SweetWorks - Creme d'Amaretto and Creme de Menthe chocolates - Jan. 1, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

SweetWorks Confections, LLC
(A Chocolat Frey Company)
Ovation Break-A-Parts by Frey
Creme de Menthe
Good +
Weight: .3 oz. (8.75 g.) /6.17 oz. (175 g.) in total package
Calories: 47.5 calories in 1 segment
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

SweetWorks Confections LLC
Ovation Break-A-Parts by Frey
Creme d'Amaretto
Good +
Weight: .31 oz. (8.8 g.) /6.17 oz. (175 g.) in total package
Calories: 48 calories in 1 segment
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Chocolate New Year and New Decade to all! Welcome to the final day (Day #11) of Holiday Tea and Spirits Theme Week, and Day #1 of 2020.

Today's Ovation Break-A-Parts by Frey were manufactured by SweetWorks, LLC (A Chocolat Frey Company (Buffalo, NY).

I enjoyed these two variations on a holiday chocolate foil-wrapped "orange" tradition that I first encountered in the UK.*

After a few quick whacks on the edge of the kitchen counter....citrus-like chocolate segments were freed and ready to eat. And each segment was filled with a flavored filling: Creme de Menthe and Creme d'Amaretto respectively.

*Terry's Chocolate Oranges originally made their appearance in the early 1930s, the creation of family firm Joseph Terry's and Sons/Terry's Chocolate Works in York, England. (Mondelez International bought Terry's in 2012.)

Chocolate Frey, founded in 1887 by brothers Robert and Max Frey, is a Swiss business enterprise of the M-industry and has been a part of the Migros Group since 1950.

SF Chocolate Salon, Nov. 13, 2011

International Chocolate Salon 
Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA

One of the pleasures of living close to a major city like San Francisco, is being able to attend the Chocolate Salons that are held here.  This year's event was another opportunity to meet chocolate makers and chocolatiers from the SF Bay Area and beyond.

We had fun talking with Salon newcomer Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco); Nat from Madre Chocolate (on his way back to Hawaii); Art Pollard from Amano; and a few different toffee and brittle makers who were incorporating chocolate and cacao nibs into their offerings.

Saratoga Chocolates (Saratoga, CA) was featuring a Blueberry-tini item that will be tomorrow's entry -- just in time to be included in Chocolate and Blueberry Theme Week.

I also stocked up on a chocolate and bacon caramel item from Snake and Butterfly (Santa Clara, CA) for this week's bacon theme week, that will start in a 2-3 days.

And, I'm looking forward to writing about the Thai Basil chocolates from Jade Chocolates (Burlingame/San Francisco, CA), and other chocolates too numerous to list here.

We also had fun meeting a few winemakers and doing some impromptu tasting. The SLO crew from San Luis Obispo were pouring their "Sexual Chocolate" red blend. (Their mascot, a palm-sized turtle named Walter, was taking a nap in his crate by the time we reached their table.) It was a great opportunity to talk with some creative makers with great flavors who may not have a storefront.