ChiamMaya - Custom Crafted Chocolate

ChiamMaya Chocolate is Chocolate in the centuries-old Mexican tradition. Fresh, organic cacao is stone-ground and blended with pure cane sugar, almonds and cinnamon to create an authentic, ageless chocolate whose recipe still survives today in the Mexican tradition.

We create three different blends - Mayan, a sweet recipe in the Mexican tradition; Aztec, a bittersweet concoction for real chocolate lovers and American, slightly less sweet Chocolate for the US palette.

At ChiamMaya.com, you'll find insightful commentary on the world of Mexican-style Chocolate, Chocolate recipes, news about chocolate, and of course, you can buy ChiamMaya Chocolate right here online.

We invite discussion and comment on all of our Chocolate. Feel free to leave your thoughts by signing in and becoming an active member of the Chiammaya Custom Crafted Chocolate community.

We'll also be posting our travel schedule here to fairs and food expos around the US. Come see us make custom chocolate at an event near you.

Last Saturday, Octover 25th, Chiammaya was the guest "chef" at the Marshall Culinary Institute. We had it planned so that The class cound observer or even create their own blend of chocolate and then we would go inside and discuss the history of chocolate and share some secrets of the best hot chocolate and how to make world class fudge.

I dropped into the institue earlier that week to drop off ingredients and see how things were shaping up. I was dissapointed to learn that there were only three participants signed up.

I had to move the truck down very early Saturday morning so I could get parking close enough to the storefront. I fired up the kerosine heater Friday night and ran it all night in order to keep the stones warm enough to produce chcolate.

Shawn, the owner of Le Cooks Store, nextdoor, was a bit concerned that I was parked right in front of his store on what looked to turn out to be a busy saturday but it all worked out in the end and I was able to move more in front of the institute.

Class time cam and saddly only one participant showed up. I think she really enjoyed the class and the chocolate, she bought two pound of chocolate and that was on top of the sampler pack that came with the clas.

After the class I walked next door to Le Cooks Store and spoke with Shawn about featuring Chiammaya chocolate in his store. He recieved my inquiry with enthusiasm  and mentioned that they loved local products and thought that Chiammaya Chocolate would be great in their gift baskets this holiday season.

So, in spite of a low class turnout, it looks like product placement is on its way!

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote. It took a while for the chocolate machine to arrive. First I had to wait a week for my payment to clear PayPal. Things were going slow and I hadn't heard a word so I asked e-bay for the sellers information. Now the auction stated the equipment was in Lorado Texas, so imagine my surprise when I reached a woman in SEATTLE!!! Well I explained who I was and explained that I was getting concerned as I'd never sent SIX GRAND to a total stranger before... She hemmed and Hawed a bit and said, "well you probably should talk with Michael, he's the one with the equipment." I explained that SHE was the one that had recieved the money so I'd just as soon talk with her.

Irony is a strange beast. You see, it turns out the equipment was not in Lorado Texas at all, but it was about 10 hours from Lorado in MEXICO! Imagine getting U.S. equipment for making Mexican style chocolate from a factory in MEXICO.

I DID speak with Michael and we exchanged several e-mail. He told me of his negative experiences with trying to do business in Mexico and I told him a bit about my dealings. He assured me that my equipment was in good hands and that it would arrive in good shape.

Another week went by and it arrived. Sadly, it arrives a couple hours after I had left town for a trip, so I had to wait to see what arrived until the weekend was over.

My conversations with Michael indicated that I would be getting two pallets of equipment. I allerted the warehouse people that I was expecting two pallets and then I thought I should confirm this so I wrote another e-mail. No, it wasn't two pallets it was one crate. Back to tell the warehouse!

I got to the warehouse Monday morning looking for my one crate only to find a single pallet. I was worried a bit but after inspecting everything it all seemed there though in several pieces but it seemed well labeled.

There are no manuals or instructions. I wrote Savage Brothers asking for their assistance. They have been somewhat slow but I THINK they aresending the manunals.

I've got the equipment off the truck and in my garage. I had to play LET'S MAKE A DEAL with my daughter. She can still have her Halloween party but after it is over, my daughter and her boy friend are going to help me re-model to make a chocolate factory.

