Only two batches so far, but chocolates are coming! The Fork Food Lab in Portland is a dream work space full of kindred spirits: everyone is there because they love making food. The work schedule is demanding for coming weeks, we have two Union Square dates before Thanksgiving and two big holiday markets right after. But it is great to be cooking ganaches, tempering the shells and filling our white storage boxes with freshly made chocolates. You are welcome to order for a mid-November and beyond delivery. We won't have our full complement of flavors till the 10th. Stocks...
We thank our kind sommer customers, who were undaunted by the very limited offerings of our Summer Stock page. Alas, we are now truly, completely out of goodies. That is except for a few salted caramel hearts that I am saving (on pain of death) for my mother, who is visiting in September. We are closing on our West End house in Portland tomorrow, and will move to Maine mid-September. The movers will drop off my chocolate equipment at Fork Food Lab, and I will spend the rest of September/early October setting up in this new environment, getting proper licenses...
(Image credit Mango.org) Our forced hiatus because of the impending Maine move gives the mind time to wander: what flavors should we eliminate? What should we introduce? Mangoes with Earl Grey tea are top of mind: I did batches years ago and while the tea was a little too steeped, the flavors really worked.. I am also rethinking our almond chocolate and want to marry it with pears: one of my go-to desserts is a pear tart with a marzipan cream and a bit of cognac. I want to make a chocolate version. And I have been thinking of a...
As mentioned on our Summer Stock page, we are moving this summer! Our new home will be Portland, ME, well known as one of the greatest foodie cities in the whole of the United States. This move will be momentous for Chocolats Passion, because we will take this opportunity to move to the Fork Food Lab, a large commercial kitchen incubator. The Lab is a superb facility that started a year ago to serve the needs of artisan food businesses. The immediate benefit will be that we can start shipping across the country and position some of our products nationally. ...
Bursting leaves and first tulips mean one thing in our kitchen: chocolate butterflies! They will adorn our special Mother's Day 16 Bites box, where Mom will get a great dose of our most popular flavor, salted caramel. The butterflies are done in 41% milk or 72% dark chocolate, your pick, then leaving you to select Mom's favorite flavors for the eight domes. Hearts also make an appearance in our other Mother's Day offerings, check all the possibilities here.
Back in late October, I ventured on a wet slope while walking our daughter's dog, Milo, and had a rather spectacular wipe-out. The kind they make into cartoons! I knew instantly I had done lots of damage to my right shoulder, but the chocolate season was only starting, so decided to grin and bear it. I found creative ways to carry trays and mold chocolates with 10 degree function in my right arm (upper arm glued to the body, more trips between machines), and was able to get by, also much due to the help of Amalia, who many...
