![\"Chocolatiers](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/floor-e1459888505246.jpg\")
What goes with chocolate?<\/h2>\n
Since our focus is on local chocolate, I skipped other vendors and headed for local chocolatier, Jade Chocolates<\/a>.<\/strong> Mindy Fong, Jade\u2019s owner and head chocolatier, had her whole line of truffles, bars and snacks for sale at the show, but her agenda at the show wasn\u2019t on vying for awards. Instead, she was looking for inspiration and ideas for new flavors. I suggested \u201csavory,\u201d since I like her Thai Basil truffle a lot, and I think she is good at making\u00a0less-sweet chocolates\u00a0(so if the next time you visit her shop in the Richmond and see new savory truffles, you can thank me\u2014at least a bit).<\/p>\n Next, we checked in with Endorfin Foods<\/a>.<\/strong> Brian Wallace, Endorfin\u2019s founder & head chocolate maker, was introducing Endorfin gift sets: individually wrapped mini bars in a wrap-around birchwood box\u00a0that includes tasting notes and instructions on back. They offer 3 different sets:\u00a0an 80% single-source assortment, a dark mylk (not milk, because they use coconut milk, and the FDA doesn\u2019t allow the use of the word, milk, if it\u2019s non-dairy) assortment, and a mixed dark & mylk set. You can buy the sets online, they come in\u00a012-piece and 20-piece versions.<\/p>\n When we ooh-ed & aah-ed over the pretty handmade tasting boxes, Brian explained why they had put\u00a0the extra effort into their packaging, \u201cPackaging is important, because unless you are at a tasting event, people are buying based on what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on these boxes, people will buying these sets as gifts,\u00a0for a memorable\u00a0evening with friends, or maybe for themselves. The boxes will last long after the chocolate is gone, and with their\u00a0see-thru cover and divided interior, they will make for attractive storage containers.<\/p>\n When we asked Brian what else is new, he told us, \u201cThere\u2019s so much going on; we\u2019re getting more wholesale markets, so it\u2019s easier for people to find us.\u00a0Bittersweet Caf\u00e9 is carrying all 9 flavors of bars, and we\u2019re at Chocolate Covered now.\u201d<\/p>\n Before we left, we picked up\u00a0a jar of their Bliss Butter, a crunchy spread that includes coconut, almonds, cashews, cacao nibs, and more: It\u2019s not available on their website yet, and Brian told us that he\u2019s working on maximizing its shelf life. Right now, he said, if it\u2019s left\u00a0out of the fridge, it lasts a couple of weeks, but kept in the fridge, it will last over a year. I won\u2019t be able to test that claim because\u00a0our jar will be empty long before a year is up.<\/p>\n Continuing our recent interest in toffee, we visited our new fav, R & J Toffees<\/a>,<\/strong> to pick up some half-pound boxes as gifts and to help us evangelize about R&J.<\/p>\n To say this is a classic toffee doesn\u2019t explain what makes it so good. As we learned at the last Salon<\/a>, R&J ages their toffee so it\u2019s super buttery. And they recommend keeping it in the fridge or freezer and letting it age some more at home.<\/p>\n You can buy R&J Toffees online<\/a>, but only in 1-lb. boxes. If you want the smaller sizes, it\u2019s available at some local Whole Foods, the Palo Alto Farmers\u2019 Market, some miscellaneous spots like Alta Bates(?), and at festivals. They keep a list of coming events they will be attending on the Locations page of their website.<\/p>\n The booth next to R&J was Nuttyness,<\/strong> which makes chocolate-covered marzipan bars and treats. While toffee is something I am developing an appreciation for, I had not acquired a taste for marzipan yet, having only experienced it as Boxing Day cake frosting<\/a> or shaped into cute-but-dry fruits and flowers. But a Salon is a place to be exposed to new ideas and give things a second chance, so we dove in.<\/p>\n Oakland-based Nuttyness is run by the husband-and-wife team of Kristian and Anis Salvesen, who know that most Americans have not tasted good marzipan. They are on a mission to give us the quality marzipan experience Kristian had growing up in Norway, where it\u2019s a homemade Christmas good luck item.<\/p>\n Anis explained to us the first difference between their marzipan and others is that Nuttyness marzipan has a high nut ratio: 2\/3 nuts to 1\/3 sugar. Another difference: Everything is chocolate covered! Whether it\u2019s their traditional marzipan logs, their bigger candy bars or the coming-soon marzipan truffles, everything includes chocolate in the mix, which definitely makes it more palatable to me.