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Report: eGullet Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2018

Kerry Beal

By Kerry Beal
in Pastry & Baking

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

As I mentioned at the workshop - I was sent samples of the Fiddyment Farm Special Mill pistachio butter after the Fancy Food Show in SF - I saved them to bring to the workshop as I wanted to get more than just my opinion on this special grind that they make. 

 

With perfect timing I was contacted today by Brijal Vadgama  - Sales and Marketing Coordinator for Fiddyment to see how we liked it.

 

I passed on how much we had liked it - and sent a picture of the center that I believe @pastryani was making with it.

 

Here is the reply to my comments - "We are doing some outreach to see if our contacts from the Fancy Food show have any pistachios interests/needs right now.
If you are ever interested in becoming a wholesale customer I would love to send you some information on that. Or if someone ever asks you about the paste feel free to forward them my email/contact, I’m happy to answer any questions about it."
 
Brijal Vadgama 
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
916.645.7244  

brijal@fiddymentfarms.com

 

How does Fiddyment compare to fresh ground?

 

(And did anyone ever ascertain what the PHMB was for?)

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

How does Fiddyment compare to fresh ground?

 

(And did anyone ever ascertain what the PHMB was for?)

 

From what I heard this weekend - they liked it better than what they made. PHMB?

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

From what I heard this weekend - they liked it better than what they made. PHMB?

 

Sorry, I get tired of typing out Precise Heat Mixing Bowl.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
48 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Sorry, I get tired of typing out Precise Heat Mixing Bowl.

 

Brian says they bought it originally with the idea that it could be used for tempering - but now they just use it to add colour or flavor to the compound chocolate they use on the 'Make a Mold' side of Tomric. 

  • Like 1

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

pastryani

pastryani

Posted
Posted

This was my second time attending.

 

I learned that pop rocks are fussy little buggers.  They can stop popping soon after contact with a ganache.  The ones I had were still going as of last night, but it’ll be neat to see at what point they stop.

 

I learned that I will likely never attempt making marzipan again.  It was a very lengthy process and I’m all about instant gratification. :D

 

I learned that I have very little self-control when it comes to acquiring new tools for playing with chocolate.  It went like this: “not gonna buy a melanger, no space for a melanger, no use for a melanger, etc etc...”. And then after Friday’s class: “What can I get rid of to make space for my new melanger?” :$

 

It was reinforced just how friendly, kind, and knowledeable folks were.  It was really nice to get to know you more.

 

A very special thanks to Kerry and Rodney for coordinating such a feat.  The prep involved for the workshop alone is impressive, let alone the master classes and all the other details.  I mean Rodney brought and set up an ENROBER for goodness sake!  @Kerry Beal & @Alleguede - your effort and expertise is truly appreciated.

 

Happy chocolating, all! :)

 

  • Like 9
Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, pastryani said:

 

I learned that pop rocks are fussy little buggers.  They can stop popping soon after contact with a ganache.  The ones I had were still going as of last night, but it’ll be neat to see at what point they stop.

 


And when they sit around in their bag for too long in less than perfect conditions, sometimes they turn into one giant pop rock. I was a little slow on that one, took two tossed bags to convince me to either use them faster or not use them at all.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

pastryani

pastryani

Posted
Posted (edited)
43 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:


And when they sit around in their bag for too long in less than perfect conditions, sometimes they turn into one giant pop rock. I was a little slow on that one, took two tossed bags to convince me to either use them faster or not use them at all.

 

Next time don’t throw them out.  A giant pop rock could make for an entertaining (and really sweet) bath bomb. :P

Edited by pastryani (log)
  • Haha 1
Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
1 minute ago, Jim D. said:

Some beautiful work done at the workshop. I was particularly intrigued by the decoration shown in the photo below. Anyone know who did it--and how the beautiful pastel effect was created?

 

workshop---pastels.jpg.e35d9bc8b23f99c8e96ce5b216ec533e.jpg

Think that was @tikidoc - not sure of technique though.

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

Choco Monster

Choco Monster

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Some beautiful work done at the workshop. I was particularly intrigued by the decoration shown in the photo below. Anyone know who did it--and how the beautiful pastel effect was created?

 

workshop---pastels.jpg.e35d9bc8b23f99c8e96ce5b216ec533e.jpg

Was my mom, @tikidoc , sure she’ll see the posts in a few hehe

  • Like 1
tikidoc

tikidoc

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Some beautiful work done at the workshop. I was particularly intrigued by the decoration shown in the photo below. Anyone know who did it--and how the beautiful pastel effect was created?

 

workshop---pastels.jpg.e35d9bc8b23f99c8e96ce5b216ec533e.jpg

 

 

Thanks, Jim. I'm afraid I could not replicate that one if I tried... it was pretty much accidental. There was some blue cocoa butter left in the Fuji, just a little, so I dumped in a pale pink on top of it, figuring if it came out partly purple, that was fine. Sprayed one end of the mold, turned the mold, sprayed the other end, when it was mostly pink coming out. On the hearts, I spattered a little with silver with a paint brush before spraying.

