Organic Chocolate Treat March 5, 2009

Today I went to a wine, chocolate and cheese pairing at Kakayo Chocolate Company where owner, Colleen Wong-Sala, graciously treated her guests to a tantalizing array of organic chocolate truffles. 

(photo courtesy of sweetspot.ca)

We began by pairing a white chocolate matcha green tea truffle with goat cheese and a fruity sparkling wine.   To participate in the tasting, guests were instructed to lick the cheese to coat our tongue (this gave a couple of us the giggles- the thought of licking cheese is a bit odd but surprisingly effective/fun) followed by a bite of the truffle, a full bite of the cheese and then a sip wine. 

After moving from white to dark chocolate filled with a spicy Mexican chili ganache and a glass of Zig Zag Zin and Beringer’s Third Century North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, guests were gifted with more truffles and were out the door. 

The quality of the organic chocolate was superb.  Flavour combinations innovative and what’s best is that the chocolate be customized. 

If you are in the market for some chocolate to serve guests at an event or to treat yourself, I would recommend stopping by Kakayo.  I really enjoyed it.

Kakayo Truffles

How to figure out beverage quantities February 15, 2009

If have not planned many events, guaging how much wine and liquor to serve at your event may be a daunting task. 

The other day I found a great piece of information to help solve the beverage quantity enigma on the Beringer Vineyard website. 

Under the website section marked “Entertaining” you can find loads of information from recipes, to information about their wine, theme ideas and of course, how to estimate wine/liquor quantities. 

For your convenience, I have included the handy chart from their website in this post.  Hope this helps. 

	ITEM	20 GUESTS	50 GUESTS
	Glassware Champagne White Wine Red Wine Water	20	50
	Napkins (5 per person)	100	250
	8-inch plates (2 per person)	40	100
	Small Forks (2 per person)	40	100
	Food	200 – 280 Pieces	560 – 1000 Pieces
	Beverage Champagne White Wine Red Wine Mineral Water	3 bottles 3-4 bottles 4-5 bottles 12, 10-oz bottles	6-7 bottles 6-8 bottles 11-12 bottles 24, 10-oz bottles
	Ice (to chill wine)	2, 5-pound bags	2, 5-pound bags