<\/p>\n They use high quality ingredients \u2014 from the chocolate and California almonds to the bitter almond oil that gives marzipan its distinctive taste. \u201cWe use bitter almond oil, not synthetically made almond extract,\u201d Kristian explained. \u201cWe use extracted oil, and only 0.1 to 1% bitter almond in the marzipan because it\u2019s so strong.\u201d<\/p>\n That being said, between the block-like logs and the bars, I definitely prefer the bars, which have a thin layer of marzipan encased in either Swiss milk chocolate or Belgian dark chocolate. The marzipan becomes more of an accent to the chocolate instead of the main feature, which works for me.<\/p>\n Kristian told us that they made the bars to compete with other chocolate bars. They are similar in size to other high-end bars, so they can be stocked on the same shelves and have more visibility. Plus he wanted to do a milk chocolate bar \u2013 the original logs are all covered in dark chocolate. As he developed the milk chocolate bar, he found that\u00a0 it became more about the milk chocolate, not just the marzipan. I think the variety is good \u2014 if you love marzipan, go for the original block-y Nuttyness bars. Otherwise, get one of the bigger chocolate bars for a subtler marzipan experience.<\/p>\n Announced at the Salon were Nuttyness\u2019s Marzibons, truffle-sized flavored marzipan covered in chocolate with flavors like lemon ginger and orange cayenne, and a set of Marzibons with p\u00e2te de fruit layered with the marzipan in raspberry, blackberry and passion fruit flavors. Kristian told us the Marzibons will be ready for sale in a couple of months<\/p>\n We stopped by Socola Chocolatier<\/a><\/strong> We also picked up a box of Socola\u2019s newest collection, the San Francisco Collection. It\u2019s a mostly happy, light group of chocolates: a straight-up 72% truffle, a crunchy hazelnut dark, and a champagne dark.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the Alcatraz-decorated truffle flavored with Fernet-Branca herbal liqueur, which must be the piece that represents SF\u2019s darker, wilder, weirder side. It\u2019s very herb-y and hard for me to describe.<\/p>\n I read a description of Fernet as tasting like unsweetened licorice. I think that describes its bitterness, but it was more vegetal tasting to me, like tobacco. It falls under the category of bitters, so if you already like Fernet or similar \u201cmedicinal\u201d liqueurs (or like to exercise your tastebuds), you have to try this truffle. But I think it\u2019s definitely an acquired taste.<\/p>\n You can find the San Francisco Collection and the rest of Socola\u2019s offerings online<\/a> or at Socola Chocolatier + Barista<\/a> on Folsom in SF. Just remember: You\u2019ve been warned.<\/p>\n Next to Socola was our current favorite hot chocolate, Cacoco<\/a>.<\/strong> We met co-founder Liam Blackmon, who was manning the booth and also scheduled to give a talk before our presentation that day. He was excited about the new packaging they were previewing at the Salon and a new flavor, Firewalk, a 70% with habanero & herbs, which he described as their spicier offering.<\/p>\n We really like the new packaging that is shaped like a mini-Mayan pyramid with similarly evocative graphics. Kudos to the designer for creating an elegant, yet simple package that will make for a special gift.<\/p>\n We like the flavor and mouth-feel of Cacoco\u2019s dark drinking chocolate, which surprises us because we are not raw-chocolate enthusiasts. Liam explained to us that they are trying to capture \u201cthe traditional spirit of cacao,\u201d so Cacoco is \u201cunroasted, but not raw, because it\u2019s fermented. Fermentation activates the flavor, it truly unlocks the flavor. Roasting changes the flavor by de-activating some flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n To Liam, this unroasted but fermented chocolate \u201cfeels better. We\u2019re not \u2018raw raw raw sis boom bah.\u2019 Instead we make traditional-style cacao, minimally processed.\u201d<\/p>\n You can order Cacoco online<\/a> or find it in a few grocery stores (like Rainbow and Real Foods), and farmers markets (Corte Madera & Santa Cruz Downtown on Wednesdays,\u00a0 Santa Rosa & San Mateo on Saturdays, and Walnut Creek & Sebastopol on Sundays)<\/span>.<\/p>\n From the traditional, we skipped to the experimental and avant garde chocolate of flying noir<\/a>.<\/strong> Chocolatier Karen Urbanek had a new collection at the Salon, The Way South, which in addition to being decorated with all natural colors as is her signature, featured more heat than previous collections. The Carapolte was a salted caramel flavored with chipotle that had a warm heat. Sweet Heat mixed fresh habanero peppers with honey and was hot.