From The Blog

2018 Chocolate Maker Summer Camp!!!

April 16, 2018 by Greg

While I don’t typically start a post with an apology, this post is aimed at chocolate makers and professionals in the Chocolate and Cacao community. I apologize if this post causes any sort of undue disappointment to others who don’t work in chocolate and enjoy reading our blog!

One of the things we enjoy the most about making chocolate is the amazing community of people who share our passion. From June 26th – 29th this year a number of chocolate makers will be once again hosting our annual Chocolate Maker Summer Camp (a.k.a. The Funconference)! We do this once a year as an opportunity for people who work in chocolate and cacao from all over the world to come together for a few days of relaxation on a lake in upstate New York. Camp is held for 4 days and 3 nights at the Berskshire Hills Eisenberg Camp. There will be activities (including swimming, archery, and campfires) as well as plenty of time to chat with others in the community. As a bit of incentive I’ve included some photos from last year and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact camp@chocolatemaker.org.

NOTE: We are sorry to say that summer camp is only open to industry members (chocolate makers, cacao producers, etc).

Greg

Meet Our New Winter Pastries

January 22, 2018 by Molly Gore

We’re constantly experimenting with new flavors and formats in our pastry kitchen, and every few months, we like to roll out a new, seasonal menu.

We keep some pastries on our menu year round—the s’more, the brownie flight, the chocolate chip cookie—but when the season’s first figs or persimmons or oranges come to market, our kitchen team just can’t help but do those flavors justice.

Meet the newest additions to our menu! (Spoiler alert: the winter citrus is almost too delicious right now.)

Salted Caramel Éclair

This season, we swapped out our earl grey éclair for a salted caramel rendition. With salty, caramelized cream inside and a rich, chocolatey Camino Verde glaze on top, it’s our new, delicious take on a classic.

Creamsicle Panna Cotta

Winter citrus, meet chocolate. This season’s version of our panna cotta is infused with nibs from Camino Verde, Ecuador and topped with chocolate orange streusel and citrus. Infusing nibs in cream creates a panna cotta that tastes like chocolate but looks like white cream, and when we mix that with blood orange? It’s a luxuriously rich and delicious creamsicle.

Chocolate Bostock with Roasted Apples

Our almond-laced, Camino Verde custard-filled bostock gets dressed up with roasted apples just in time for the chilly weather. We recommend it with a hot chocolate and a warm, cozy sweater.

Lime Macadamia Tart

Last but not least, a chocolatey, zested zinger. Meet our newest tart: a little bit tropical, a little bit tart, and a whole lot of delicious.

Our Week in NYC

December 2, 2017 by Jennifer Roy

We’re almost at the end of our nine-day pop up in New York City, and…WOW. We are just so humbled.

Day in and day out, our tiny little corner café in Chelsea has been flooded with such warmth and enthusiasm, and we can barely keep the s’mores in stock! Chef Lisa and her team have doubled down in their little commissary kitchen, rolling out impossible numbers of cookies and tarts and brownies and more. We’ve made more hot chocolate this week than we thought we ever could, and we’ve been teaching chocolate making classes to the best and most welcoming crowds.

We have a few more classes and book events before we hit the road back to California on December 3^rd, so come see us before then! The full list of events is here.

Thank you New York. We really do love you.

(And we hope we’ll be back!)

Thank you Gennaro Pecchia for the photos!

12 Nights of Chocolate 2017

November 13, 2017 by Jennifer Roy

12 Nights of Chocolate is an annual fundraising event where we invite the best chefs in the city (and beyond) to take over our space and create an experience, and there’s only one rule: use our chocolate, and run with it.

This is our fifth year and we couldn’t be more excited to announce the amazing line-up of chefs – 15 Michelin stars – not that we’re counting! Every evening is so unique, creative and different from the next: State Bird Provisions will be cooking from their just-released book; the ultimate ice-cream social with Salt & Straw, Revival and Smitten; Manresa Bread, Neighbor Bakehouse and Jane The Bakery are teaming up for “Bakery Night”; Toothache Magazine celebrate their forthcoming issue with Nick Muncy, Shawn Gawle, Kim Alter (Nightbird), Val Cantu (Californios), Rupert & Carrie Blease (Lord Stanley) – an all-star line-up.

The dates are December 4th through 15th and most evenings will take place in a beautiful loft space on the second floor of our upcoming chocolate factory on 16th and Alabama, and others at our Valencia cafe. As in years past, all proceeds will go to the SF-Marin Food Bank, for whom last year’s event raised over 65,000 meals.

A donation bin will be located inside our cafe for the duration of the event. Stop by to drop off cans and non-perishable food anytime during the holiday series.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Come to our book launch party!

November 6, 2017 by Molly Gore

We still have tickets left for our book launch party on November 14th at The Archery! Our book hits shelves that day, and we’re really excited to share it with you and celebrate. We’ll have cocoa nib-infused beer from Almanac Beer, Co., smoked brisket from Central Kitchen and bites from The Cheese School, cocktails from Workhorse Rye, and of course, a decadent spread of cakes and more from our own Lisa Vega and her team. We’ll be signing books, too. Hope to see you there!

And for those of you in Southern California, we’ll be throwing a second launch party at Hedley & Bennett in Vernon on November 16th, from 6:30-9pm. The event is free and open to the public, and you can RSVP here. On November 17th, you can also catch us signing books from 10:00am to 11:30am at Thyme Café and Market. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our chocolate!