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I saw this article on Cadbury and it made me cringe.Are customers really so silly that they need this? or is this another manifestation of the nanny state?Of course allergies are very serious but still... What next? Warning on chocolate contains...cocoa?Milk in chocolates warningBritain's most famous milk chocolate maker has decided to warn milk chocolate lovers that Britain's most famous milk chocolate contains - milk.The latest Cadbury Dairy Milk wrappers feature a logo showing a glass and a half of milk being poured into a chocolate chunk, put milk first in a list of ingredients and explains that there is "The equivalent of three quarters of a pint of milk of fresh liquid milk in every half pound of milk chocolate".But Cadbury says it is also necessary to print warnings in capital letters in yellow boxes saying "CONTAINS: MILK" in case people who are allergic to milk do not realise that there is milk in Cadbury Dairy Milk bars.

Aloha and welcome to my blog/profile/page.I am the owner of Sweet Paradise Chocolatier- I am "artisan" chocolate maker in Hawaii and have a small bohemian confection shop with a full grown replica of a cacao tree inside. Its in the windward town of Kailua on Oahu. ( the town Barack Obama and family vacation in ) All my chocolates are made fresh in small batches using my own recipes and focus on tropical fruit, nut and spice flavors since thats what is most readily available here. I love to embellish my creations with a variety of decoration tecniques from cocoa butters to texture sheets, natural fruit or spice pieces and edible flowers. The perfect chocolate box for me is a visual treat of color, texture form and aroma, afull sensory experience inviting one to step inside and discover the flavors within.I enjoy making chocolate recipes that reflect the cultural diversity found in Hawaii- primarily a fusion of Asian and Polynesian cultures, hence you will find fruits like Yuzu in my creations, Japanese Plum, ( Ume) firey Hawaiian Chili Pepper or various local harvested sea salts. We grow coffee, macadamia nuts, bananas, vanilla, cloves, nutmeg,lemongrass, ginger, kafir lime, jabong, rambutan, mangosteen, wasabe, poha, surinam cherry , green tea, and ohelo berry...the list of fun ingredients to work with here is endless!! A fun afternoon is heading out on a drive across the southern part of the Big Island and picking wild strawberry guavas.They are so fragrant and sweet you can't even ride in the car with them!In addition to my passion for chocolate I own a small lodging property ( www.visitthevolcano.com) outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and build timber "kit" homes from cedar I bring down from British Columbia (www.mahanahomes.com) . leisure activities (is there such a thing or did I dream about them?)include walking on the beach with my golden retriever, checking out the farmers markets, riding horses, hiking Hawaii Volcanoes National Park or one of Oahu;s spectacular ridges,reading,internet surfing and listening to jazz and sipping some Red Zinfandel.Thanks for stopping by,Melanie Boudarwww.sweetparadisechocolate.com

Hi everyone,First blog and a hot potato one!!!Some of you, chocolatiers in the US, may be considering entering the above awards in the UK.Well, we have participated successfully to them for the last 3 years but this yearmade the unpopular decision not to as we feel that the Academy has to address a number of issuesto run these awards professionally.If you want to read more, check out our reasons and suggestions athttp://www.artisanduchocolat.com/ArtisanduChocolatSite/cm/Plainchocolateblog.htmOr read belowGerard Coleman,DirectorArtisan du chocolat This year we are not participating to the annual Chocolate Academy Awards. This may be an unpopular decision and a mildly commercially suicidal one but we make chocolates, not politics. And politics has come in the way of celebrating fine chocolate. The Academy has done much to raise the profile of fine chocolate in the UK but needs now to seriously address several issues if it is to represent this growing industry professionally.The Academy membership should be open and enlarged in order to remain impartial and to limit the potential conflicts of interest. We would like to call for an independent body with no commercial interest in chocolate to be formed and oversee the organisation of the awards.In recent years, most of the award winners were also members of the Academy. This could raise question of personal preferment and partiality. While we hope this is not the case, it is important that the Academy substantiates its position by putting in place the right people and processes to ensure that the Awards are truly representative of the industry as a whole and are truly impartial. For example, is it acceptable that one of the key organisers of the awards is also be the PR person of some of the brands participating?Clarity and transparency need to be achieved in all stages of the awards from sample collection (to avoid "special" batches being created only for the awards), to aggregating scores into awards, to deciding for awards not based on scores and creating new awards.In addition we think fewer awards would be beneficial to avoid dilution of their impact and confusion. Last year more than 100 awards were given.How many do you remember? There should be fewer awards categories, fewer awards given in each category and a smaller geographic spread of the participants. Wouldn't it be better to judge UK products perfectly rather than take on the world?Finally, we encourage the Academy in continuing to enforce clear guidelines as how the awards should be referred to by the winning brands. Should we mention some overjoyed winners in the past who extended their awards to "World awards" or did not to mention what their awards was for?Overall we cannot continue to participate until the Academy addresses the above issues professionally. We know there are several other chocolatiers who share our point of view but prefer to remain silent for commercial reasons. We prefer to say exactly what we think regardless of commercial and political caution. That's what this plain chocolate blog is about.

