March 31, 2007 - Harry London Candies Inc., has recalled 26,794 chocolate fudge and peanut butter egg candies.
The candies were not labeled as containing egg products and could pose a potential threat to those with allergies
to eggs. The Seattle Times has what looks like an interesting recipe for White Chocolate Mousse with Kumquat
Sauce.
March 27, 2007 - Long time readers of our site are aware of our love affair with sweetriot, those metal tins filled with
cacao nibs coated in chocolate. They come in three levels 50, 65 and 70% dark chocolate coating with the earthiest,
crunchiest nibs we've come across. If you get to their website and order before March 31st and type in riotnow in
the promo code box at checkout you get to take 10% off your purchase. Recchiuti has released what looks like
some nice Easter eggs for the holiday. The shell is Dark Chocolate encasing a Dark Chocolate ganache. Chocolat
Moderne is taking Easter chocolate in an amazing looking direction. The eggs are patterned after Ukrainian Easter
eggs, wonderous designs, with flavors that are beyond interesting. Six different flavors , Anise in Wonderland, Berry
Bohemian ( strawberries and raspberries with red grape must ), Cocoa Cabana , Coconut Coast , Peanut
Pizzazz and Macadamia Republic.
March 23, 2007 - Hershey Chocolate is expanding its line of healthier chocolates. They are introducing two new
products that are loaded with anti oxidant flavanols. The products are Antioxidant Milk Chocolate and Whole Bean
Chocolate. The Antioxidant Milk contains 260mg of flavanols per 40g serving while Whole Bean gives 180mg per
serving. For a variety of reasons Dark Chocolate sales in the United Kingdom jumped 25% last year. For the first
time Dark Chocolate is outselling Milk Chocolate in Woolworths across the UK. Jacqueline Higuera McMahon has
authored an article about her experiences with liquid chocolate. She's traveled Europe and has some opinions
about her favorite spots. She also has a recipe for liquid chocolate that looks interesting. In Australia the average
person consumes 4.4 kilos a year and it's a $2.19 billion (US) business. For most businesses at the Jersey shore
this is the dead time of the year. For Lucille's Candies in Brant Beach it's time to produce Easter items. They'll be
cranking out as many as 50,000 chocolate bunnies and eggs. They've been a family run firm and first opened in
Philadelphia in 1927. MarieBelle has added two new items to their Maya Chocolate line. They've added a sugar
free 3.5 ounce bar and a sugar free hot chocolate.
March 21, 2007 - John & Kira's have developed what looks like a really cute item. Little Ladybug Gems, which look
like ladybugs, the shell, and are filled with raspberry ganache. Cocoa polyphenols now seem to have another
healthful benefit. A new study out of Japan has found supplementing the diet of obese diabetic mice with cocoa
liquor has bought down blood glucose levels in the mice. It's possible that dietary supplementation might lead to
lowering of Type 2 diabetes and with 20 million Americans afflicted with diabetes this could be a significant
breakthrough. According to the UK Sunday Times Cadbury Schwepps is going to try to cut down costs in their
confectionary business by $587 million in a plan that will be released June 19th. This along with the recent
announcement that the drink end of the company would be separated from the confectionary business foretells big
changes are in store for the company. We are always impressed with the way Vosges Haut - Chocolat seems to
find new flavors and work them into chocolate. Although we've yet to try them we like the look of their four new
limited edition pieces. The new Green Truffle Collection is a tour through the tastes of Asia. With flavors from Japan,
India, Thailand and Malaysia. The flavors are Kayoko Japanese green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom,
Kaffir Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate, Ellateria Indian cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy
seeds and Buddha's Leaf Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder.
March 20, 2007 - With the United States racking up record trade deficits it's always good to see US companies
who are capable of turning out high quality products and sell them in foreign markets. Noka Chocolate is opening a
store in the new Tokyo Midtown development. Joining such high end retailers such as Harry Winston and Bottega
Veneta in the heart of Tokyo. The development will include Tokyo's tallest building, the Ritz - Carlton, an art museum
and a park. If you're here in New York City this Thursday , March 22nd , Pasanella and Son, Vintners at 115 South
Street is holding a chocolates and wine pairing event. It's $40 a head and is being held in conjunction with Marie
Belle Chocolates. The schedule shows six wine and chocolate pairings and looks great. Call first to check on
details 212-233-8383. Deborah Markus of Bellaonline has a nice looking recipe for banana chocolate bread.