<\/p>\n But my favorite flying noir truffle this time was the simplest. The Rica was a ganache made from a 70% dark Costa Rican chocolate that Karen combined with caramel, then also used to enrobe the ganache. Karen describes the 70% as \u201ca beautiful chocolate.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019d describe it as delicious. The truffle was also very attractive: It\u2019s hand rolled with a rough surface dusted with mica so it subtly glittered \u2013 very pretty.<\/p>\n Going in another unexpected direction were flying noir\u2019s Baby Dino Eggs. Nestled in a clear plastic orb were 3 egg-shaped truffles, each a different flavored solid ganache, twice enrobed in the Costa Rican 70%, then finished with a sugar & salt shell. Adorable.<\/p>\n Karen gave us an update on her kitchen move to Oakland, sharing space with Nuttyness. \u201cWe\u2019re settling into the new space; there\u2019s still a lot of construction going on. But I enjoy sharing space with Kristian (of Nuttyness) \u2013 he\u2019s a great guy to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the new kitchen won\u2019t have a display space like in her previous place. \u201cThere\u2019s no shop,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt\u2019s off Hegenberger Road\u2014 we share a yard with Ray\u2019s Electric. It\u2019s not a walk-by location. But we will have events, including an opening celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, you can buy the new collection and the Dino eggs online<\/a>, and at Bi-Rite Market<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bigger kitchen update news was in store at the next vendor, NeoCocoa<\/a>.<\/strong> Christine Doerr, NeoCocoa\u2019s founder and master chocolatier, told us, \u201cI bought the kitchen I work in.<\/p>\n \u201cThe woman who owned the kitchen sold it to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI will do some renovations. The kitchen was set up as a catering kitchen, so I will change it to a chocolate kitchen with controlled heat and air conditioning.\u201d<\/p>\n No shop in the future, because it\u2019s an industrial space, she explained, but pick-up service will be available. She also plans to rent space to another chocolatier.<\/p>\n Another step up the business ladder: \u201cWe did articles of organization yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n While this might have all been a big distraction from chocolate-making, she had her full line at the Salon, including 2 experiments and a new truffle.<\/p>\n The first experiment we tried, mocha marshmallows, are quite the hit of chocolate. A crisp, richly dark chocolate shell surrounds a\u00a0 fluffy coffee 1st\/chocolate 2nd marshmallow. I didn\u2019t think I was a marshmallow fan, but the contrasting textures of the hard shell and soft interior in favorite chocolate and coffee flavors make me wish I kept these as pantry staples.<\/p>\n When I saw the other experiment, Black Sesame Seed Brittle, I thought it was mislabeled because it\u2019s sprinkled with white sesame seeds. It was when I looked closer that I saw the black sesame seeds are in the brittle itself.<\/p>\n So the inside is dark seeds in lighter-colored brittle, and the outside is the reverse: a layer of dark chocolate with lighter-colored seeds. Another cool contrast.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a nice thin brittle, like a toffee, and not teeth-endangering hard, instead it\u2019s crunchy, with a pronounced sesame flavor followed by the dark chocolate.<\/p>\n NeoCocoa\u2019s new truffle at the Salon, Hazelnut Butter Milk Chocolate, is a very smooth, fudgy bite with a slightly crunchy bottom shell. NeoCocoa truffles are usually \u201cnaked,\u201d no shell, just ganache, so this was a surprise.<\/p>\n Based on the delicious new treats coming from NeoCocoa, I think kitchen ownership agrees with Christine.<\/p>\n Firefly Chocolate<\/a>,<\/strong> new at the Fall Salon<\/a>, came to this Salon with a larger selection and double the booth staff. Last November, Firefly founder & chief chocolatier\u00a0Jonas Ketterle was flying solo. This time, Jonas was \u201coff in Thailand doing cacao ceremonies for a month,\u201d according to Omega, one of the 2 people manning the booth.<\/p>\n Omega explained the ceremony, \u201cYou heat up cacao, and all share one vessel. It\u2019s a sacred plant; it\u2019s a rush \u2013 it\u2019s psychoactive [changes brain function and alters perception, mood, or consciousness]. Ceremonies last for 2 to 12 hours. You\u2019re dosing with chocolate the whole time. It sure feels great during it.