Goodbye to a pioneering location for American artisan chocolate....or as the guys at SFist put it: -- Scharffen Berger Soon To Suck --Apparently production will move to a Hershey plant in Illinois. Sad, and disappointing. Here is the text from the SFGate.com article (I can't get the hyperlink to work, sorry) --(01-27) 18:28 PST -- The Hershey Co. said Tuesday it plans to close Scharffen Berger's West Berkeley manufacturing plant as well as the San Francisco factory that makes Joseph Schmidt chocolates and consolidate production at other facilities.Hershey, which in 2005 bought both Scharffen Berger, which specializes in premium dark chocolates, and trufflemaker Joseph Schmidt, will continue to produce those brands, but the chocolates will no longer be locally made.<<Database: Notices of planned layoffs in California>>Hershey already makes the majority of its Scharffen Berger products in its newly upgraded plant in Robinson, Ill., said spokesman Kirk Saville from the chocolate giant's headquarters in Hershey, Pa. He said the plant closures will affect a total of about 150 employees from both facilities.Saville said Hershey intends to maintain the quality of the brands, which make up the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Artisan Confections Co."We will continue to source the world's best cacao to create our rich and distinct chocolate," he said. "We will maintain the highest quality standard for all our artisan productions."That provided little solace to Bay Area fans of the chocolate-makers. Both brands have created a strong legacy and helped increased the popularity of high-end, gourmet chocolates around the country.Scharffen Berger was founded in 1996 by Robert Steinberg, a family-practice physician in San Francisco and Ukiah, along with a former patient, winemaker John Scharffenberger.The pair experimented in Steinberg's kitchen, using everything from a mortar and pestle to a hair dryer to create their chocolate. Production started in a South San Francisco plant but was moved to the larger, 27,000-square-foot Berkeley factory in 2001."It was home grown. They really changed the way people regarded chocolate in this country," said Deborah Kwan, a public relations consultant for the company from the time it opened until 2003.Steinberg died in September after a long battle with lymphoma. "I'm glad Robert is not alive to see this," Kwan said. "If the lymphoma hadn't taken him, this would have."Hershey released fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that were above analyst expectations and projected growth of up to 3 percent for 2009. The company said it earned $82.2 million, or 36 cents a share, in the quarter ending in December, compared with $54.3 million, or 24 cents a share, it earned for the same period last year.At the same time it announced the solid results, the company said it will consolidate the plants that make the high-end artisan brands.Hershey's Saville gave little information on the timing of the plant closures, other than to say they will occur this year. He said he expects Cafe Cacao, the restaurant at the Scharffen Berger factory, and the on-site retail store to continue to operate until further notice."We are committed to communicating details to our employees first," he said, adding that Hershey is offering laid-off employees "very competitive" severance packages. He declined to provide details.E-mail Victoria Colliver at vcolliver@sfchronicle.com.http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/28/BU2F15I9DV.DTL

Carymax LLC has announced the faculty for the 2009 World Pastry Forum on their new website .The World Pastry Forum offers two different instruction tracks - the Hands-On track and the Demonstration track.The Hands-On track offers students just that, a hands-on opportunity to do a deep dive into specific topics with world-class instructors in order to hone their skills. Enrollment in these classes is strictly limited to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to benefit from the instruction. Hands-On classes are team taught. Each class consists of 2, 2-1/2 day sessions with each instructor. At the end of the first session, students switch classrooms and instructors.The Demonstration track offers students exposure to a broad range of topics in a lecture format prepared and delivered by a world-class faculty. In all, there are 10, half-day classes. In addition to the class lectures, most instructors provide class notes complete with all of the recipes demonstrated in the classes. At the beginning of the forum, all Demonstration students receive (among other things) a binder and all of the class notes as well as detailed chef-instructor bios.This year, the Hands-On track reprises last year's topics: Chocolate and Wedding Cakes. Teaching the Chocolate class are Stephane Treand and Jean-Michel Perruchon. Teaching the Wedding Cakes class are Nicholas Lodge and Bronwen Weber.This year the Demonstration Track instructors include (two instructors are yet to be announced):Albert AdriaStephen DurfeeCiril HitzLaurent Le DanielColette PetersVincent PilonGilles RenussonRudi Van VeenIn addition there will be a number of evening classes offered. I am working with Carymax on several different projects and have proposed teaching one of those evening classes. My idea was to teach a class on writing about pastry and chocolate. Let me know what you'd like to see by replying to this blog post.