Amano Artisan Chocolate, America's newest chocolate factory, is up and running. We've yet to sample any of their
product, they currently have two different 2 oz bars available, the Ocumare made with beans from Venezuela and the
Madagascar made with beans from, you guessed it, Madagascar. Amano Artisan Chocolate was rated one of the
best US chocolates by NPR and they can be reached at AmanoChocolate.com . Lake Champlain Chocolate, 750
Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont, will be opening up their retail shop for a series of what looks like great events the
week of Monday, April 23rd until Saturday April 28th. Kirk Weed and Emily Jones will showing a different chocolate
item each day with tips on how to create your own chocolate treats. Attendees will learn how chocolate sculptures
and two different Belgian pralines are created. There is no need to register in advance and attendees will sample
chocolate and receive take home recipes. Of course while you are there take a look at Lake Champlain's Factory.
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli helped by increased US sales , over $500 million in 2006, has enjoyed
an overall increase of 15.1%. Some criminals in Great Briatain must have quite a sweet tooth as they heisted a
truck containing $137,000 worth of Cadbury Easter Eggs. The truck had stopped after leaving the Bournville factory
and the driver was approached by the thieves who told him his truck was shedding load. When he got out to
investigate the criminals jumped into the truck and took off. Fortunately the truck has only a tiny amount of the Eggs
produced, Cadbury makes 30 - 40 million eggs in the Bournville plant.
March 18, 2007 - With St. Patrick's Day over with it's time to start examining who's doing what with easter this year.
Jacques Torres has announced his Easter lineup for this year and it looks to us to include some exceptional
items. For $6.00 you can purchase a 3.5 ounce bar of milk, white or dark chocolate. The bars have really cute
Easter scenes on them and Jacque's chocolate is always first rate. He 's also offering chocolate eggs, raisins,
baskets and for Passover chocolate coated Matzoh. Vosges Haut -Chocolat neat little chocolate bunnies, floppy
eared beauties in five flavors. The Red Fire "Volcano Rabbit" which is Ancho and Chipotle chillies, Ceylon
cinnamon, and dark chocolate. Naga - "Black-Naped Hare" which is curry, coconut and milk chocolate. Black Pearl -
"Ryukyu Rabbit" composed of native ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate and black sesame seeds. Gianduja - "Italian
Hare" which are hazelnuts, almonds, and milk chocolate and the Barcelona - "Tarragona European Rabbit" which
is salt and sweet with Hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and milk chocolate. These rabbits are 2.5 ounces
each and sell for $9.50. Scharffen Berger has Easter Eggs that are 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate. Inside the
5" eggs are tiny little chicks that look adorable. De Brand has a nice assortment of items for basket filling.
Everything from a 19" tall Easter egg, that's three inches thick for $250.00 . They also have whipped up Rocky Road
Chocolate eggs, chocolate blended with caramel, marshmallow and roasted almonds and pecans, that come in
both milk and dark.
March 17, 2007 - Chuao Chocolatier, out of California, has two new product lines that look interesting. The first are
ChocoPods, which are 11 gram bars, and available at Whole Foods. The second are Twists which are either
Origins (cubes of different cocoa percentages) or Carambolas (nuts covered in spicy chocolate ). Of the
Carambolas the caramelized macadamia nuts in Venezuelan dark chocolate with a touch of smoky chipotle chilies
interests us the most.
March 16, 2007 - Jacques Torres Chocolate at 350 Hudson Street in Manhattan will be holding what looks to be a
great event tomorrow, Saturday March 17th at 11 am. Mr. Torres will be teaming up with his teacher from France
LouLou to create an Easter creation. This looks like a great demo. With Nelson Peltz having taken a 2.98% stake
in Cadbury Schweppes the stock has been trending upward. Share prices were up 10% Wednesday on the news. If
you're going to be in Vacaville, California on April 29th you might want to check out Faith in Action's fourth annual
chocolate and wine fundraiser. Tickets are $40 each and the money raised will be used to help the homebound
elderly and those diagnosed with cancer. Cadbury Schweppes has announced that they will be splitting in two. The
American beverage business , Dr. Pepper etc., will be split from the rest of the company known as Dairy Milk
Chocolate. Speaking of Cadbury the stock keeps going up on the news of the Peltz stock buy. Through Thursday
the stock price was up 15%. NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest newspaper database available online, has just
released ChocolateWarsArchive.com. The archive will include material related to the battles between the Hershey
and Mars Company. The material will be used by the Lou Reda Productions' one-hour documentary entitled
"Chocolate Wars," which will be shown Tuesday, April 3 at 8 p.m. EST on the Discovery Times Channel. Out of
Texas there is a new product Innocent Chocolate. The product is a mixture of cocoa powder and coconut oil. The
products inventor needed Lauric acid which supports the thyroid function, needed for a thyroid problem she had.