\u201d<\/p>\n I guess the next day is spent recovering from the chocolate hangover \u2014 and Jonas is doing this for a month? Sounds like the extreme sport version of chocolate tasting.<\/p>\n Firefly had their line of 2-ingredient bars (85% cacao with 15% coconut blossom sugar, a low glycemic sugar), plus a 60% bar with coconut (our personal favorite). I asked Jennifer about the status of flavored coconut bars that Jonas said they were working on last fall. She told me that they are coming and how to get them, \u201cSubscribers will get the first flavored coconut bars.\u201d<\/p>\n Their monthly subscription includes their classic bars and one new\/limited flavor bar. If you can\u2019t wait for the next Salon to see what\u2019s new with Firefly, sign up!<\/p>\n For us, it was 2 new products they debuted at the Salon that got us interested: Coconut Hazelnut Chocolate spread and Chocolate Salve. The Coconut Hazelnut Chocolate spread is so new they don\u2019t have real packaging for it yet, but the Chocolate Salve comes in a cute little jar with a nice graphic of a firefly on the lid.<\/p>\n Jennifer explained that the salve came about as a solution to a production problem: \u201cThe coconut oil we use to make our chocolate salve is a byproduct of making coconut butter [one of the non-chocolate items Firefly sells]. We stone-grind coconut flakes to make coconut butter. The oil rises to surface, leaving coconut butter at the bottom. We mix the oil with cacao butter and essential peppermint oil, so you\u2019ll smell like an Andes mint all day.\u201d<\/p>\n It is true, the salve smells great. It\u2019s also very soothing. Add the cute packaging, and this makes for a great chocolate-themed gift.<\/p>\n One thing to note: Its consistency depends on the temperature. I\u2019ve found my jar of salve to usually be quite solid, sometimes even hard to sample until I warm it with my hands. But when we had a recent hot day, the salve in the jar was liquid. If you use coconut oil in cooking you are familiar with this phenomenon, but if you are used to face creams and body lotions manufactured for consistency, this might be a surprise. It does not affect the salve\u2019s efficacy in moisturizing or its shelf life.<\/p>\n We loved the other new product, Coconut Hazelnut Chocolate spread. It\u2019s like Nutella, but better \u2014 at least if you love coconut because that\u2019s a distinct part if its flavor profile. We\u2019ve been spreading it on toast, of course, but also fruit, waffles and pancakes,\u00a0 and mixing it in yogurt. It\u2019s a great addition to the pantry, although we have been keeping it in the fridge because we are unsure of its shelf life.<\/p>\n Jennifer recommended that we use it up within a month, because they don\u2019t know about shelf life either: \u201cWe are at beginning stages of making it,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd we\u2019re not sure about summertime: temperature fluctuations cause the oils to separate.\u201d<\/p>\n Since we like this spread so much, we are not taking any chances. We do have to heat it up before we use it because it gets rock solid in the fridge. But it\u2019s still good a month later. The\u00a0Coconut Hazelnut Chocolate spread and the Chocolate Salve are available on Firefly\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Cowboy Toffee Company<\/a><\/strong> was a new-to-us vendor, but they are veterans of the special-event scene. In fact, other than online, the best way to buy their toffees is at events from Phoenix to Seattle.<\/p>\n Their name makes sense when you know they are headquartered in Oakdale, CA, the \u201cCowboy Capital of the World.\u201d And they embrace that theme wholeheartedly from their logo to their packaging to the cowboy-themed names for their range of toffees, from Mustang for their traditional toffee to Ghost Town (flavored with ghost peppers) to our fav, the distinctive Chuckwagon.<\/p>\n Chuckwagon Toffee ditches the usual nuts, instead it uses coffee \u2014 to be precise: alder wood smoked roasted coffee. Cowboy Toffee\u2019s Dan McGinnis told us the coffee comes from Caf\u00e9 Darte Artisan Coffee Roasters in Seattle, where they roast the beans over smoking alder wood, which is how people in the Northwest smoke salmon.<\/p>\n Cowboy then grinds the coffee and dusts it heavily over the milk-chocolate covered toffee. They also perk up the flavor with hickory smoked sea salt. I found this to be a treat with very distinct flavor stages: First coffee, then toffee, then smoke, ending with salt. Interestingly, the chocolate was not very noticeable. And maybe more interesting is how the coffee flavor continues afterwards \u2014 because I would keep finding coffee grounds in my mouth. This is not as bad as it sounds, but it does make for a lingering effect worth noting.