If the World Pastry Forum site looks familiar it is because I designed and am moderating it as well as TheChocolateLife. Because they are both running on the same software you can join the World Pastry Forum site using the same user id and password as TheChocolateLife.

Just as I was reminding Alex that we're six days out to City Bakery's month-long Hot Chocolate Festival, I got a message from Maury: the festival not only starts a day early, but is staying open late to celebrate.The 17th annual festival kicks off this Saturday, the 31st, at the normal opening hour of 7:30 a.m. But just in case you're too busy shopping sales, catching the Oscar nominations , taking in Marlene Dumas at Moma, or sleeping off Friday night's soires, City Bakery will remain open until midnight in celebration of the festival. Thats 16 hours of decadent hot cocoa, followed by a month of experimental flavors like banana peel, beer, ginger, caramel and, Maury's favorites, bourbon and vanilla bean. What's more, they're introducing "Lights Out Hot Chocolate" this year. Every day at 3 o'clock, the mezzanine lights go off and the candles get lit creating not only a moody way to sip your cocoa, but also a sweet way to save energy. How do you like that, Mr. President ?3 West 18th Street between Fifth and Sixth Aves212.366.1414

Because it's snowing in New York. Because it's the holiday season. And because it's one of the silver linings of winter: these are the hot chocolates you don't want to miss. Jacques Torres When you walk into Chocolate Haven Soho, the heavenly scent of chocolate is all around you. Belly up to bar and order my personal favorite: the peanut butter hot cocoa. Vosges That their cocoa is called "drinking chocolate" and served in elegant glassware is telling. I like to change it up at Vosges and get the Bianca Cocoa: white chocolate with vanilla, lemon myrtle and lavender. Dessert Truck Insanely thick. Made with Valrhona and Guittard chocolates. Don't expect to drink the whole thing. Even I can't . City Bakery If hot chocolate could be landmarked, City Bakery's would be the first to receive the designation. Start training for February's Hot Cocoa Festival by sipping their small portions now. It's habit-forming. MarieBelle I was going to give the fifth spot to La Maison du Chocolat . But since this blog is all ( or mostly ) about NYC, MarieBellewith a proper cacoa salon, six varieties, and the option for European (made with water) or American (milk) stylegets the nod.

