Posts Tagged ‘Chocolate & Candy’

A Lot of Sweet in Liddabit Sweets

Posted February 2, 2010 by Julia No Comments

 

I first spotted Liddabit Sweets because of the line.

 

Nearly every edge of their table had a prospective customer at The New Amsterdam Market last fall.

 

I have learned in New York City, when there is a line, you get in it.

 

So, I waited my turn to taste the bite size slice of a peanut butter and jelly chocolate covered candy bar, dubbed appropriately The PB&J Bar (available in The Kitchen Sink package).

 

I knew I would like the candy before I tasted it based on the company name which I later learned originates from a cute sibling story: co-founder Liz Gutman’s brother Dan pronounced her name “Elizabeth” as “Liddabit” as a child. And the name stuck!

 

I felt like a kid again as I tasted the duo of peanut butter and jelly often found in my lunchbox during elementary school. This time around, it had a more sophisticated feel with quince instead of just jelly and combined dessert with the chocolate. What could be better?

 

Liddabit Sweets' The Kitchen Sink

Liddabit Sweet's The Kitchen Sink

 

Throughout the fall, I visited Liddabit Sweets’ table at The Brooklyn Flea (pictured below), learning that the jelly flavor changes with the season. This thoughtful artisanal approach makes Liddabit Sweets stand out from the crowd. Again, I waited patiently, until they joined Foodzie as a producer this month! Handmade in Brooklyn with local ingredients, the candy’s creative team is led by the previously mentioned Liz Gutman and Jen King, friends from the French Culinary Institute’s pastry program.

 

 

In all of their confections, Liddabit Sweets has a knack for combining flavors, including the unique Beer and Pretzel Caramels, gooey caramel infused with Brooklyn Brewery Ale and chunks of salted pretzels. This #1 seller sets the bar for homemade confections.

 

You likely won’t have any crumbs left once you have tasted one of their treats. Even the wrapper can disappear easily as their packaging is 100% biodegradable and compostable. The first bar I bought that I was saving for the next day, I devoured on the subway ride home. Thankfully you can stock up on a few options in advance of Valentine’s Day or just as an excuse to add sweetness to your day.

 

Posted in Producer Feature

The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment

Posted November 17, 2009 by Julia 5 Comments

If Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory met Top Chef, the result would be this Sunday’s Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment, a chocolate cook-off featuring signature dishes from twenty-four amateur chefs vying for top prizes.

From savory to sweet palates, the variations of chocolate infused samples ranged from Chocolate Chipotle Chili to Chocolate Souffle Cakes. The creations delighted the sold out crowd of 300 at The Bell House, a music venue in the Gowanus area of Park Slope.

I felt at home when I spotted Foodzie producer Taza Chocolate, later in the evening.

 

 

While none of the chefs from today’s show have made a creation for Foodzie yet, they might, or you could be the next chef to experiment with chocolate and join the other chocolate producers on Foodzie! Maybe this event will inspire you…

The masterminds behind the day’s festivities, Theo Peck and Nick Suarez, co-founded the experiment after competing against one another in numerous NYC cook-off’s. I caught up with them backstage where they talked about how their partnership began. “After a couple of cook-off’s, Theo contacted me and said, let’s throw our own cook-off’s, let’s make them bigger and better,” Nick Suarez said. And they certainly have, starting with this summer’s Brooklyn Beer Experiment, a beer cook-off and a home-brew off. To learn more from Theo and Nick, watch this video:

 

 

With celebrity judges, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs of Food52.com, Ben Van Leeuwen of Van Leeuwen ice cream, Nick Fauchald of Tasting Table, Richard Muszynskia of Ricard Chocolate and Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit, the competition also gave the audience the chance to vote.

Before casting my ballot, I sampled my way through the spectrum of tastes beginning with savory. My friend Rachelle, who tipped me off about the Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment, had been raving about her preview taste testing of her roommate Juliana Vail’s lamb sliders with its harisa infused chocolate sauce paired with slaw and fresh baked pita. Moving down the line, it was hard to top the energy of Righteous Burn, a team of brothers and friends, as they served their pirate mole pan-fried dumplings filled with a cocoa rubbed chicken braised in chocolate beer. In sweets, brother and sister duo Rebecca and Max Lando of Working Class Foodies brought back memories of sleep-away camp with their Deconstructed S’Mores while Courtney Yadouga at a bank by day and a baker at night was joined by her mom to serve their after school special, a dark chocolate and cherry preserve cookie with a shot of warm vanilla bean infused milk.

Before the winners were announced, I talked with judge Richard Myszynski of Ricard Chocolates whose company offered one of the top prizes: a $600 1-year Chocolate of the Month membership. “The creativity behind everyone is incredible and on top of that, to do it for practically for free is amazing. They all deserve to win something,” he said. But, ultimately, only one chef could win his prize plus $150 in cash and Bottle of Chocolate Stout.

In both audience and celebrity choice, first place went to Roopa Marcello for her Thai Chocolate Ice Cream (it must have had something to do with the spring like weather in November). None of my favorites won, but I did talk to Nick and Theo’s top choice, Pervais Shallwani’s Chocolate Hush Puppies earlier in the day.

For now, I can’t wait until Theo and Nick’s next food experiment. . .until then, relive the day with this video tour of the stations. Or check out photos from the event below!

 

 

Posted in All Topics, Announcements & Events

Awesome Food Sampling at Foodbuzz Fete

Posted November 9, 2009 by susie 7 Comments

Foodzie producers delighted many at the Foodbuzz food bloggers event.

Get a virtual tour of all the great Foodzie producers who joined us.

