Thanks for the support, guys. Of course you're right, there are plenty of customers to go around and we all do slightly different things. I'm not really that worried about competition, just a little thrown off that such a big name was there, especially juxtaposed with the flashbacks to the late 90's I was having - the event was at a local microbrewery that I haven't been inside of in years, so that was fun and a little weird. I still got a nice handful of "yours is the best"s last night, and the team from Fran's stopped by to gush over my peanut butter truffles, so I'm good with that!
I also have to remind myself that the countless people who come to my booth at events and ask "what's a truffle?" or "is that fudge?" have no idea who the big names in pastry are. So in that sense, the more artisan chocolatiers to educate the public and elevate the taste level, the better! It does look like EN is doing a sugar class at a community college a few miles from my house, so I might have to check that out, just for fun. As for collaborating ... I'm still stubbornly trying to do my own thing and will continue on this path for a while longer. At some point, working for someone else may seem like the better option again and if Notter or Francisco Migoya (who moved to the area a year or two ago but is currently doing test kitchen stuff instead of retail) wanted to hire me, I'd certainly entertain the offer.