<\/p>\n I\u2019m interested in trying some of their other toffees next time, such as the Calamity Jane, which was flavored with pink peppercorns, and the So Much S\u2019Mores, with its toasted mini marshmallows; but I don\u2019t know if any of them will top the Chuckwagon experience.<\/p>\n I also want to thank Dan for giving us the definition of local, when I wondered if Oakdale fell within our CBTB purview. According to Dan, local is within a 100-mile radius. Works for us!<\/p>\n At their second appearance at a Chocolate Salon, Heavenly Taste Toffee,<\/strong> was swamped with attendees sampling the toffee. It was so intense, Matt Elkins, Heavenly\u2019s owner\/candymaker, couldn\u2019t keep the sample baskets filled and resorted to breaking off pieces of any toffee people requested. In spite of the madness, he was his usual happy, gracious self.<\/p>\n He had his complete line of toffee at the Salon and told us his current favorite is the Black & White, a cashew toffee sandwiched between a 72% dark chocolate and a 35% white chocolate.<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m not a white-chocolate fan, I tried his best-selling Coconut Macadamia Nut Toffee. It\u2019s a crunchy toffee sprinkled with big flakes of coconut which makes for a very coconut-y taste with toffee at the end. If you like coconut, it\u2019s a nice addition to a traditional-style toffee.<\/p>\n Heavenly makes sweet traditional toffee; in fact, it was the sweetest we sampled. But that makes sense because as Matt explained, \u201cGrandma started it all, and Mom taught me the recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to being available online and at events, Matt told us Heavenly Taste Toffee is now in Whole Foods. Check their website for latest locations.<\/p>\n Caramel maker Kindred Cooks<\/a><\/strong> was showcasing their Spicy Hot Bacon Caramel at the Salon.\u00a0Jeri Vasquez, Kindred Cooks\u2019 founder, was excited about its recent win as the Best Sweet Bacon Dish at the Bacon & Beer Classic at Levi\u2019s Stadium, Feb 27. Jeri explained it has a slow reveal, \u201cAs it dissolves you get more flame.\u201d<\/p>\n I can\u2019t say I wasn\u2019t warned, it does end with a lot of heat. If you like spicy heat \u2014 and bacon, although that seemed incidental at the end \u2014 you gotta try this caramel.<\/p>\n In addition to the award-winner, Kindred Cooks had 2 other new flavors : Espresso & toasted coconut. \u201cI\u2019d been thinking about these for well over a year,\u201d Jeri said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to see what\u2019s new, but it is unusual to have 3 new flavors in a year.\u201d<\/p>\n You can find Kindred Cooks caramels in about 20 stores locally, online<\/a> and at events, like the monthly Treasure Island Flea Market.<\/p>\n We stopped by CocoTutti<\/a>\u2019s But CocoTutti still had their line of truffles and CocoQuintet bars at the Salon. And the news was that all the truffle flavors they had at the show were also available in the CocoQuintet bars for the first time. This is great if you want to buy something for yourself, but a box of truffles seems like too much of a splurge.<\/p>\n Maybe even better news: They\u2019ve revamped their website, and to celebrate the new look, they are offering discounts on boxes of truffles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also MIA at the Salon due to the competing Oregon show was Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s\u00a0 Artisan Chocolates<\/a>\u2019<\/strong> co-chocolatier\/owner David Whittingham. Maybe not the best occasion to be away from, since they had the best location in the Salon: first booth everyone encountered.<\/p>\n But Joanna Whittingham, David\u2019s wife\/partner\/cochocolatier, had planned well, bringing a crew to assist and an almost assembly-line process to handing out samples and taking\/fulfilling orders. They had their line of truffles, plus bars, pretzels, and for Easter\/springtime their cute little ganache-filled bunnies.<\/p>\n We managed to snag their last pair of Limoncello-flavored bunnies at the Salon. If you like citrus-flavored chocolates, these are a nice version with a refreshing light lemon flavor. Fera\u2019wyn makes Limoncello truffles all year round, so you don\u2019t have to wait for next spring\u2019s arrival, but the bunnies do make for a sweet, small gift.<\/p>\n We also tried 2 truffles Joanna told us they had tweaked: the Lil\u2019 Green Matcha and Bourbon. \u201cWe added liliquoi [to the Matcha] to round out the flavor and give it a little sweetness,\u201d Joanna explained.