These babies were the fruits of our labor. They are calling our names so we can rip open those wrappers like Augustus Gloop and snarf them down like there's no tomorrow.
Just kidding, they are still ensconced in their protective foil swaddling. The "Build-a-Bar" workshop was a unique chance to play chocolatier for a day and was an opportunity we couldn't pass up...
There was a $10 fee for making your customized chocolate bars (3 minis)...
Before they let us in, we were instructed to wash our hands and don a really sexy hairnet first. We were also given plastic gloves.
I have to say, with all the hustle and bustle that was going on in the store that day, all of the workers were super friendly and eager to chat. It was such a positive vibe. Basically, no one was an @$$hole!
We were each given a plastic mold for the set of three mini candy bars, complete with the Eclipse Chocolat logo.
A worker escorted us to the back tables where there were various jars with assorted toppings, dried fruits, and savory flavorings. This was one of them.
Here's table two...
The backside of table one...with Bert and TC figuring out what to fill their cupcake liners with.
The other side of table two...
As you can see, there were so many choices, it was almost overwhelming.
We were told to fill the cupcake liner with whatever flavorings we wanted. They also included some ingredients that Eclipse normally doesn't use in their bars, like coconut and blueberry. This was our chance to make something truly unique (or truly horrifying, depending on what flavors you chose). I'd like to think that mine was pretty good, even though I don't remember everything I put in it!
Still not filled to the top...
Mad scientist time...
Our cups...
Their new chocolate machines (sorry I don't know the real term for them!)...Once we filled the cups with ingredients, we were led to this area where we were each given plastic cups. We had our choice of milk chocolate or dark...
But unfortunately, they were having issues with the dark chocolate and unless we wanted to wait twenty minutes until the machine was working smoothly again, we ended up choosing the milk chocolate.
The cups had a small amound of milk chocolate and we dumped our cups' contents into the plastic cup and were told to stir it quickly with the spoon.
Then, we could pour the chocolate into the molds...
It was a bit challenging trying to do this and take (crappy) photos at the same time!
Below, ever the neatnik, Bert painstakingly pouring his mixture into the molds. Of course his was the only one that had no extraneous smears or spills.
The gal told us not to worry about getting everything all even. She would "tap it out" for us...
Bert and TC hard at work...
Our bars were placed on top of plastic bags. They needed to be cooled down before being wrapped and labeled by the workers. They were ready about half an hour later.
I'll have to update this ponce once we actually unwrap lour bars and sample them. Gosh, I barely remember what I put in mine but I know I put blueberries and coconut as well as malted milk crunch in it! Hopefully it won't taste too terrible! Who am I kidding? It's going to taste fkg amazing, ha ha!
So, we took a break to have some tacos at Mariscos Nine Seas and when we got back, TC checked the poster to see if our names were on it. As luck would have it, Bert was one of the winners they called in absentia! He was able to claim his ticket for a future 3-course brunch!
Yay! That was a bonus! We didn't expect to win anything so this was very cool!
What a fun filled day this was! We got to walk around a bit, window shop, have some mariscos and coffee and sample new items that will be on the brunch menu and chat with some very nice folks at this event. TC was thrilled to be creating her own custom made bar and being part of the excitement of the opening day. I'm glad that we went. We will definitely be back for brunch later this month or early in March. They will continue to make seasonal menus and it will be cool to see what lies ahead...
2 comments:
That's so cool! I wish I could have gone on opening day, I would have totally done that. I went the day after though and got an Anniversary bar (just because I wanted to try it). Their new place looks great! I'm curious to hear how your chocolate turned out. I'm sure it's amazeballs.
Hi mary - yeah, that was pretty fun making this. although when i unwrapped mine, you could totally tell it was not 'retail quality'. bubbles and not smooth at all,but hey, the flavor combination i did was pretty good. Bert's, not so much. he was a little heavy handed on the sea salt.
i'll post the pix of the actual candy soon.
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