Cross posted from The Chocolate Note In the small mountain town of Swannanoa, just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, we meet up with David Mason, 36 year-old founder and chocolate maker of Black Mountain Chocolate the newest American micro batch producer.David and his wife Sarah, both native Floridians, were attracted to the Asheville area by its reputation as an artisan and foodie community, and here raise their two year old son, Trent. Black Mountain Chocolate opened its doors September, 2008, and so far it's been mainly a one man operation. Sarah handles the books, David's mother and in-laws, who live an hour away, come to help a few days a month. Otherwise it's just David, alone in his 3,000 square foot factory, making chocolate in 100 lb. batches.David takes something of a less is more approach to his chocolate. Black Mountain Chocolate is conched for a relatively short 24 hours, and neither vanilla nor soy lecithin are added, like many other micro producers are now also veering away from adding. Black Mountain Chocolate is made using organic cane sugar, among few in the chocolate world to do this, since most chocolate makers do not want the dark flavors from the molasses left in unbleached sugar imparted to the chocolate. The chocolates are presented in an unusual format for an eating chocolate, tasting drops packed in small tins, the same weight as an average bar of chocolate.Current origins on offer include Dominican Republic (La Red,) Venezuela (Carenero Superior,) and Nicaragua (Matiguas). David is proud of his involvement with La Red and explains La Red is a co-op started by Peace Corps volunteers in Dominican Republic, and is the model that everyone would like to have. The 30 minute documentary Chocolate Country is about La Red." About his choice of the more uncommon Nicaragua origin, he says "I got to know a guy in Tennessee and he introduced me to cacao in Nicaragua. You dont see a lot of it in the US theres an organic chocolate company in Belgium that gets all of it but l was able to get a little bit from my source. They are trying to build up their market in the US. He sent me some samples of the Matiguas and that is the one that people seem to like the most I thought it was really good. The beans are very clean and well fermented with a nice aroma, when you open up some of the bags of beans, you can get all kinds of interesting things in there! This was was just very nice when it came here, it seemed like they spent a little more time on the beans. The chocolate has a really smooth and nice flavor. And I have some other beans from down there as well that I havent released yet."David has a background in agronomy, and attended the University of Kentucky. Between then and now, he has called nearly every southern state home for awhile. He has also worked in several fields, including manufacturing, owning an orchid nursery, landscaping, and most recently, golf course management. It was during the latest career that he was introduced to the ways of cacao. David shares with The Chocolate Note the story of how chocolate called to him, his vision of chocolate, and reveals a little known faction of chocolate connoisseurs. Chocolate Note review follows. First cacao encounter I was working as an assistant golf course superintendent, and we contracted employees from Mexico ten months out of the year, and one of the employees was from Oaxaca. She was telling me about their culture, and how they were surrounded by cacao. She brought me some chocolate from her family recipe and I became intrigued by that and started doing it looking around online and researching. It was more of a hobby, and I had one of those jump-off moments and thought, "Lets go in a different direction and lets give this a try!" That was 2005, the first time I made chocolate in 2007 I started the business. Those first two years were a lot of learning, experimenting, setting up the factory and all those good things. Bought small quantities of beans from various places, roasted them in the oven. I was making it for friends and family just having fun with it.I've always been a foodie, and enjoyed cooking and different types of food. And chocolate kind of blends the foodie part with the agronomy. Once I learned how cacao is grown, harvested, and processed from the farmer aspect it was really intriguing to me. Why tasting drops? Its about exploring it more taking your time not just eating it. Kind of that slow food thing. Let it melt in your mouth. I want people to experience the different beans, I want them to understand tasting chocolate. And its kind of a slow start for me. These tasting drops are a precursor to our signature line of bars that will be coming out in the spring. I kind of had the idea of the tasting drops it was the way I was analyzing beans to begin with when I was getting samples. I thought this is an interesting way to put it out to the public and get feedback and see what people like and kind of guide me to our signature line. Tasting drops will stay as a product. Whenever we get beans from a new source, we will make a limited amount of these tasting drops and keep that going. The bars will be more widely distributed. The tasting drops are nice but they need some kind of an explanation for people who are not familiar with single origin chocolate and what we're doing. Taste testers My son Trent loves the chocolate, he's funny. One morning I was getting ready to go to work and I heard him in the kitchen. He had opened up a tin where we keep the chocolate, there were only a couple of drops left . He said "Dad, you need to go work make more chocolate almost empty go to work!" (laughs.) That's one thing that's interesting, a lot of the kids that we've given it to, at first they will spit it out. Then after awhile, they start to like it! So we are trying to build a community of two-year-olds eating dark chocolate! (laughs.) Trent comes to the factory, he sees the bags of cocoa beans, he sees pictures of the cocoa pods, he kind of knows the whole process, and he seems pretty excited about it. Chocolate passion Before 2005, when I learned that chocolate came from a bean, it was just a candy. Learning about it almost became an addiction. The first time I got beans in the mail, I roasted them and it was amazing. I wasnt a dark chocolate connoisseur. I carry a cocoa bean around in my pocket all the time just to remind me of why I am so just taken in by this. Its the experience its not just what I do with the bean when I get it and what I do in the factory, its what went into growing it and getting it to me, and even the history beyond that is so deep. It is intriguing all around. The fruit is coliferous, where it grows off the side of the tree, of the millions of kinds of plants there are only hundreds where the fruit grows off the side of the tree. Its just everything about it its just mystical there are hundreds of years of research and millions of dollars spent to determine just what makes the chocolate flavor. It keeps people baffled. Chocolate Note review About the choice of organic sugar, I fully support this move, and do not mind the few additional darker notes in the chocolates. In fact, white sugar and I are not very good friends, and it has long been a desire to see all chocolate makers use organic cane sugar instead of C&H and what have you. So I'm a fan, and this gave me a different experience with chocolate, there is something unique about Black Mountain chocolates, certainly not due only to the use of organic sugar, but to be sure also to some of David's methods. In each of the micro batch producers we find something unique, and it's a fascinating experience to explore them all, and to compare side by side their different styles. Each of three of origins did have strong common notes of molasses, pepper, and apricot jam. Whether due to the sugar or to the methods we cannot be certain, perhaps a combination. We are treated to a nice long finish with each chocolate. Carenero Superiorrating: 8.9 This origin has been done quite well by the likes of El Rey and Domori, El Rey famously so with the Apatame and Icoa chocolates. Here is a dazzling chocolate that measures up to the standards set by these esteemed makers. Here we have a slightly different take on this always complex and interesting chocolate. An earthy chocolate that evokes fresh mounds of dirt, rivers, and mud. A spicy, woody, peppery chocolate that is almost downright zingy. Even if normally complex with plenty of darker notes, here Carenero is less fruity than elsewhere, and overall the chocolate comes off as a bit "darker" than what one might normally associate with a 70% chocolate. The organic sugar accounts for part of this, to be sure.aroma: oak, raisin, walnut, cinnamon, resin, clove, marshmallow, plum, anise, molasses, licorice, honey, banana, coconut, mango, orangeflavor: anise, hyssop, honey, lilac, toffee, dew, caramel, carrot, pistachio, honeydew, cardamom, mint, thyme, lemon, pepper, blackberry, wine, coffeefinish: tobacco, grape must, currant, green tea, cantaloupe, coffee grounds, caraway, salt, lime juice, strawberry, coconut pie, black pepper, cayenne pepper, molasses, earth, sea foam, apricot Matiguasrating: 8.7 Tangy and refreshing is how I would describe this chocolate. Begins with a smoky, woody, leathery aroma, and ends with a sweeter, fruitier side in the late finish.aroma: leather, smoke, anise, cardamom, strong perfume, wood, rose, lilac, blackberry, green grape, cocoa pudding, sapling, apricot, peanut, walnut, orange juice, tomatoflavor: licorice, honey, oat, caramel, cinnamon, turpentine, dirt, clove, strawberry, nougat, ginger, lemon, jasmine, orchid, mushroom, musk, meringue, margarita, currant, pistachio, oak, bourbon, banana, fruit and vegetable juice cocktailfinish: plum, almond butter, butterscotch pudding, rum raisin cookie, orange juice, pumpkin seeds, allspice, black tea, vanilla, molasses, grass, herbs, rust, citrus zest, mint, hay, peach, pear, pine nuts La Redrating: 9 Dominican Republic cacao is behind the universally applauded Michel Cluizel chocolate 'Los Ancones,' and seems to be rapidly becoming the "It" origin among the micro batch crowd. The Mast Brothers, Rogue Chocolatier, and Taza have all taken triumphant swings at this terroir. Clearly some fine beans coming out of this area, and we find a chocolate worthy of the competition in Black Mountain's version. Very complex, rather intense chocolate, with some unique characteristics. I'm sure I won't find a plate of spaghetti marinara and a side of yams in another aroma. The finish starts out like a pear caramel tart accompanied by a strong spiced coffee, while the long finish leans into more bitter, astringent flavors.aroma: honey, molasses, yam, orchid, oregano, tomato, pasta, apricot, strawberry jam, bread dough, cinnamon, nutmeg, raspberry, must, blueberry, oat, red fruity wine, unripe melon, wheat fieldflavor: tobacco, tangerine, caramel, pear, strawberry, cocoa wafers, grape jelly, graham cracker, oak, maple syrup, walnut, agave nectar, milk, lily, lilac, cantaloupe, almond, crab, musselsfinish: black licorice, lime, earth, seeds, grapefruit, coffee, anise, cream pie, pear, ashes, cigarette, wine