<\/p>\n Liliquoi is a type of passion fruit grown in Hawaii, and that\u2019s where they get their liliquoi syrup from. It did give the truffle a nice fruity taste that matched well with the matcha. The matcha made for a beautiful earthy green ganache, and was also the dominant flavor, as the truffle\u2019s name implies. We approve of this tweak.<\/p>\n Same goes for the Bourbon. Joanna told us that they had changed the milk chocolate they used for the ganache to Valrhona (a premium French chocolate), resulting in a flavor she described as \u201ccaramelized chocolate.\u201d<\/p>\n We liked its boozy, cherry overtones and how the flavors lingered afterwards. Cacaopod said, \u201dIf bourbon tasted like that, I might have a drinking problem.\u201d<\/p>\n In talking about other Fera\u2019wyn flavors we like, we got a cool tip form Joanna. \u201cIt\u2019s feast or famine with Naga Chili,\u201d she said when talking about what was sold out and what she still had at the booth. \u201cBut if there are any Naga Chili leftovers after the show, a co-worker drops a few into her coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n Quite the cup-warmer.<\/p>\n You can buy Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s Artisan Chocolates online, or at events like the Chocolate Salon.<\/p>\n We CBTB chocolateers led attendees on some virtual \u201cDIY Chocolate Tours of the Bay Area<\/a>\u201d on their smartphones. We covered downtown SF<\/a>, the Mission<\/a> and the Peninsula<\/a>, plus any areas the audience asked about.<\/p>\n If you missed our presentation, you can\u00a0plan your own local chocolate tours<\/a>\u00a0using our DIY tour suggestions.<\/p>\n Afterwards, we were invited to talk about chocolate on SK Morton\u2019s Lousy San Francisco Podcast<\/a>, in which we talked about local chocolate a little bit, but a lot of other topics too \u2014 many unrelated to chocolate, as far as I could tell \u2014 as the rain continued to pour outside.<\/p>\n![\"endorfin](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/endorfinBox.jpg\")
Eye candy<\/h2>\n
![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RJSarah.jpg\")
Ye Olde Toffee<\/h2>\n
Nutty for Norway<\/h2>\n
![\"nuttyness\"](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/nuttyness.jpg\")
![\"Wendy](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/WendyJessicaSocola.jpg\")
Representin\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"3-5](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/cupicon2.png\")
\u00a0to see what\u2019s new and met the newest hire, Jessica, who\u2019s been working at Socola since November after finishing pastry school. Alas, Socola\u2019s youngest team member, baby Amias, was not at the Salon. But considering how young Socola\u2019s founders, Wendy and Susan Lieu, were when they started their own business, it probably won\u2019t be long before he\u2019s helping out.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/SocolaSFcollection280.jpg\")
Traditional chocolate spirit<\/h2>\n
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/LiamCacoco.jpg\")
![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Flying-Noir-e1459903674673.jpg\")
Flying dinosaurs<\/h2>\n
![\"flying](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/flyingnoirWaySouth.jpg\")
![\"NeoCocoa](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/NeoCocoaChristine.jpg\")
A space of her own<\/h2>\n
![\"NeoCocoa](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/NeoCocoaMarshmallows.jpg\")
![\"NeoCocoa](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/NeoCocoaHazelnutSquares.jpg\")
Listening to chocolate<\/h2>\n
![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/JenniferOmegaFirefly.jpg\")
![\"Firefly](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/FireflySalve.jpg\")
![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DanielCowboyToffee.jpg\")
Campfire chocolate<\/h2>\n
![\"Matt's](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/MattHeavenly-Toffee.jpg\")
A sweet story<\/h2>\n
Award-winning heat<\/h2>\n
![\"CocoTutti](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/CocoTuttiCrew.jpg\")
One for me & one for you<\/h2>\n
<\/strong> always super-busy booth to see what was new, but Elyce Zahn, CocoTutti\u2019s founder and head chocolatier, was not there to catch us up. She was in Oregon for another chocolate show, a bit of unfortunate scheduling.<\/p>\n![\"Ferawyn](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/FerawynBunnies.jpg\")
Chocolate renovation<\/h2>\n
![\"Ferawyn](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ferawynbourbon.jpg\")
Choc\u2019 Talks<\/h2>\n