The coconut oil is rich in Lauric acid and the cocoa powder made for a pleasent delivery system. A picture from
Reuters of Cadbury's Creme Egg packaging from this year. Norman Hollenberg from Harvard Medical School and
Brigham and Women's Hospital has done extensive research on Epicatechin, a flavanol found in cocoa, tea and
wine and believes it benefits are so substanial that it should be classified a vitamin. His research among the Kuna
people who drink up to 40 cups a week of cocoa has found they have lower rates of four of the five largest killers,
heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke. With an impending cocoa shortage the David Michael firm has been
pushing their line of cocoa extenders that they developed a few years ago.
March 15, 2007 - The Schokoladenmuseum, Cologne, Germany's museum dedicated to chocolate is now drawing
600,000 visitors annually. The Museum is run by Lindt & Sprungli along with Cologne chocolatier Hans Imhoff. The
exhibits trace the 3,000 year history of chocolate and has had many celebrity visitors including Britney Spears,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Madeleine Albright. A recent customer survey conducted by eToys.com has found that
when it comes to adults eating chocolate easter bunnies 86% of respondents start by eating the rabbits ears. The
Chocolate of the Month.com, out of Ellicott City, Maryland, has reopened it's site and is up and running. The
Rehoboth Beach, Maryland convention center was the scene last Saturday of the annual Chocolate Festival. Local
restaurants provided chocolates for attendees to sample. A group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has
amassed a 2.98 percent stake in Cadbury Schweppes Plc. This of course has led to speculation that the group
may be trying to take over the company. On March 21 at 7:30 p.m. The Belchertown Historical Society at the Stone
House Museum in Belchertown, Massachusetts will be holding a presentation on the History Of Chocolate. The
Hershey Company , in response to a shareholder proposal from Walden Asset Management has agreed to create
a broad-based supplier code of conduct that also includes an implementation and monitoring plan. This will hold
vendors responsible in their treatment of their workers.
March 14, 2007 - Beatrice Wood, the artist, died in 1998 at the age of 105. She credited her longevity to chocolate
consumption and young men. The Museum of Ventura County is having an exhibit of her famed luster glaze
ceramics, sculptures, and drawings and it opens with a Chocolate Celebration Reception on March 17. If you
happen to be in Hexham, England drop by the Fore Street Thornton's chocolate shop and take a look at the new
refit done to bring the branch more in line with the rest of the chain. On March 9th we reported how an errant Kit
Kat wrapper led to the capture of a burglary suspect in Scotland. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail. Forrest
Mars was certainly a fascinating character. Spinning off from his father's company he built Mars chocolate into the
conglomerate it is today. Spending time in Spain during the Spanish Civil War he watched soldiers snack on
chocolate lentils coated in a sugary candy and modified the idea for M&Ms. He thought nothing of destroying a run
of candy if he thought that any bacteria had affected the cleanliness of it. He micromanaged everything and paid his
employees top dollar but expected them to work long hours and be loyal to the firm.
March 10, 2007 - Sometimes we here at eChocolatenNYC receive a Press Release with news that is so
staggering in its chocolateness that we just have to reprint it in its entirety. Hershey®’s Kisses® Brand Chocolates
is offering consumers a chance to win $100 million in the Kiss Someone™ “Share, Match and Win” promotion, as
part of the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration.
Beginning March 2007 through September 2007, specially marked bags of Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s
Kissables products will feature game pieces displaying half of a Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate. Consumers
nationwide can connect with family, friends or other consumers on www.KissSomeone.com to find the matching
half of their Hershey’s Kisses game piece. Complete game pieces displaying a full Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate
are eligible for one of more than 100,000 prizes including: cruise vacations, tandem bicycles, Hershey’s Kisses
and Hershey’s Kissables products and a chance to share and win $100 million. Three consumers will connect
with a partner to complete three silver Hershey’s Kisses game pieces to instantly share $100,000 with their
partner. The three teams will then play for the Kiss Someone grand prize of $100 million on NBC’s hit show “Deal
or No Deal” in November 2007. Official rules and more information on the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th
anniversary celebration can be found on www.KissSomeone.com.
March 9, 2007 - The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has published its first cocoa forecast for 2006/07.
They expect the world's supply to drop by 5.5% so it's possible chocolate prices may be inching upwards. A new
study has found that consuming flavanols three days a week in liquid form improved the blood flow of smokers.
