May 31, 2006 - A recipe for a chocolate banana smoothie. Asheville, North Carolina will be the home of the second annual Chocolate Festival to raise funds for the Buncombe County Medical Society Foundation's Project Access next Saturday. May 30, 2006 - Lightning struck at the Burlington, Wisconsin Chocolate Fair injuring five visitors. May 29, 2006 - Vista, California was the sight of its first ever Chocolate Festival. Thousands turned out for the event which was sponsored by the Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Vista Village Business Association. There were numerous events including cooking contests for both children and adults and pie eating contests. Out of Kolkata (Calcutta) India comes a nice article about pastry chef Shaun Kenworthy held a chocolate making class for toddlers at the Patchi Forum shop recently. May 28, 2006 - A fun article about one woman's first time experience with a chocolate fountain. In todays news from Brunei the winners of the David Laris Chocolate Promotion Lucky Draw from when he guest cheffed at The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei. The winner received a trip for two to Shanghai to dine at Three on the Bund David Laris's restaurant in Shanghai. A tremendous article about Frank Sarris of Sarris Candies. Starting with a tiny bankroll , $100, in 1959 he has built his company into a multi million dollar operation and has been donating generously to local charities. He began by experimenting in his basement and buried his failures in his back yard as he was afraid with the amount of burnt up sugar he would attract the attention of local law enforcement who might believe he was a bootlegger. Burlington, Wisconsin was the scene of its annual chocolate fest this week. The event includes chocolate eating contests, chocolate carving contests and the crowning of Miss Burlington. A fascinating article about Green & Black's Maya Gold the first British Fairtrade product and how the money earned from its sale has helped a whole village in Belize. The reporter travels to Belize and interviews people of the region and travels to an abandoned plantation, the Kramer Plantation, set up by a German colonist in 1875 and untouched since at least 1910 which it is hoped can be gotten up and running again. May 27, 2006 - In our never ending efforts to keep you abreast of all chocolate news from Brunei Chocolate Paradise has recently opened its third outlet at Yayasan Shopping Complex outside of the capitol. Smith County , Texas was the scene of its first annual chocolate dessert contest. The winner was a tuxedo cake. May 26, 2006 - A very interesting article about Ivory Coast soccer star Didier Drogba and his efforts to promote his nation's cocoa industry. The Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) , the marketing board hopes the exposure of the World Cup will boost sales of high end chocolate. May 25, 2006 - Dr. Bryan Raudenbush from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia has been conducting studies on the effect of chocolate on cognitive performance and doing a very controlled study has found that both milk and dark chocolate increase ones performance. Of course we here at EchocolateNYC could have told you that chocolate increases ones abilities in many areas. A Tucson , Arizona reporter goes about the task of sampling the cities best chocolate chip cookies and reports back with her findings. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. board authorizes the repurchase of additional shares of common stock. May 23, 2006 - A nice little article about how kids from Camden New Jersey learned a little bit about the chocolate business while watching cocoa beans being unloaded from ships for eventual shipment to Hershey , Pennsylvania. May 22, 2006 - In Santa Clara , California their is a heated battle going on over changing the school menus and getting rid of "junk food". An interesting article about Tom Allen a Pittsburgh chocolatier who is expanding his operations. His store, A Taste Of Chocolate in Collier Township, has a platform that a river of chocolate flows through suspended from its ceiling. For fans of M&Ms and or the Bahamas M&Ms has a free contest on their website where you can win a trip to the Bahamas. May 21, 2006 - An interesting article from the Seattle Times about Kouta Matsuda the founder of Koots Green Tea shop, an offshoot of the Japanese tea chain Tullys. They hope to be the tea equivalent of Starbucks and one product that sounds tasty is matcha chocolate, white-chocolate chips whisked in green-tea powder with steamed milk and organic whipped cream. May 20, 2006 - A random sampler of chocolate facts from the Kiplinger Magazine. For example did you know their are 35,000,000 boxes of heart shaped chocolate that are expected to be sold for Valentines Day. May 19, 2006 - Juergen Rausch of the Berlin , Germany firm Fassbender & Rausch - Chocolatiers am Gendarmenmarkt, makers of the "Tobago Fine Bitter" bar, gives an interview where he talks about his firms history, the cocoa plantations of Trinidad and Tobago and his plans to build a hotel where guests can help in the harvest and feel closer to cocoa. It's official Great Britain has banned soda, potato chips (crisps) and chocolate from schools. If you happen to be in Ullapool, Scotland take a walk over to Argyle Street and drop in on Way Out West Chocolates a new shop run by Pam Eddington and take a look. Cadbury Schweppes Shares Fall 2.2 Percent After Company Reports Having Slow Start in 2006. KABC television out of Los Angeles conducted a taste test among a variety of chocolate bars. A very interesting article from AntiqueWeek.com explaining the origins of the chocolate pot and other chocolate making implements. May 18, 2006 - A nice kid friendly recipe for banana - chocolate bars. May 17, 2006 - A little article about Theo Chocolate of Seattle Washington. Theo's produces all sorts of chocolate bars using Fair Trade or Organic chocolate. They also offer a tour of their chocolate factory Saturday and Sunday afternoons. A nice article about Lucille Skroce who liked the chocolates at Matisse Chocolatier in Englewood , New Jersey so much that when she learned they were going out of business in 1994 she and her husband Vlado purchased the shop and have been happily running it ever since. May 16, 2006 - The Viking Brewery Company has released a beer " Hot Chocolate" which is beer, chocolate and cayenne pepper mixed together and this article is a review of the product. Blommer Chocolate will start to use AGI's WMS and RFID Tracking in its plants and warehouses. In what strikes us as an odd use of time The Royal Cornwall Hospital in England which is heavily in debt has started having hospital personnel