The equipment needs a water line into it, a drain line out of it and an air compressor to operate the depositor. It is more than I expected but I'm in up to my hips so there's no turning back.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for more!  

Wow! Things change quickly. When I last wrote I was trying to find the RIGHT place to set up a production facility. Now the search intensified.

You see, I keep an eye on various places for used but in good shape equipment. I try to keep in touch with industry folks and make sure I only buy quality commercial equipment. Well I was looking on e-bay the other day and came across a Savage tempering machine WITH a depositor and shaker. The starting bid was $5000. I called Savage and started asking prices and at first they were a bit evasive. I asked them the price of an off the shelf 50 pound tempering machine and they said $4000. Well this machine is a 200 pound machine WITH the depositor and shaker and I had to set up a bid. Well last friday I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the auction to end. 5-4-3-2-1 I WON!!! I got this NEW -- well use at least once -- it has an hour meter o nit so I'll know for sure in a couple weeks -- 200 pound tempering/depositing/shaking machine for just under $6K after freight and insurance!!!

The great thing about the depositor is that I can measure the weight of a bar EXACTLY. Up to now I've been using a disher -- ice scream scoop -- and have been zeroing in on the right weight. Even though I TRY my best to be consistent I vary between 3 3/4 oz to 4 1/4 oz. Now giving my customers more than they are paying for is ok every now and then but if I overweigh by a quarter ounce every time it soon eats into the cash flow that keeps the business going. Also, I'd NEVER want to underweigh for my customers, you guys are AWSOME!!

Now the pressure is on for WHERE!!. I've toaked to the mountain bounty executives and the word NOW is January or February. I REALLY don't want to wait that long so I'm back to considering my basement -- Sorry to my daughter!!

So what does this behemouth look like? Well Here are a few pics from the folks I bought it from.

http://dailymail.com/Life/200808200476

Another story which I always love. Thanks to the Charleston Daily Mail, the word of Chiammaya is spreading.

Though there are some time line errors I am happy with the story and hope to be hearing from people in Charleston soon.

When I got back from the strawberry festival, I returned with a great deal of information. I learned how to improve my fudge recipe, I learned what kind of festivals would work for Chiammaya, and I learned that though watching and receiving your chocolate fresh and hot from the mill is a cool thing, MANY customers want it in a familiar form, a bar.

So I came home and began working on bars. I've come up with a 4 ounce bar, perfect for the fudge recipe, 2-3 cups of hot chocolate or easily broken to measure for your favorite recipe.

The original intent was to package 4 bars in our standard box to make one pound, after all, a pound of freshly ground chocolate fits in the box. Well I was surprised to learn that once molded, only three bars will fit in a box. EURIKA!!! an idea was born.

We're not quite ready to sell the bar form of Chiammaya Custom crafted chocolate, but when our production facilities are complete, we'll be able to offer a sampler package of three bars -- one of each of our standard blends of chocolate -- for one price.

Thanks you all for giving giving me honest feedback, support and encouragement.

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Publications/Food-Beverage-Nutrition/NutraIngredients/Research/Cocoa-flavanols-may-boost-blood-flow-in-the-brain

EVERYONE always knew chocolate was great to eat and now and then we hear it is good for us too! Here is a very interesting article showing it can be brain food too!

About three weeks ago I got a call from WOWK TV about an interview for their business section. We scheduled a meeting and I made sure the truck was completely cleaned and I had a batch of fudge for samples of what you could do with Chiammaya Chocolate.

I was all ready and I got a call from the reporter that she was covering a murder trial and could we re-schedule. Sure that would be fine ( I'd just eat all that fudge myself!)

We re-scheduled and the day we were to meet again, she called and said she'd never had to reschedule before but the trial was going to jury and she had to stay there.

Yesterday we FINALLY made it, but what a day!

I walked out to my car first thing in the morning, opened the door and saw the glove box opened and all the papers scattered. I'D BEEN ROBBED!!!

The police were called but they didn't know when they could come to take a report so I went on to work. I pulled up in front of my office and my cell phone rang. The police were at my front door, where was I?

So I turned around and went back home and gave a report. Since I had serial numbers they gave me a 5% chance of recovery. Just about what I had expected. So now back to work.

It was about 10 after 9  when I got a call to confirm that we were on for the WOWK interview at 9:30. NINE THIRTY I exclaimed! I thought we were scheduled for 1:00. I checked my cal lender and sure enough it was scheduled for 9:30.