Nunu has new digs from which to peddle its oh-so-lovely chocolates. Two years after starting the company, they have appropriately cute space on Atlantic Avenue, not so far away from Sweet Freak favorites Atlantic Diner and Betty Bakery. The hot cocoa and tea are still coming, but all the caramels and ganaches are ready to be snapped up. Like the best selling hand dipped salt caramels: chewy two-bite treats that taste tobacco-y, salty and sweet altogether. Nunu gets their chocolate from a family farm in Columbia and relies on local, organic ingredients for the rest. "Totally natural. Handmade to order in Brooklyn." Better leave room for seconds.529 Atlantic Avenue between 3rd and 4th Aves917.776.7102

While we've all been waiting for Bespoke Chocolates to debut, Lynda Sternbam!opened Bond Street Chocolates on 4th Street. God, I'm loving the East Village these days. Bonbons come in flavors as demure as Earl Grey, wild as tequila, and classic as Valrhona. But Lynda's personality really comes through with some of her other treats: chocolate-covered wasabi peas (spicy!), corn nuts (salty!) and toffee (smokin!) I wish my nearby apartment were decorated halfway as nice as this super cool chocolate spot. It's small but chic, with rich chocolate brown walls and fuchsia (my favorite) accents. Aside from the gorgeous bonbons, I think one of the best touches is the thermos of free cocoa near the door. Nice!63 East 4th Street between Bowery and 2nd Ave212.677.5103