The research is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. A Kit Kat wrapper led police to Dellroy
McPhillips, 30, who had burgled a house in Gracemount, Scotland. He left the wrapper behind after escaping from
a home owner who caught him in the act. If you have $1,023 and are looking for a nice gift NOKA now has available
the Sky Collection. 1.5 ' high and weighing 17 pounds the Sky Collection contains 224 dark chocolate pieces from
NOKA's Vintages Collection(TM) and 24 handcrafted truffles from its Grand Cru Collection(TM). It consists of 10
precision laser-cut, brushed stainless-steel keepsake Signature Boxes(TM). A study out of Finland finds that a
bunch of business men the study has been following since the 1960's had slimmer waists and were less likely to
have diabetes if they ate sweets. They also were healthier and less likely to be depressed.
March 8, 2007 - An interesting piece on crisis management and the public's perception of a company. Especially
in food safety cases. The article is about problems Bernard Matthews the British poultry company is having but also
references the Cadbury salmonella situation. The author advises companies to release information quickly and not
in dribs and drabs. Realistically the information will be made public anyhow and the key to rebuilding public trust is
to convince the public the company is addressing the situation and not hiding anything. Barry Callebaut has
expanded operations at a factory in Ghana. They are doubling production at their Tema facility. Cargill recently
announced they to are going to open an operation in Tema. AC Nielsen has released a report that states that
although confectionary goods saw only slight growth last year, 5%, some markets the Asia, Pacific and Latin
America are growing at a much faster rate.
March 7, 2007 - German candy makers saw a slight dip in production in 2006 due to a variety of factors including
hot weather which hurts demand. Much of the shortfall was made up for in an increase in exports especially to Asia.
The industry is also being buffeted by higher prices for raw materials. Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined
forces to improve their respective positions in the competitive European market. Nestle will be outsourcing some of
its cocoa processing to Callebaut as well as turning over their facilities in Italy and France to Callebaut. Callebaut
has also agreed to supply 43,000 tons of liquid chocolate to the Nestle Russian operations. In the last month
Hershey has announced they will be cutting their workforce by 1,500 and restructuring their distribution system
making their supply chain more efficient and allowing the company to save between 170 and 190 million dollars by
2010. This money could then be reinvested in the companies core brands and expanding globally. There is no
doubt Cadbury had a difficult year. The disastrous salmonella outbreak, the possible prosecution of the company
for breaking UK environmental laws and the falsification of it's financial figures for its Nigerian operations. Still
riding a banner year for its gum operations, Trident grew 23% and Stride was released in the United States allowed
the company to grow full year profits by 9%. A review published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine
has come to the conclusion that flavonoids the potential anti oxidant in cocoa may not be processed by the body in
a manner that was previously thought. In a test tube flavonoids attack free radicals and are 3 to 5 times more
effective than vitamin C. The study comes to the conclusion though that that which happens in a test tube is not
always the same as that which happens in the human body. Cadbury Adams has patented a new kind of sweet
that releases three distinct flavors. It is composed of a soft tablet center surrounded by a crunchy shell. The flavors
are released sequentially thereby each is different. Deborah Markus of Bellonline has a nice recipe for chocolate
brownie pudding. An interesting commentary from Cee-FoodIndustry.com. The commentary postulates that
advertisers instead of yanking all ads for children would be better off using some of their budgets to educating
children. The plan would be to help youngsters make better choices when they purchase sweets looking towards
giving them information about dark vs milk chocolate, organic and fairtrade etc. DeBrand Chocolates sent us an
email about their wedding chocolate programs which prompted us to take a look at their website. Our experience
with their products has always been positive. Their wedding items seem to be fairly priced for what they are and if
the chocolate is of the same high quality as the items we've sampled in the past one could do a lot worse than to
take a look at what they have to offer. Lake Champlain has released their Easter line for this year and as with all of
their products it's tastefully done and in all likelihood tastes good. Their product is made from all natural sources so
it's a bit healthier to.
March 6, 2007 - The Associated Press weighs in on single origin chocolate and its effect on the marketplace. It
must be getting close to Easter because you can go to www.LindtGoldBunny.com and hunt for the Lindt Gold
Bunny. It's interactive and fun. Lisa Abraham of The Akron Beacon Journal has an interesting article providing an
overview of the world of high end chocolate. Julia Baker a confectionary artist from Scottsdale, Arizona explains
how to hold your own chocolate tasting. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Laura Secord are
warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume Laura Secord brand No Added Sugar Lactose Free
Dark Chocolate Flavoured Bar. The affected product may contain milk protein which is not declared on the label.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume
certain Botticelli brand chocolate products. The products are listed in the article and were produced in British
Columbia. Richard Doyle, executive director of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, has claimed that large quantities of
chocolate milk are being imported into Canada. Much of it is being blended with Canadian milk allowing it to
escape being labeled made in the USA he charges. We've raved about NOKA chocolate the high end company out
of Plano, Texas. Little did we know the two founders Noah Haughton and Katrina Merrem were originally from
Canada. An article out of The Plano Courier Star takes an insiders look at this local business.
