HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year! May 2010 be filled with everything your heart desires- including chocolate galore!
TWO WAYS TO REGISTER FOR SPRING WALKS
Chocolate Tasting & More indoor chocolate tastings and neighborhood walks are offered seasonally from March through November. There are now two routes (excuse the pun) for walk registration. Starting this week, you can call West Linn Parks and Recreation Department at 503-557-4700 or register online at their site. You can also purchase them here on our website- be sure to select the desired route. The spring dates are March 20 (Lake Oswego), April 21 (Downtown Portland), and May 22 (The Pearl). Additional dates will be added as necessary. Hope to see you on the chocolate trail!
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE
This year, why just give chocolates when you can give a fun and memorable chocolate experience? These certificates are good for any scheduled walking tour and are valid a year from the date of purchase. Go here to give a unique gift for any occasion for the adult chocolate lovers in your life.
A PERFECT CHOCOLATE DAY
Last year, Portland native and writer for www.52PerfectDays.com,Caitlin Dwyer joined us in The Pearl in search for all things chocolate. It was wonderful to have her along! We want to thank Caitlin for her time and creativity. The coverage and publicity are greatly appreciated. You can check out Caitlin’s article here. While you are there, please be sure to explore this online travel magazine, “An Insiders Travel Guide to a Perfect Day,” and start planning your next perfect day in Portland…or around the country!
PORTLAND CHOCOLATE FEST
Be sure to mark your calendar for the 5th annual Chocolate Fest held at the World Forestry Center in Portland’s beautiful Washington Park on January 29-31, 2010. This popular event, which has now grown to a 3-day celebration, will feature a chocolate bazaar, market, demonstrations and classes highlighting our favorite food group. Cast your vote Friday night for the people’s choice awards! Some of our favorite chocolate and chocolate-pairing spots will be there: Cacao, Sweet Masterpiece, Cupcake Jones, and Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro. Tickets can now be ordered in advance. See here for more information. Be on the lookout for the ad for Chocolate Tasting & More in the festival program and our special promotion in the goody bag for the first 3,000 visitors! CHOCO-WORD OF THE MONTH
Conche (pronounced “conch”) or conching is one of the most unusual words in chocolate vernacular. What does the name of a humble tropical mollusk (pronounced “konk”) have to do with chocolate? Actually the term conche is derived from the Spanish word for shell and refers to the trough or roller shape of the original machine, developed by Swiss Rudolph Lindt in 1879. This important improvement in the refining process aerates, heats and grinds to produce velvety smooth chocolate. Next time a piece of delicious chocolate melts slowly on your tongue, you might want to pay homage to this Swiss pioneer for forever changing the mouth-feel of chocolate.
A MORSEL OF NW CHOCOLATE HISTORY
How many kids can say they could jump out of their bedroom window into a chocolate factory? That is how it was growing up for Bernard Callebaut. He grew up right next door to his great-grandfather’s chocolate factory in Belgium. Lucky for us, Bernard finally decided to continue in his family footsteps and brought his chocolate making to North America in 1983. There are almost 30 Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut shops scattered throughout the Canadian provinces, and only two in the US. Fortunate for those of us in the Portland Metro, one of those is located right here in Lake Oswego! Drop by at 440 5th Avenue and say you heard about them in The Cacao Nibbler!
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