I hustled BACK home and got ready with time to spare. The interview went well and I asked when it would air. She suggested 6, or 7 and then again at 11.

WOW that's fast. She called about 1:30 and said for sure at 7 and 11 so I set the DVR.

I checked my web tracking site about 3:30. The story hadn't aired yet and I already had nearly 50 hits, ALL from the WOWK web site! NEVER underestimate the power of the press.

Today, after the WOWK piece ran twice I got a call form the Charleston Daily Mail, we have an interview set for Monday. MAN, THIS IS GREAT!

Well I got my name in the local paper -- http://www.herald-dispatch.com/business/x2102944713/Shop-creates-custom-chocolate-for-clients -- and things got CRAZY!!! The web site had a 4000% increase, and the phone began ringing off the hook.

I called the department in West Virginia to ask about label specifications and began getting calls for the county health department, the agriculture department and everyone in between. Though our facilities are REGULARLY inspected by the health department and no points yet, It simply was a reminder that my tax dollars ARE being well managed!

It seems that in order to produce the bars of chocolate that YOU, my customers have asked for I will have to make so investments in equipment and expand facilities, but that's what growing a business is all about.

I also was supposed to be interviewed by the local TV channel but the reporter got sick so we've re-scheduled for Thursday.

I have equipment being delivered regularly for expansion and have called about getting the custom molds so the bars will look right.

Growing a business is really fun and I owe it all to my customers, THANKS

Don't let anyone tell you making fudge is easy and for sure don't let them tell you making GOOD fudge is easy either. Yes, there are a million fudge recipes out there, but getting everything correct takes some patience.

The first time I made Chiammaya Total Chocolate indulgence fudge -- actually I used Chocolate Lovers Blend -- it TASTED delicious, but was as grainy as a spoon of table sugar. One guy even said it was the best fudge he'd ever had, but he was probably drunk -- thanks anyway Blake! :-)

Last month at the Strawberry Festival I met a professional fudge maker  -- Bob Brown from Oh Fudge! -- Who was as nice a guy as you would ever meet. Bob used some of my chocolate to make a small batch of fudge and it for sure was better than the grainy mess I had concocted. He reminded me of something I'd heard from Alton Brown on Food Network;  adding a small amount of corn syrup prevented crystallization.

I came home and revised my recipe and it sure was less grainy, but still had a grit that just wasn't right. Bob had given me a proportion and I recalculated and re-worked my recipe. I can't say it's perfected yet but MAN it's getting close.

Thanks for the help Bob and I hope someday I can re-pay the favor. Try the recipe, I think you'll like it.

http://www.chiammaya.com/blog/recipes/

 

Chiammaya Total Chocolate Indulgence Chocolate Fudge

 

1.5 tablespoons butter ( I use the butter wrapper to grease the pan)
1 cup half-and-half

5 tablespoon corn syrup

2  cups sugar

3/4 Cups Brown sugar

4 ounces CHIAMMAYA Total Chocolate Indulgence

1.5 Tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted walnuts optional

 

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with the butter wrapper. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup the sugar, brown sugar and chocolate, . Stir over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Now lower the heat to medium-low and cover for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and insert a candy thermometer into the mix.  NOW you just get to watch and do nothing. Don't stir, just let it boil until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Now remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees. Add vanilla, and the nuts if you like them, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes dull. Pour into the buttered pan. This takes a while and your arm WILL bet tired! Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

The Strawberry Festival went well. The weather was fantastic except for a couple of brief showers. The crowds were great and for the most part. I did have an incident where a woman asked for a sample of Total Chocolate Indulgence and told me it was totally disgusting. I think she was expecting some thing sweet even though it was clear that it was 71% cacao.

With each show I do, I learn something new.

To me to cool thing about Chiammaya is that we make the chocolate on the spot and you know how fresh it is. But what I think is cool doesn't matter and doesn't pay the bills.

I have realized that a packaged bar is what I need so I'm looking into custom molds and packaging.

The  plan is to make quarter pound bars that fit into our current packaging so four bars make a pound.

I hope the public likes it!