The candies were not labeled as containing egg products and could pose a potential threat to those with allergies
to eggs. The Seattle Times has what looks like an interesting recipe for White Chocolate Mousse with Kumquat
Sauce.
March 27, 2007 - Long time readers of our site are aware of our love affair with sweetriot, those metal tins filled with
cacao nibs coated in chocolate. They come in three levels 50, 65 and 70% dark chocolate coating with the earthiest,
crunchiest nibs we've come across. If you get to their website and order before March 31st and type in riotnow in
the promo code box at checkout you get to take 10% off your purchase. Recchiuti has released what looks like
some nice Easter eggs for the holiday. The shell is Dark Chocolate encasing a Dark Chocolate ganache. Chocolat
Moderne is taking Easter chocolate in an amazing looking direction. The eggs are patterned after Ukrainian Easter
eggs, wonderous designs, with flavors that are beyond interesting. Six different flavors , Anise in Wonderland, Berry
Bohemian ( strawberries and raspberries with red grape must ), Cocoa Cabana , Coconut Coast , Peanut
Pizzazz and Macadamia Republic.
March 23, 2007 - Hershey Chocolate is expanding its line of healthier chocolates. They are introducing two new
products that are loaded with anti oxidant flavanols. The products are Antioxidant Milk Chocolate and Whole Bean
Chocolate. The Antioxidant Milk contains 260mg of flavanols per 40g serving while Whole Bean gives 180mg per
serving. For a variety of reasons Dark Chocolate sales in the United Kingdom jumped 25% last year. For the first
time Dark Chocolate is outselling Milk Chocolate in Woolworths across the UK. Jacqueline Higuera McMahon has
authored an article about her experiences with liquid chocolate. She's traveled Europe and has some opinions
about her favorite spots. She also has a recipe for liquid chocolate that looks interesting. In Australia the average
person consumes 4.4 kilos a year and it's a $2.19 billion (US) business. For most businesses at the Jersey shore
this is the dead time of the year. For Lucille's Candies in Brant Beach it's time to produce Easter items. They'll be
cranking out as many as 50,000 chocolate bunnies and eggs. They've been a family run firm and first opened in
Philadelphia in 1927. MarieBelle has added two new items to their Maya Chocolate line. They've added a sugar
free 3.5 ounce bar and a sugar free hot chocolate.
March 21, 2007 - John & Kira's have developed what looks like a really cute item. Little Ladybug Gems, which look
like ladybugs, the shell, and are filled with raspberry ganache. Cocoa polyphenols now seem to have another
healthful benefit. A new study out of Japan has found supplementing the diet of obese diabetic mice with cocoa
liquor has bought down blood glucose levels in the mice. It's possible that dietary supplementation might lead to
lowering of Type 2 diabetes and with 20 million Americans afflicted with diabetes this could be a significant
breakthrough. According to the UK Sunday Times Cadbury Schwepps is going to try to cut down costs in their
confectionary business by $587 million in a plan that will be released June 19th. This along with the recent
announcement that the drink end of the company would be separated from the confectionary business foretells big
changes are in store for the company. We are always impressed with the way Vosges Haut - Chocolat seems to
find new flavors and work them into chocolate. Although we've yet to try them we like the look of their four new
limited edition pieces. The new Green Truffle Collection is a tour through the tastes of Asia. With flavors from Japan,
India, Thailand and Malaysia. The flavors are Kayoko Japanese green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom,
Kaffir Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate, Ellateria Indian cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy
seeds and Buddha's Leaf Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder.
March 20, 2007 - With the United States racking up record trade deficits it's always good to see US companies
who are capable of turning out high quality products and sell them in foreign markets. Noka Chocolate is opening a
store in the new Tokyo Midtown development. Joining such high end retailers such as Harry Winston and Bottega
Veneta in the heart of Tokyo. The development will include Tokyo's tallest building, the Ritz - Carlton, an art museum
and a park. If you're here in New York City this Thursday , March 22nd , Pasanella and Son, Vintners at 115 South
Street is holding a chocolates and wine pairing event. It's $40 a head and is being held in conjunction with Marie
Belle Chocolates. The schedule shows six wine and chocolate pairings and looks great. Call first to check on
details 212-233-8383. Deborah Markus of Bellaonline has a nice looking recipe for banana chocolate bread.
