Easter 2010

Bunnies. That's all I have to say about Easter 2010. It seemed like our flop-eared bunnies were on everyone's Easter list this year. It doesn't help that Easter snuck up on us so close after Valentine's Day but even if we had an entire year to plan for this holiday there still wouldn't be enough flop-eared bunnies. We joked that they were part of the black market- we had to start packaging them in back to people wouldn't grab them off our preparation table before they even made it into their boxes! Too bad our flop-eared bunnies don't have the same reproduction tendencies as real rabbits, then we would have been golden! ~ Just a bit of flavor.

Death by Chocolate

On a recent Saturday, the Cocoa Dolce team saddled up and took our show on the road.  As a primary sponsor of Exploration Place's fundraiser, Death by Chocolate, our goal was to help create a tasty and memorable evening for the museum's guests.

Each year we take a themed approach to the event.  This year we chose the theme, "Peace, Love & Chocolate."    Taking a page from the 70's book, we themed our chocolates, booths and staff dress to match the decade.  We had custom chocolate transfers made of peace signs and took the approach of a protest rally table.  As you can see, Amber and Angie were ready for the evening!

We decided to bite off a big piece of this event and in addition to our table filled with chocolates, we also gave our apprentice chocolatiers, Lisa and James, an opportunity to do a demo to introduce themselves to the Wichita community.  Despite a super soft ganache and the pressure of performing, they represented us so well.  The reports were stellar and I think the chocolates were delicious as well!

I spent my evening holed up in a private room hosting a wonderful group of guests in a wine and chocolate tasting.  We paired three wines with three chocolates with brief explanations of each.  I discovered the later in the evening it became, the louder and more enthusiastic the groups became!  It was a blast and I think will become a popular event for the fundraiser.

The museum tells us it was their most successful event to date.  We agree!  Not only do we get a chance to strut our stuff, our time and chocolate donations contribute to our fantastic children's science museum.  That is a win-win!  So if you are in the area, mark your calendars for March 26, 2011 for your own Death by Chocolate experience!

It's a sweet life!

A Sweet and Jazzy Night Out

As if enjoying chocolate and wine isn’t good enough – throw in a little jazz and you have the perfect night out. That is what the after dinner scene is like at Cocoa Dolce on Thursdays. Roberto Bernardinello plays every Thursday night from 7 to 9 p.m. He always brings a fellow musician to entertain the crowd. If you haven’t been – it’s definitely worth making plans. Jazz at Cocoa Dolce makes a great date night, relaxing night out with the girls, or a fun place to unwind with co-workers. We do take reservations – so if you have a big crowd, call us ahead to make sure we have seats!

We recently had a special visitor in from Washington, D.C.  Ian Wagreich, the Chief Photographer with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, came to interview Beth.  Let's back track a couple days.  Beth comes running in the door one day and says "You gotta listen to this e-mail I just got".  It was from our contact at the U.S. Chamber who had helped us submit our application.  The e-mail basically said that they had chosen a few businesses to feature during the summit in May.  No word was spoken regarding being a finalist.  We didn't want to "jump the gun" and assume anything, so we took this as a great honor and gladly accepted an interview.  *** Ian comes in and gets everything set up.  During a busy afternoon, with lots of customers coming and going, Beth proceeds with an interview and photo session.  

We all tried to listen for subtle "finalist" hints...but, nothing came!  Beth, Amber and I  planned a dinner at Chester's Chophouse as a thank you to Ian for coming out.  We were hoping he would spill the beans while we were there.  We all shared stories of trips, family, embarrassing moments, etc.  It was a great dinner.  Amber brought up the subject of Ian needing to travel a lot for his job.  She asked if he was visiting all 75 Blue Ribbon finalists or "perhaps just 7?"  With a smile on his face, Ian said: You know you're a Regional Finalist, right?  After our celebratory cocktail  and the knowledge that we were a finalist, we were all "happy campers" for the rest of the evening!!

...And that's the Sweet Stuff!!