Aztec Hot fudge sauce

 

1 cup sugar
3 cups cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
4 ounces CHIAMMAYA Total Chocolate Indulgence

1/4 cup butter

OPTIONAL:  a pinch of chianne pepper

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

 

Put it all except the vanilla in a pot and bring it to a boil. Cook it until it looks like it's separating. Take it off the heat and add in the vanilla. Pour it all in a blender, cover and blend for 10 seconds to smooth it out. Chill until  you are ready to serve. Heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds or more until it is warm and pour over scoops of ice cream. YUM!

 

Chiammaya Total Chocolate Indulgence Chocolate Fudge

 

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces CHIAMMAYA Total Chocolate Indulgence
3 tablespoons butter ( I use the butter wrapper to grease the pan)
1 cup half-and-half
5 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted walnuts optional

 

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with the butter wrapper. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Stir over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Now lower the heat to medium-low and cover for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and insert a candy thermometer into the mix. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Now remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees. Add vanilla, and the nuts if you like them, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes dull. Pour into the buttered pan. Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

After the Long Grove Chocolate Festival I realized that the names for the different blends along with the look of the menu board was confusing people. I can't tell you how often I overheard people walking by saying, " Oh, that's just coffee." Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE coffee. I've even been called a certified coffee snob, but what I'm creating is custom blended chocolate.

Research was done and with budget in mind we've come up with new names and a new menu board to more accurately depict what we at Chiammaya are all about.

If you've enjoyed the Mayan blend in the bast you can now enjoy it as Sweet Chocolate Dreams. American blend is now Chocolate Lovers Blend, and Aztec blend is now Total Chocolate Indulgence. NOW I hope there is no confusion. Everything even SAYS chocolate in the name and the menu board shows a river of chocolate flowing toward the customer.

Please, never fear, the chocolate you know and love is the same, the names have changed to avoid confusion.

Since I returned from Tabasco and the exploration of the cacao plantations I have stayed very busy making chocolate and getting ready for the Strawberry Festival in Long Grove IL. In order to keep things fresh I always try to keep my eye out for new and exciting products for you to try. Since the Aztecs, Mayans and Olmec gave chocolate to the world I thought it might be nice to honor them with a small chocolate piece in the shape of one of the stone carvings I saw in Mexico. I am currently exploring mold making to see how to get a mold of this guy:
Imagine a cute little bite sized piece of chocolate looking like this. You tell me, is this something you'd like to eat a box of?

I hope to see everyone in Long Grove though I know many of my friends will be at the RCI convention and you will be missed. I'll see you at the reunion though.

Not THAT Tabasco, the state in Mexico. You see, Tabasco is about the closest cacao growing region to us here in the USA.

I spent the better part of Last week with Elaine Gonzales -- the QUEEN of chocolate -- on her farewell tour for Marilyn Tausend and Culinary Adventures and their Discover Mexico's Chocolate Legacy with Elaine Gonzales tour. ( That was a mouth full)

I had planned on going on this tour with Elaine last year but the day I was to fly out I got hit with a kidney stone and had to leave Mexico in extreme pain. It was worth the return trip.

I arrived in Villahermosa Mexico in the state of Tabasco LATE Saturday night, May 10th. The tour didn't OFFICIALLY start until Dinner Sunday night and since several of us were getting early, they offered us a side excursion to Pelinque, an Olmec -- BEFORE the Maya -- archeological site. We were to leave at 7:00 am and though it was a LONG day Saturday, I went for it and was not disappointed. It was a fascinating day of exploration and we had an amazing guide -- Alberto Cabrales. We spent the HOT -- average 100- 105 f -- day hiking around the site learning this amazing civilizations history.

About 3:00 it was time to head back to Villahermosa and we were all glad to get into the air conditioned van. Glad until Alberto began to slow down and pull over and mumbled something about seeing what this fellow wants. It seems the Federales were behind us with lights flashing. After a bit Alberto came back and told us the van didn't have the proper license plate for transporting passengers. We had a letter of intent but not the right plates.

We first were told to go to this truck stop. We waited and waited and then were told we had to go to the police station. Though not really scary it was kind of weird getting pulled over and detained by federal police in a foreign country. After about an hour they told us to go so we headed back to the hotel JUST in time to grab a quick shower and head to dinner.