Amano Artisan Chocolate, America's newest chocolate factory, is up and running. We've yet to sample any of their
product, they currently have two different 2 oz bars available, the Ocumare made with beans from Venezuela and the
Madagascar made with beans from, you guessed it, Madagascar. Amano Artisan Chocolate was rated one of the
best US chocolates by NPR and they can be reached at AmanoChocolate.com . Lake Champlain Chocolate, 750
Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont, will be opening up their retail shop for a series of what looks like great events the
week of Monday, April 23rd until Saturday April 28th. Kirk Weed and Emily Jones will showing a different chocolate
item each day with tips on how to create your own chocolate treats. Attendees will learn how chocolate sculptures
and two different Belgian pralines are created. There is no need to register in advance and attendees will sample
chocolate and receive take home recipes. Of course while you are there take a look at Lake Champlain's Factory.
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli helped by increased US sales , over $500 million in 2006, has enjoyed
an overall increase of 15.1%. Some criminals in Great Briatain must have quite a sweet tooth as they heisted a
truck containing $137,000 worth of Cadbury Easter Eggs. The truck had stopped after leaving the Bournville factory
and the driver was approached by the thieves who told him his truck was shedding load. When he got out to
investigate the criminals jumped into the truck and took off. Fortunately the truck has only a tiny amount of the Eggs
produced, Cadbury makes 30 - 40 million eggs in the Bournville plant.
March 18, 2007 - With St. Patrick's Day over with it's time to start examining who's doing what with easter this year.
Jacques Torres has announced his Easter lineup for this year and it looks to us to include some exceptional
items. For $6.00 you can purchase a 3.5 ounce bar of milk, white or dark chocolate. The bars have really cute
Easter scenes on them and Jacque's chocolate is always first rate. He 's also offering chocolate eggs, raisins,
baskets and for Passover chocolate coated Matzoh. Vosges Haut -Chocolat neat little chocolate bunnies, floppy
eared beauties in five flavors. The Red Fire "Volcano Rabbit" which is Ancho and Chipotle chillies, Ceylon
cinnamon, and dark chocolate. Naga - "Black-Naped Hare" which is curry, coconut and milk chocolate. Black Pearl -
"Ryukyu Rabbit" composed of native ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate and black sesame seeds. Gianduja - "Italian
Hare" which are hazelnuts, almonds, and milk chocolate and the Barcelona - "Tarragona European Rabbit" which
is salt and sweet with Hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and milk chocolate. These rabbits are 2.5 ounces
each and sell for $9.50. Scharffen Berger has Easter Eggs that are 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate. Inside the
5" eggs are tiny little chicks that look adorable. De Brand has a nice assortment of items for basket filling.
Everything from a 19" tall Easter egg, that's three inches thick for $250.00 . They also have whipped up Rocky Road
Chocolate eggs, chocolate blended with caramel, marshmallow and roasted almonds and pecans, that come in
both milk and dark.
March 17, 2007 - Chuao Chocolatier, out of California, has two new product lines that look interesting. The first are
ChocoPods, which are 11 gram bars, and available at Whole Foods. The second are Twists which are either
Origins (cubes of different cocoa percentages) or Carambolas (nuts covered in spicy chocolate ). Of the
Carambolas the caramelized macadamia nuts in Venezuelan dark chocolate with a touch of smoky chipotle chilies
interests us the most.
March 16, 2007 - Jacques Torres Chocolate at 350 Hudson Street in Manhattan will be holding what looks to be a
great event tomorrow, Saturday March 17th at 11 am. Mr. Torres will be teaming up with his teacher from France
LouLou to create an Easter creation. This looks like a great demo. With Nelson Peltz having taken a 2.98% stake
in Cadbury Schweppes the stock has been trending upward. Share prices were up 10% Wednesday on the news. If
you're going to be in Vacaville, California on April 29th you might want to check out Faith in Action's fourth annual
chocolate and wine fundraiser. Tickets are $40 each and the money raised will be used to help the homebound
elderly and those diagnosed with cancer. Cadbury Schweppes has announced that they will be splitting in two. The
American beverage business , Dr. Pepper etc., will be split from the rest of the company known as Dairy Milk
Chocolate. Speaking of Cadbury the stock keeps going up on the news of the Peltz stock buy. Through Thursday
the stock price was up 15%. NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest newspaper database available online, has just
released ChocolateWarsArchive.com. The archive will include material related to the battles between the Hershey
and Mars Company. The material will be used by the Lou Reda Productions' one-hour documentary entitled
"Chocolate Wars," which will be shown Tuesday, April 3 at 8 p.m. EST on the Discovery Times Channel. Out of
Texas there is a new product Innocent Chocolate. The product is a mixture of cocoa powder and coconut oil. The
products inventor needed Lauric acid which supports the thyroid function, needed for a thyroid problem she had.
