Want to Be a Chocolate Judge?
Have you ever thought of going to a chocolate competition or being a tasting judge?
It sounds like fun...eating LOTS of chocolate. Alas, after a number of pieces your palate may be "toast" and you miss the nuances of flavours and textures, not to mention feeling a sugar buzz.
Unlike the drama of food network shows making their meals in front of the judges, chocolate competitions can be tame. Chocolates can talk up to two days elapsed time to make...too long for network television! We make our chocolates at the shop and mail them to the competitions we enter. Unglamourous, eh? The downside is we have to worry about freshness (given transit time), and their condition upon arrival.
There they are judged for quality and we're thrilled to have been received several accolades for our chocolates. Generally we enter three or four chocolates each in various competitions...usually selecting from those most popular with customers. So a big thank you goes to our customers for being the ultimate judges since you buy them! They may evaluate entries on such things as appearance, formation, texture, pairings (filling with the shell) and flavours. Like anyone, judges may have their personal bias towards textures, flavours, likes and dislikes.
The good news is we've done well to win a number of awards, that latest for two of our caramels entered at a recent competition in California where we were awarded two Gold Medals, one Bronze Medal and a pair of Honorable Mentions. It's great to win awards, but it's even better when customers love our creations as much as we do.