 

  • Like 2
MelissaH

MelissaH

Posted
Posted
On 5/18/2018 at 10:39 AM, Anna N said:

You could never, ever be replaced!  

@Anna N, you, too, could never, ever be replaced. It wasn't the same without you and @Chocolot. I hope we don't need to have another workshop minus both of you!

 

What I learned:

  1. When I win the lottery, even just a little one, I would like to get an EZ Temper. I have a huge activation energy barrier for doing anything that requires tempered chocolate, and an EZ Temper is an efficient catalyst.
  2. A. There is no such thing as a definitive "buttercream" filling.
    B. Many commercial "buttercream" fillings seem to be completely devoid of butter.
    C. Many (all?) commercial "buttercream" fillings are toothachingly sweet
    D. It isn't all that difficult to make a filling that's way better than the commercial samples we found for our research.
    E. I really enjoy working with @Chocolate mom.
  3. The cross-pollination of ideas is amazing. Everyone knows something useful.
  4. Cut the list of what you think you want to work on in half, and you might be able to do everything on it.
  5. Dizzy Pig seasoning is good stuff, and I might need to hunt some of that up.
  6. There are more variations on sponge candy than I'd initially realized, and I wish the humidity would go down enough that I could play with some of them sooner rather than later.
  7. Salt can be an important component of making sweet stuff.
  8. I need to learn how to make Yorkshire puddings.
  9. Kerry and Rodney do an amazing job.
  10. It's really nice when @CRChemist is able to come play at the workshop, too.
  • Like 8

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

RobertM

RobertM

Posted
Posted

Did anyone happen to,write down the mold numbers we used for the after dinner bar and the single bar molds (both squared top and rounded top)?

 

 

curls

curls

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 5/20/2018 at 3:09 PM, chefmd said:

What I have learned:

this was an amazing group of talented, funny, kind people

i do not know anything about chocolate 

there is hope for me

sesame seeds can be toasted in microwave 

niagara region makes awesome wine

it is nice to be out of comfort zone sometimes

my mushroom soup can be improved upon (a lot)

@Kerry Beal has incredible amount of energy (ok, I knew this already)

 

and most imporatantly, I had a lot of fun

 

 

And @chefmd was a great help when it was time to decorate my sesame squares.

IMG_3346.thumb.JPG.d721ec57089845bd8fadeaef0099b779.JPG

Edited by curls (log)
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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

I was very happy that @chefmd decided to come along. I was sorry it was so crazy that I didn't have more time to visit with her and drag her over to the dark side though!

Edited by Kerry Beal (log)
  • Like 3
  • Haha 2

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

Jim D.

Jim D.

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, curls said:

 

And @chefmd was a great help when it was time to decorate my sesame squares.

 

Was this the Greweling recipe? If so, I love the flavors in that--and the crunch factor is very high. How did you cut the pieces? That is one hurdle since a guitar is (IMHO) out of the question, and it's hard to cut through the sesame layer neatly with a knife.

www.santiagochocolates.com

curls

curls

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

Was this the Greweling recipe? If so, I love the flavors in that--and the crunch factor is very high. How did you cut the pieces? That is one hurdle since a guitar is (IMHO) out of the question, and it's hard to cut through the sesame layer neatly with a knife.

Yes, that was the Greweling recipe for sesame squares. I found it very easy to cut with a knife but the knife I used was sharpened by @MelissaH and @CRChemist.

  • Like 2
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chefmd

chefmd

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I was very happy that @chefmd decided to come along. I was sorry it was so crazy that I didn't have more time to visit with her and drag her over to the dark side though!

 

@Kerry Beal you have spent plenty of time with me!  I felt bad about following you like a puppy and asking questions like "what is this thing you call chocolate".  And why does it have canine distemper ;)

and I won infrared thermometer!

IMG_0625.thumb.JPG.a2db839f831ebfbb95c943430e8a58c4.JPG

IMG_0626.thumb.JPG.a21beb310a0db1a8d7234f7ebde7c9b2.JPG

 

  • Like 9
curls

curls

Posted
Posted

Well hopefully @chefmd will join us at our 2019 St. Louis workshop and we can encourage her to do even more with chocolates and confections. And I’ll see if I can get her to come over to my place to take care of chocolate decorations. 

  • Like 2
  • 3 weeks later...
Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Kurt from Chocotransfersheets.com (aka Glarus Gourmet) is feeling very bad that he didn't successfully get the cocoa butter to us on time - he's offering a very generous discount on a single order. You should receive an e-mail if you were at the workshop. If I screwed up and you don't receive this offer in a day or two - send me a PM or message with your e-mail address so I can insure he gets it.

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

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