The coconut oil is rich in Lauric acid and the cocoa powder made for a pleasent delivery system. A picture from
Reuters of Cadbury's Creme Egg packaging from this year. Norman Hollenberg from Harvard Medical School and
Brigham and Women's Hospital has done extensive research on Epicatechin, a flavanol found in cocoa, tea and
wine and believes it benefits are so substanial that it should be classified a vitamin. His research among the Kuna
people who drink up to 40 cups a week of cocoa has found they have lower rates of four of the five largest killers,
heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke. With an impending cocoa shortage the David Michael firm has been
pushing their line of cocoa extenders that they developed a few years ago.
March 15, 2007 - The Schokoladenmuseum, Cologne, Germany's museum dedicated to chocolate is now drawing
600,000 visitors annually. The Museum is run by Lindt & Sprungli along with Cologne chocolatier Hans Imhoff. The
exhibits trace the 3,000 year history of chocolate and has had many celebrity visitors including Britney Spears,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Madeleine Albright. A recent customer survey conducted by eToys.com has found that
when it comes to adults eating chocolate easter bunnies 86% of respondents start by eating the rabbits ears. The
Chocolate of the Month.com, out of Ellicott City, Maryland, has reopened it's site and is up and running. The
Rehoboth Beach, Maryland convention center was the scene last Saturday of the annual Chocolate Festival. Local
restaurants provided chocolates for attendees to sample. A group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has
amassed a 2.98 percent stake in Cadbury Schweppes Plc. This of course has led to speculation that the group
may be trying to take over the company. On March 21 at 7:30 p.m. The Belchertown Historical Society at the Stone
House Museum in Belchertown, Massachusetts will be holding a presentation on the History Of Chocolate. The
Hershey Company , in response to a shareholder proposal from Walden Asset Management has agreed to create
a broad-based supplier code of conduct that also includes an implementation and monitoring plan. This will hold
vendors responsible in their treatment of their workers.
March 14, 2007 - Beatrice Wood, the artist, died in 1998 at the age of 105. She credited her longevity to chocolate
consumption and young men. The Museum of Ventura County is having an exhibit of her famed luster glaze
ceramics, sculptures, and drawings and it opens with a Chocolate Celebration Reception on March 17. If you
happen to be in Hexham, England drop by the Fore Street Thornton's chocolate shop and take a look at the new
refit done to bring the branch more in line with the rest of the chain. On March 9th we reported how an errant Kit
Kat wrapper led to the capture of a burglary suspect in Scotland. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail. Forrest
Mars was certainly a fascinating character. Spinning off from his father's company he built Mars chocolate into the
conglomerate it is today. Spending time in Spain during the Spanish Civil War he watched soldiers snack on
chocolate lentils coated in a sugary candy and modified the idea for M&Ms. He thought nothing of destroying a run
of candy if he thought that any bacteria had affected the cleanliness of it. He micromanaged everything and paid his
employees top dollar but expected them to work long hours and be loyal to the firm.
March 10, 2007 - Sometimes we here at eChocolatenNYC receive a Press Release with news that is so
staggering in its chocolateness that we just have to reprint it in its entirety. Hershey®’s Kisses® Brand Chocolates
is offering consumers a chance to win $100 million in the Kiss Someone™ “Share, Match and Win” promotion, as
part of the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration.
Beginning March 2007 through September 2007, specially marked bags of Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s
Kissables products will feature game pieces displaying half of a Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate. Consumers
nationwide can connect with family, friends or other consumers on www.KissSomeone.com to find the matching
half of their Hershey’s Kisses game piece. Complete game pieces displaying a full Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate
are eligible for one of more than 100,000 prizes including: cruise vacations, tandem bicycles, Hershey’s Kisses
and Hershey’s Kissables products and a chance to share and win $100 million. Three consumers will connect
with a partner to complete three silver Hershey’s Kisses game pieces to instantly share $100,000 with their
partner. The three teams will then play for the Kiss Someone grand prize of $100 million on NBC’s hit show “Deal
or No Deal” in November 2007. Official rules and more information on the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th
anniversary celebration can be found on www.KissSomeone.com.
March 9, 2007 - The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has published its first cocoa forecast for 2006/07.
They expect the world's supply to drop by 5.5% so it's possible chocolate prices may be inching upwards. A new
study has found that consuming flavanols three days a week in liquid form improved the blood flow of smokers.
The research is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. A Kit Kat wrapper led police to Dellroy
McPhillips, 30, who had burgled a house in Gracemount, Scotland. He left the wrapper behind after escaping from
a home owner who caught him in the act. If you have $1,023 and are looking for a nice gift NOKA now has available
the Sky Collection. 1.5 ' high and weighing 17 pounds the Sky Collection contains 224 dark chocolate pieces from
NOKA's Vintages Collection(TM) and 24 handcrafted truffles from its Grand Cru Collection(TM). It consists of 10
precision laser-cut, brushed stainless-steel keepsake Signature Boxes(TM). A study out of Finland finds that a
bunch of business men the study has been following since the 1960's had slimmer waists and were less likely to
have diabetes if they ate sweets. They also were healthier and less likely to be depressed.