Villahermosa is an extremely modern city. They told us that in the 70's the population was about 90,000. Today it is 750.000. The discovery of oil was the driving force for that rapid growth and explains why a lot of Villahermosa is new, modern and shiny.

New, modern and shiny describes Sundays dinner choice. We ate at a place called LO. They explained that street slang for boy was lo and that is where their name came from. The specialized in what I would have to describe as Mexican fusion cuisine. We had a FIVE course dinner with everything being top notch!

Monday morning started bright and early and we headed to Comalcalco to Cacep Chocolate and the cacao plantations.

Vicente Guiterrez was the owner and an amazing host. Vicente is determined to bring back Criollo, the original Mexican cacao, the one that started ALL chocolate. He showed us the plantation, the pods growing right off the trunk of the tree, the harvest procedure and all the steps it takes to get the cacao ready to make chocolate. HOW a primitive civilization figured it all out is beyond me, but I sure am glad they did.

I have pictures of the entire trip -- including a few short movies of some of the processing processes -- at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiammaya.

Though this was Elaine's final voyage for Marilyn, I am sure it will not be the final cacao trip .

I was surrounded by chocolate professionals and was humbled by their knowledge and their willingness to share with this novice.
   

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Pound Chiammaya American or Aztec Blend Chocolate coarsely chopped
1.5 Sticks of butter but into small pieces
1 Cup quality coco powder

Place all ingredients into a heatproof container -- I use a large measuring cup -- and place in the microwave. Set the microwave to 1 minute and 50% power and start the microwave. Stir the mixture and check for lumps or chunks. If things are still pretty solid, Go for 30 seconds at 50% power and stir again. Keep going at 30 second bursts until there are only a few small chunks left, stirring between micro waving.  When you get to this point, stir thoroughly until all the chunks are melted.

Now for the hard part. Set the container on the counter and walk away. That's right, walk away. Let it cool to room temperature. You can speed this cooling up by pouring the mixture into a shallow dish line a 9X13 pan, but this just dirties another pan. Let cool at least 2 hours.

Now using a melon baller or small disher -- that's a tiny ice cream scoop -- scoop out the truffles and place on waxed paper or parchment paper. You can roll them into nicer balls at this point but again you'll get messy.

Place the tray of truffles into the refrigerator to get hard. Once they are hard, roll them in coco powder and enjoy.

Though there was very little traffic on Saturday at the Long Grove Chocolate Festival, there was enough to let me see that I had made a HUGE mistake.

As you know everything about getting ready for this festival was rushed. Getting the trailer, supplies, sign shop and all and when you rush , details sometimes get forgotten.

I got set up and was ready for a booming weekend and then I saw the typo on the menu board. No worries, we'll fix that when we get home, but then I heard the comment; "nevermind, that's just coffee."  Coffee? Just coffee? How can you miss CUSTOM CRAFTED CHOCOLATE? Well the prominant words on the menu board are Mayan Blend, American Blend and Aztec Blend. Sounds like coffeee to me. I'm putting the collective thinking caps on to come up with other names befoer the Strawberry festival at the end of June but your thoughts would be appreciated.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It IS over. I am tired, sore and have a lot of equipment to clean up but It seemed to be a success.

As I mentioned before, I arrived Thursday afternoon, checked into the hotel and the headed over to set up. I was placed behind a fence that enclosed a dumpster! NOT good.

Friday it rained. Cold, gray rain that sucks the life out of most everyone. It WAS a normal work day for most people so I really didn't expect much. The high point was when the Daily Herald came by and took my picture and ran it in the Saturday paper. No article, but a side shot of me and they did mention me and Chiammaya by name. http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=18719599&event=509360&CategoryID=0&picnum=2&move=B#Image

Saturday was a monsoon. Cold, driving rain and it was a ghost town. I managed to sell a few hot chocolates but for the most part it was a bust.

Sunday was cloudless. Beautiful and 38 degrees when I got there in the morning. As the sun came up, the temperature rose and the people came out. There was a GREAT crowd. The temperature really threw a monkey wrench into making chocolate, binding the grinding stones together and making things difficult. We probably gave out 2000 samples but still only managed to sell 50 or so hot chocolates and a few pounds of chocolate.

I learned a lot. I have to re-work my sign board because people thought I was selling coffee and warmer temps really would help, but I am glad I went.

