

 

Andrea

Nice shots... thanks for sharing.

 

[gfron1]

Besides the opportunity to see old friends and make new ones, the highlight for me was simply seeing how JMA made this decorations.  So simple and so classy.  The lines were a brand (acetate or flexible metal) dipped in shimmer and isoprobyl.  The other shapes were pastry tips or frozen metal stamps.