March 8, 2007 - An interesting piece on crisis management and the public's perception of a company. Especially
in food safety cases. The article is about problems Bernard Matthews the British poultry company is having but also
references the Cadbury salmonella situation. The author advises companies to release information quickly and not
in dribs and drabs. Realistically the information will be made public anyhow and the key to rebuilding public trust is
to convince the public the company is addressing the situation and not hiding anything. Barry Callebaut has
expanded operations at a factory in Ghana. They are doubling production at their Tema facility. Cargill recently
announced they to are going to open an operation in Tema. AC Nielsen has released a report that states that
although confectionary goods saw only slight growth last year, 5%, some markets the Asia, Pacific and Latin
America are growing at a much faster rate.
March 7, 2007 - German candy makers saw a slight dip in production in 2006 due to a variety of factors including
hot weather which hurts demand. Much of the shortfall was made up for in an increase in exports especially to Asia.
The industry is also being buffeted by higher prices for raw materials. Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined
forces to improve their respective positions in the competitive European market. Nestle will be outsourcing some of
its cocoa processing to Callebaut as well as turning over their facilities in Italy and France to Callebaut. Callebaut
has also agreed to supply 43,000 tons of liquid chocolate to the Nestle Russian operations. In the last month
Hershey has announced they will be cutting their workforce by 1,500 and restructuring their distribution system
making their supply chain more efficient and allowing the company to save between 170 and 190 million dollars by
2010. This money could then be reinvested in the companies core brands and expanding globally. There is no
doubt Cadbury had a difficult year. The disastrous salmonella outbreak, the possible prosecution of the company
for breaking UK environmental laws and the falsification of it's financial figures for its Nigerian operations. Still
riding a banner year for its gum operations, Trident grew 23% and Stride was released in the United States allowed
the company to grow full year profits by 9%. A review published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine
has come to the conclusion that flavonoids the potential anti oxidant in cocoa may not be processed by the body in
a manner that was previously thought. In a test tube flavonoids attack free radicals and are 3 to 5 times more
effective than vitamin C. The study comes to the conclusion though that that which happens in a test tube is not
always the same as that which happens in the human body. Cadbury Adams has patented a new kind of sweet
that releases three distinct flavors. It is composed of a soft tablet center surrounded by a crunchy shell. The flavors
are released sequentially thereby each is different. Deborah Markus of Bellonline has a nice recipe for chocolate
brownie pudding. An interesting commentary from Cee-FoodIndustry.com. The commentary postulates that
advertisers instead of yanking all ads for children would be better off using some of their budgets to educating
children. The plan would be to help youngsters make better choices when they purchase sweets looking towards
giving them information about dark vs milk chocolate, organic and fairtrade etc. DeBrand Chocolates sent us an
email about their wedding chocolate programs which prompted us to take a look at their website. Our experience
with their products has always been positive. Their wedding items seem to be fairly priced for what they are and if
the chocolate is of the same high quality as the items we've sampled in the past one could do a lot worse than to
take a look at what they have to offer. Lake Champlain has released their Easter line for this year and as with all of
their products it's tastefully done and in all likelihood tastes good. Their product is made from all natural sources so
it's a bit healthier to.
March 6, 2007 - The Associated Press weighs in on single origin chocolate and its effect on the marketplace. It
must be getting close to Easter because you can go to www.LindtGoldBunny.com and hunt for the Lindt Gold
Bunny. It's interactive and fun. Lisa Abraham of The Akron Beacon Journal has an interesting article providing an
overview of the world of high end chocolate. Julia Baker a confectionary artist from Scottsdale, Arizona explains
how to hold your own chocolate tasting. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Laura Secord are
warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume Laura Secord brand No Added Sugar Lactose Free
Dark Chocolate Flavoured Bar. The affected product may contain milk protein which is not declared on the label.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume
certain Botticelli brand chocolate products. The products are listed in the article and were produced in British
Columbia. Richard Doyle, executive director of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, has claimed that large quantities of
chocolate milk are being imported into Canada. Much of it is being blended with Canadian milk allowing it to
escape being labeled made in the USA he charges. We've raved about NOKA chocolate the high end company out
of Plano, Texas. Little did we know the two founders Noah Haughton and Katrina Merrem were originally from
Canada. An article out of The Plano Courier Star takes an insiders look at this local business.
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March 2007 News |
