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Showing posts with label Artisan Chocolates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Artisan Chocolates. Show all posts

Monday, June 11, 2012

What I appreciate about my Dad….

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He not only says he loves me, he shows it with his actions.  He loves my kids.  He is sincere.  He is kind.  He is generous.  He genuinely cares about people.  He is a great thinker.  He can fix anything, even chocolate making equipment that wasn’t engineered properly by the “professional” manufacturer.  He has taught me how to learn to figure things out for myself.  He is hilarious!  He is honest.  He is still an awesome water skier!  He considers others before himself.  He loves God by loving people.

Even if he wasn’t all these things, I would love him anyway because he is my Dad and because he has been present in my life.  Thanks Dad, for all of the above and for being a father who has always been interested in me.  Some sweet stuff is coming your way on Sunday!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Send Your Love…..

 

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Like me, you may have a son or daughter that you just sent off to college for the first time or sent back to school for another year of enlightenment.  I remember that those early days and weeks can seem a little……well, overwhelming.  Whether you have a homesick freshman who needs your encouragement or a well adjusted upper classman who needs a reminder that you exist, a Stella Leona College Care Package is just the thing.  It’s packed with flavor and most importantly with your love when we include a handwritten note sharing your thoughts.  Your young adult feeling your concern from miles away is priceless……..and at 26.00 this care package is a bargain!  Check out the details and order here or stop in at 362 Main Street Pettisville and enjoy a cup of coffee or one of our Signature Hot Chocolates while you’re at it.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Chocolate in Vancouver: 3rd Nibble

Is your mouth watering after two nibbles???  I know mine was during the time I spent at Cocoa West.  I like to call it market research.  It’s my job to develop a broad range of tastes and be aware of what other fabulous chocolates are out there in the market, right?  All class participants enjoyed Carlos’ great coffee and samples of Joanne’s delectable chocolates.

So……………for the techniques and experimentation…

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Here Carlos demonstrates an airbrush technique using masking to create varied designs and effects.

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Kelly, working with Carlos and Joanne since she was 14, demonstrated a variety of painting techniques both with and without the airbrush.

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We spent the first half of the class experimenting on plexiglass and plastic wrap to allow for exploration without ruining finished chocolate pieces in the process.  Practice makes almost perfect…..whatever that is.  Still more……

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Chocolate in Vancouver: 2nd Nibble

If you have been in our shop or visited our web site, you already know that I love to use color on the chocolates I create. 

The problem with airbrushing cocoa butter is that, like chocolate itself, it is very finicky.  Cocoa butter is that fat that comes from the cacao bean that cocoa liquor comes from.  Cocoa liquor is mixed with sugar and milk if making milk chocolate, to make the chocolate we all enjoy so very much. 

The cocoa butter can be pressed out of the liquor and used in other applications such as hand painting once color is added.

One of the aspects of being a chocolatier I love most is the creative process and the opportunity to learn by trial and error.  The problem with airbrushing cocoa butter is that it prefers to clog up the equipment rather than flow through it.  I had reached my limit of frustration with the amount of “error” in this learning process.  It was time for reinforcements! 

Ta-da!  Thank you Joanne and Carlos!

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The good news is that in about 5 minutes of class, I learned what I had traveled thousands of miles to know.  That means the rest of the time was spent honing my skills, experimenting and learning other things that I didn’t even know I wanted to learn!

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Still more to come…….

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Chocolate in Vancouver: 1st Nibble

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I want to let you know about an exciting opportunity I had recently that will ultimately result in new chocolate designs and tastes to tempt your taste buds.

I recently traveled to Bowen Island, just off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia to attend a class at Cocoa West, a small artisan chocolate shop that prepares delicious organic chocolate confections.

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The class was focused on the use of color on chocolate and specifically taught techniques to airbrush colored cocoa butter.  Joanne Mogridge, chocolatier, and her husband, Carlos, artist and co-owner of Cocoa West, taught the class to six participants from across the US and Canada.

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It was an opportunity not only to learn specific techniques from Joanne and Carlos, but to learn from others in the class who had a wide variety of backgrounds in chocolate.

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More coming……..the trip held way too much for one post.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Save us from the bunnies!!!

We’re up to our ears in Easter bunnies! 

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They just keep MULTIPLYING!!!

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Not knowing what else to do, Nancy eats them as fast as she can.  HELP!!!  Come get a Petit Easter Bunny quickly before Nancy weighs 300 pounds!!!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

2010 Holiday Open House

It’s almost here!  You may not be getting ready for the holidays yet, but we most certainly are!   We’ve been working like crazy to get ready to share gift ideas and new chocolates we created just for this holiday season.

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Tomorrow kicks off our three day Holiday Open House.  We will be open Thursday and Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-noon. 

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Stop by  to have a coffee or one of our specialty hot chocolate drinks and see what’s new for Christmas.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Sneak Peek at What’s Coming

It has been a fun couple of weeks in the SL kitchen!  To be completely honest, this is my most favoritest………(No, you won’t find that in the dictionary.  I’ve been in a creative mood and sometimes there aren’t words in any of the languages I know that adequately describe my thoughts, so I have to make up my own new words.)….so……………it’s my most favoritest thing to do in the chocolate kitchen—create new chocolates and flavor combinations!!!

The holidays might seem like a distant occasion, but we have to begin planning for them early.  So……..my most recent responsibility (which I take very seriously) is to create new chocolate confections for you to enjoy during your family celebrations in November and December.  I even worked on some new pieces for Valentine’s Day this week!

The molds below give you a peek at the first attempt at our Artisan Ornament Collection that is coming for the Christmas season.  Just today I finalized the flavors and finished the samples for product photos.  I tried a number of different techniques and finally found one that performs like I want it to.  I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I can say that the finished product looks MUCH better than anything you get a glimpse of in the picture below.

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We will offer two sizes of Artisan ornaments.

The larger ornament will be a Limited Edition with a look and flavor profile only available in 2010.  We plan to create a new look and flavor for next year’s edition.  This year the gorgeous, glossy milk chocolate shell will be filled with a Vanilla Butternut Buttercream, Toasted Almonds for a delightful crunch, and Caramel Ganache. 

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The smaller ornaments will come in three varieties making up a 7pc box.  The flavors you are soon to enjoy are Pecan Caramel in milk chocolate, Maple Walnut Caramel in dark chocolate and Toasted Macadamia Nuts in solid white chocolate.

We’ll keep you posted!