Next time I go it will be for Strawberry Festival -- June 20 -22 I think -- and we'll try it again.

I left yesterday in order to make the trip easier. As before, I got the trailewr, at 9:30 Monday night, got home at 12:30, got the trailer to the sign shop on Tuesday at 7:30, picked it up at 5:30, started loading at 6:30 and finished at 10:30. Worked until noon on Wednesday and hit the road.

It has been a CRAZY experience and the theme  is carrying through. So I left at noon and got about 2 hours from home and realized I forgot to fill the propane tanks. Ok, I'll fill them there or on the way. Then the truck started overheating. I put 3 gallons of antifreeze in it and finally found the leak. It was a loose hose clamp. Then I went to pay for the propane and my Chiammaya credit card was maxed out! Sure am gland I have a personal card.

Oh yes, Did I forget to say I lost my Chiammaya cell phone!!! I had that number forwarded to another phone for the time being but I'll have to take care of that too.

So I get to long grove and find out where I am supposed to be. They don't have water for my trailer and they can't accomidate the 50 amp RV plug on the trailer. Sure am glad I brought my generator!!!

It WILL work and I WILL have fun. So, what does this truck and trailer look like?

Here are a couple of pictures.

There were no bands, no screaming adoring fans, no fan fair at all. Mostly it was because it didn't arrive home until after midnight last night. You see the contract called for the trailer to be completed by Saturday April 26th. I called the 25 and they said it wasn't likely. It wasn't ready the 26th or the 27th either. They said it probably could be complete Monday the 28th at the end of the day. As I mentioned in the past post, they gave me a plan B but it just didn't work for me.

So I left work early Monday to make the two and a half hour drive to get the trailer. I arrived about 5:00 and was told it's almost done. Great I thought until I looked at it. You see it was supposed to be made of brown aluminum. you know, brown, like chocolate. Well it was white. Ok, don't panic, you're putting graphics on three sides. Two sides are covered completely so no worries there. The side with the window isn't a BIG deal, the menu board covers some and I can just have the sign company cover the rest in brown vinyl.

Hmm, the drawings showed the propane tanks on the FRONT of the trailer, not the back where that GREAT graphic was to go. Oh well, what's done is done.

Then we looked at the wiring. The trailer wiring was for a 7 pin connection. The had my truck there for two weeks, surely they noticed that it had a four pin connection on it!!!! GRRRR don't worry, Walt, It will be OK.

Then there are the missing shelves inside. Or are they there. I forget! The bottom line is, I have a working trailer that looks pretty darned good, is solidly built and is going to work out just fine. Tonight, when I get it from the sign shop I load things up. I have to go get sugar and money for an opening bank and then I hit the road tomorrow.

All you folks in Chicago, don't worry that it's supposed to rain, I have the best hot chocolate to warm you up. So come on out to the Long Grove Chocolate Festival and see chocolate made like it has been made for centuries, like it was enjoyed my the Mayans. Come see the trailer and shake my hand, I always like meeting new friends.

Today has been a blessing and a curse. I went home for lunch and when I got there, I found 350# of freshly roasted organic cacao! I AM in business, Life is good!

Then I call the All A Cart to make sure we were still on track for Saturday Pickup of my hot off the presses concession trailer. Well, they said they were really jammed up and though they would TRY to get it finished, they maybe had a plan "B" in mind!!!

PLAN "B"?!?! I don't want a plan "B", I want MY trailer! See, the plan was to puck up the trailer Saturday, Spend Sunday outfitting and packing the truck and trailer, then send the trailer to the sign shop to get the graphics done, giving me Tuesday and Wednesday to be the cushion for last minute things.

So what IS plan "B"? Well they MIGHT have a trailer out back that COULD be out fitted the way I need it.

The Long Grove Chocolate Festival is a real Class Act, it is Chiammaya's premier event and we are a featured vendor. Showing up with a make-do trailer just isn't what I want.

So I've written the owner and pleaded my case and now I guess it is time to turn it over to God and have faith that what is meant to be will happen.

Wish me luck, and if you have any pull with All A Cart, give them a call and plead for me too.

Though I haven't gotten through my first chocolate festival I am looking for more. As I have to drive, distance is an issue but I am finding festivals that range from 500 pe