St. Patty's Beer Tasting

We just had a beer tasting this past Wednesday on St. Patty's Day. Ryan Cochrin (Jacob's Liquor) and Beth did a great job "wining and dining" our 24 guests decked in green. The beer list included a range of 6 Irish beers, my favorite being the Harp Lager which happened to be paired with one of my favorite chocolates- the Irish Cream. With such great feedback from this crowd and previous beer tastings, Beth has decided to have a regular Beer Tasting Night at Cocoa Dolce every second Wednesday of every month- changing up the theme every time so if you're not on our email list, make sure you sign up so you can get the insider information about our fun events.

Amazing!

Okay...sorry for the sporadic blogging...collectively, the Cocoa Dolce team agrees to improve by inviting guest bloggers to assist me in my task. Today, I want to let all of our six followers know that we have been named as one of 7 Regional Finalists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year! Check out this link for more details:

http://www.uschambersummit.com/award

In addition to making a trip to Washington, D.C. in May, where the winner will be announced at a luncheon May 8th, we get to display this cool sticker you see above! And if we are really lucky (and today we do have the luck of the Irish with us!), we will be chosen winner and receive a $10,000 check from Sam's Club, one of the sponsors of the competition.

Not only is this thrilling for my husband, Jay and I, it's a fantastic honor for our business, staff and for the City of Wichita. We are thrilled to represent the mid-west in D.C.

So that's what happened this week. I do have another little surprise up my sleeve, so stay tuned. Until next time...live your passions!

Another Dance with a Star

Wichita is the aviation capitol of the world. That means that we have a fairly steady stream of VIP's coming to town to pick up airplanes or continue their pilot education. So it's not unusual, but still exciting to have famous visitors. Imagine my surprise when during a recent celebration at our company's favorite restaurant, Chester's Chophouse, we saw a famous diner. Angie, our Retail Operations Manager, saw Harrison Ford come in for dinner. With permission, we had been sharing chocolates with all of the bar patrons as part of our celebration. So it seemed natural to me that we should also share our chocolates with Mr. Ford.

After several moments of 'was that really him' or not, we asked permission from our friends, Bobby and Susie Lane, to send a plate of chocolates to Mr. Ford's table. Over the next excruciating 20 minutes, I watched the plate of chocolates sit behind the bar. They were still sitting there long after it seemed possible that he would still be in the restaurant. Just as I had given up hope of making our big Hollywood break, I looked over my shoulder and right into the face of Harrison Ford. I think I squeaked out a 'hello.'

As you know, I'm a bit starstruck by chefs and movie stars, so this was exciting. In fact, the entire bar was speechless as Mr. Ford joined the bar scene for a nightcap. Okay, I'm starstruck, but not very shy. I got the plate of chocolates and went down to introduce myself. I first apologized for the intrusion, but then I was off to the races! I told him about our celebration and offered he and his companion the chocolates. He was very gracious, in fact thanking by name! Okay, I had it embroidered on my jacket, but he was way cool about it.

So two of the most amazing things happened in the next 30 minutes. First, we received drinks compliments of our famous guest. We thought that was the nicest gesture, but there was more. Before we had even had time to thank our new friend, there was a tap on my shoulder. Leaning on the backs of our bar stools was ..... Harrison Ford! He wanted to thank us for the chocolates, but stayed for a visit. He was so lovely, introducing himself and shaking hands with Angie and her sister Amber (who never stopped smiling for the rest of the night!).

The purpose for his visit was to compliment me on the chocolates. He said, "I'm not much of a sweets guy, but that lemon chocolate was incredible!" Again, I think I probably squeaked out a 'thanks.' The conversation that ensued revealed that Mr. Ford did have a sweet favorite, salted caramels. Angie informed him that "we make the best grey salt caramel in the world!" To which I suggested that we send him some. Now this was a reality check for us because it took us much longer than it should of to realize that someone with a high degree of visibility won't give out any contact information. Maybe if we hadn't had the drinks he sent over, we would have gotten it a little more quickly. But again, our very patient and lovely new friend, was firm but nice.

But he did give us a way to put our world-famous caramels in his hands. He was to be in town for the whole week and would be having dinner again at Chester's later in the week. And he invited us to send over chocolates for dessert. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What happens next? Tune in next time for the end of the story. Until then...Happy Memorial Day!