(If you can’t take the yummy torture, you can get the goodies right here: Annie the Baker, p.o.p. candy, La Mar’s Mendocino Sea Salt, Stella Cadente Olive Oil, Neo Cocoa, BonBonBar, Au Coeur des Chocolats, Vibrant Flavors / Oregon Dukkah, Allspice Cafe, Gateau et Ganache, Botanical Bakery, Aunt Else’s Æbleskiver…

More to come on the many other amazing artisan treats bloggers tasted in goodie bags and sampled at Foodzie’s table.

After a long day of munching, meeting, and sampling, we and a few tired and happy producers had a great get together at Foodzie’s offices.
foodzie producers meet in san francisco

Posted in Announcements & Events, Starting a Food Business

Foodzie is All a Foodbuzz

Posted November 7, 2009 by susie 3 Comments

We look forward to meeting all the Foodbuzz bloggers at the Metreon in San Francisco today, where you’ll meet and eat with a variety of great Foodzie producers.

What’s the difference between honey from Montana, Washington, and Hawaii?

Come visit us in the Tasting Pavailion at the Metreon to find out! Plus experience the unique flavors of jams, confections, and more from producers around the U.S.!

big sky honey

And have your first freshly made Æbleskiver from Chad, owner of Aunt Else, direct from Minnesota. Learn how to make these delightful popover / beignet like treats from Chad who’ll be cooking them up with his Minnesota-made cast iron Æbleskiver pan, pairing with Lucille’s Kitchen Garden jams and other Foodzie producer jams.

Looking forward to feeding you!

aebleskiver mix

Posted in Announcements & Events

Trick or Treat at the Brooklyn Flea

Posted November 6, 2009 by Julia No Comments

This past Saturday in honor of Halloween, my friend Heather and I headed to the Brooklyn Flea for a trick or treat tasting of our creation. While in Fort Greene, we discovered a cool contest and amazing flavors hidden between the rows of old chandeliers and vintage dresses.

With visitors to the flea in search of last minute additions for the perfect Halloween costume, we came across “The Next Big Brand Contest” — a permanent costume of sorts to design the branding for one lucky food start-up. Sponsored by the The Rooster Group, it’s open to any producers in the tri-state area. Check out details here, and enter by November 30th!

The team at The Rooster Design Group are the creatives behind Early Bird’s granola whose samples appealed to the more health conscious at the flea. Our favorite nibble was Jubilee, cherry and pistachio granola. For the straight up sweet tooth, there were two great chocolatiers showcasing their treats, both with roots in South Africa. Our next stop was Nunu Chocolates where we tried a raspberry ganache, and looked longingly at the Jasmine and Early Grey varieties. Named for the South African term, ‘Nunu’ is an affectionate nickname for little children in Africa where Justine, the Chief Chocolate Officer, spent her childhood. Nunu was followed by Fine and Raw where we sampled the 78% chocolate bar, a combination of pure raw chocolate with a touch of blue agave. The low heat cooking technique maintains the chocolate’s original flavor.

Next, we explored the baked goods. We waved at Liz and Jen of Liddabit Sweets, and chatted with Wanna Hava Cookie whose whoopie pies transition flavors and colors with each season — the orange and black en vogue in October. On the other side of the table was a new twist on an old favorite–blondies. They are the signature item produced by Hot Blondies who opened at Candylicious, the largest candy store in the world spanning over 10,000 square feet in Dubai this September. Finally, we were dazzled by the swirls of frosting atop the $1 each bites at Kumquat Cupcakery — not quite adventurous enough to try the quite popular Maple Bacon, a maple cinnamon cake topped with vanilla frosting and a thick cut of bacon.

If you were in the mood for more meat, Salvatore Brooklyn was featuring pancetta on a baguette with some of its famous cheese. Of course, with dessert on our mind, we would have gone straight for their incredible canolis, if we had any room left. We were mesmerized by the chefs as they constructed the dessert before us.

All of our goodies could be washed down by a home made beer from the Brooklyn Brew Shop. Assembly at home required and appears worth the wait time.

Check our our trick or treating route here.

canolis from Savatore Brooklyn

canolis from Savatore Brooklyn

Posted in All Topics, Announcements & Events

DIY Eco Ice Packs Reusable In the Garden

Posted November 5, 2009 by susie 1 Comment

Leslie, the artisan behind Luca Chocolates, told us about an ice pack she makes using materials that won’t end up in landfill. Not only would she like to share how she creates her eco-friendly ice packs which can be re-used in the garden, she sent photos.

First, here’s how she describes the ice packs:

“The filling is just water and a superabsorbent polymer (the same stuff that’s inside diapers and lady products) which also has an application as a water saver in your garden.  If you were to buy the powder on your own, you could mix a small amount in with garden soil and it would hold the water longer than soil alone.  I think Miracle Grow also makes a potting soil that already contains it.

So, if you don’t want to use the ice packs that ship with Luca Chocolate as an ice pack, just cut them open and stir them into your garden or house plant soil.  I imagine you could also spread it out on a baking sheet and let the water evaporate (no idea how long that would take) and then stir it into the soil dry.”

Along with these eco ice packs, corn-based peanuts that can also melt down are another great earth friendly packing material, used by Liz Lovely and others.

Do you have creative earth friendly ways of creating ice packs?

The ingredients

water
superabsorbent polymer
powder
plastic bag

Instructions:

Add the powder into water
5 minutes later it will have gelled.
Put the gel into bag
Completed ice pack
Freeze it. Here’s what the frozen ice pack will look like!

Posted in Starting a Food Business, Tips & Resources

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