keep a record of gifts of thanks that they have received from patients to see if they can use the gifts to measure patient satisfaction. The nurses having named this the Chocolate Audit as many patients give sweets as thank you gifts are claiming this creates more work in there already hectic schedules. May 15, 2006 - A horrifying story out of Hawaii which reminds us that you must always be careful around machinery. An 18 month girl had her hand cut off by a conveyor belt while touring the Menehune Mac Factory Gift Center, a firm that makes candied macadamia nuts, while attending the company's Fifth Annual Mother's Day Candy Making Event, a fund raiser for the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation. May 14, 2006 - A nice little article about the family that operates the Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Co. franchise in Shiloh , Illinois. The Howland family , operators of the shop, turn out all sorts of chocolate items. Paradise , California held a massive chocolate themed fund raiser for the local Boys And Girls Club with an estimated 8,000 people showing up at a local park to raise money for the Club. Teresa Munjar of Paradise won the title of Chocolate Festival queen and judging by the article the day was quite a success. June 6th will find a combination yoga session and chocolate tasting from Vosges Haut - Chocolat. The Cobb Galleria Center will be the site for this event where participants will taste some great chocolate and then do yoga. Participants will also receive a Vosges goody bag. May 13, 2006 - The Mayor of Fulton New York has received two checks from New York Chocolate and Confections Company which should clear up what the firm owes the city and is a step towards resuming business. May 12, 2006 - The Billings Gazette has a nice article about a Casper Wyoming shop Donells that is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. The store was started by Don Stepp and his wife Elma hence the name Donells. Their number one seller is pecan pixies and they make chocolate covered cherries and their own peanut butter cups. New Yorkshire, England is the first European site for the sale of Australian Vintage Wine chocolate bars. The bars produced by Cocoa Farm out of Queensland are produced in three flavors Shiraz, Merlot and Pinot Noir. The firm wanted to try a smaller market first, hence New Yorkshire think Leeds, before attempting a larger market like the London area. Dove is now producing a line of sugar free chocolate products. As a start their will be three flavors Sugar Free Dark Double Chocolate Crème, Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Raspberry Crème and Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Mint Crème. The retail price should be $2.79 a 3.4 oz package. May 11, 2006 - We had reported the plans for this awhile back and yesterday Revolutionary Era chocolate was released. Officials of Mars Inc. were at Fort Ticonderoga, New York to release American Heritage Chocolate a collection of chocolate that is based on old recipes. Soldiers of the Continental Army would shave some chocolate into a pot of hot water and drink it to start the day. A review of Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts which looks interesting. We look forward to tinkering around with her recipe for black-pepper brownies. May 09, 2006 - A new book " Striking Back" claims that Israel's secret service the Mossad tracked down Wadia Haddad who they felt was involved in a series of airplane hijackings. In 1977 he was unreachable in Baghdad and was very cautious. His one weakness was Belgian chocolates so over a six month period the Mossad slowly poisoned his chocolate supply. In Nova Scotia , Canada farmers have found a use for left over chocolate. The chocolate is mixed in with other organic waste material and fed to cows instead of being wasted. The cows reportedly like the chocolate, of course who could blame them. If you happen to be in Brunei for Mother's Day Chocolate Paradise located at The Mall in Gandong are offering a selection of imported chocolates for sale. Kraft Foods Bulgaria reports that chocolate sales in Bulgaria are up 10% in 2005. Kraft's two major chocolate brands in Bulgaria are Milka and Svoge and they control a large percentage of the market. New York Chocolate & Confections Company has started to repay many of its back bills and seems to be slowly climbing out of debt. They are not yet ready to start production again but they are contacting creditors and seem to have received an unspecified amount of capital from the Ivory Coast. Aaron Bean a state legislator who represents Fernandina Beach , Florida hands out chocolate bars to people he meets. May 04, 2006 - Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Reports 23% Increase in FY2006 Earnings. David Laris has made it to Brunei where he put on a chocolate making exhibition yesterday. Angelina Jolie was rushed a special order of Reese's Pieces straight from the Hershey Pennsylvania factory to Africa where she is awaitng the birth of her child. May 03, 2006 - White House pastry chef Dubois's recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie. Chef Dubois's recipe for White House Chocolate Chip Cookies. An interesting looking recipe for Chocolate Butter Cream Sandwiches. 1-800 - Flowers purchased the Fannie May Confections Company for $85,000,000. Fannie May makes Harry London and Fanny Farmer-brand chocolates. Diva Chocolates introduces a new line of chocolate grilling rubs. Five different spice and chocolate rubs to liven up your poultry and steaks. May 02, 2006 - M&M has released their special edition white chocolate M&M's in conjunction with the upcoming Johnny Depp film Pirates Of The Caribbean Part 2. Hot on the heels on her coup supplying the Four Seasons Hotel George V. in Paris with hot chocolate Marie Belle New York announces Aztec Iced Chocolate. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. announced today that it will host an investor conference call on May 4, 2006 to discuss its operating results for the fourth quarter and it's fiscal year which ended February 28, 2006. The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei recently sent one of there chefs to Shanghai for an eight day training program under David Laris. Out of Vancouver a neat little Ginger salsa recipe to mix with Haagen-Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream. May 01, 2006 - Noka Chocolates is nicely packaging their Encore collection for Mother's Day. Wrapping the boxes in a nice pink ribbon. If you haven't tried Noka yet we highly recommend their product. Out of Michigan comes an article about the recipe for Governor's Tunnel of Fudge Cake which was a favorite of 1970's Governor