All About Chocolate

I started today in the world of all things chocolate.  Not a bad way to start, for sure.  The occasion was a networking/social affair with several ladies from my corporate gig.  And when I received the invite, I knew I'd be down for checking out a local chocolatier, while connecting with new and old colleagues, alike.  (Note: it doesn't take much to get me interested in most things involving the world of food.)

Chocolate Bark, Candy Mold & Truffles!

So, as planned, we met at the quaint and cozy venue, Chamberlain's Chocolate Factory, and dove into the fun and always fascinating world of chocolate.  We were introduced to the chocolates of the day (white, milk, semisweet (56%) and bittersweet (72%)) by way of scrumptious samples.  This allowed us to acquaint our palettes, so to speak, with the flavors we'd want to use--and possibly reuse or mix--throughout our various chocolate "projects".  Personally, I loved them all, but tended to lean towards my long-standing favorites of milk and semisweet.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

We had the place all to ourselves for a morning of uninterrupted candy-making and didn't waste any time diving into the action.  We started off by painting molds with colorful chocolates, which were then filled with our choice(s) of the white, milk, semisweet or bittersweet varieties.  We followed with chocolate bark, chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate truffles.  It was chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! 

I chose my favorite: the butterfly mold

Besides the fun of making the delicacies, while "tasting" my way through the morning, one of the best parts was the ease of it all.  Unlike when I make my chocolate fare at home, there was no having to chop or measure or make the ganache for the truffles or temper the chocolate for the strawberries--or anything else.  It was all ready to go for us to simply enjoy.  Now if I could only find a way to duplicate that in my kitchen.

Some more highlights:

One of the instructors prepares the ganache

So, if you're looking to indulge your sweet tooth, while trying something fun and different, I'd recommend planning an outing.  It would be great for a fun girls' night out, kids' parties and any other occasion you want to tag for the fun of it.  And if all else fails, you really don't need an excuse when it comes to chocolate.  It pretty much speaks for itself.

Happy Eating!