Reprinted from LIBN

Reprinted from LIBN ‘By Ambrose Clancy

Friday, September 14, 2007

Broke, with a café bill to pay, Lee Perrotta, an art student traveling through the south of France, offered to wash dishes.

Her kitchen duty not only paid for her meal, but she soon had a regular job – and an idea what she wanted to do with her life.

After a few delays and sidetracks, Perrotta is now doing what she’s wanted to do since being trained as a chef in that café 25 years ago. She’s married her two passions, art and chocolate, into RR Chocolate, a startup run out of her Bellmore home.

Perrotta had worked in the corporate world of graphics, advertising and visual merchandising, but her extensive training in the creative arts and her love of all things chocolate – she eats about a quarter pound of the stuff a day, she said – led her to start a company a few years ago called Red Rock Chocolate. Red Rock, a name she concocted on a trip to Arizona, offered chocolate souvenirs at Southwestern tourist destinations.

Although the company didn’t do as well as she hoped, it spurred Perrotta to begin sculpting in chocolate, using her own invention – an edible paint – to create sweet works of art under the RR banner.

RR already has individual companies as clients, and will create personalized goodies for weddings and parties. Perrotta’s studio is filled with remarkable, edible sculptures; here’s a client’s favorite car, there’s a sculpted tool kit – “for Father’s Day” – next to a sculpted wine bottle and glasses for a restaurant opening. The artist does sculptures of beloved pets and anything else a client wants, she said.

Prices range from $7 to $10 apiece for party favors to well into the thousands for more extravagant sculptures.

In addition to chocolate sculptures, RR also markets 26 different chocolate bars. None of her chocolates, in any form, contain nuts, Perrotta noted.

The premium chocolate business is a growth industry. According to Mintel International Group, a Chicago-based marketing research firm, the high-end chocolate industry had $2 billion in sales in 2006, up more than 9 percent from 2002. Research predicts the premium chocolate market will grow 74 percent to $3.6 billion by 2011.

RR was started with only about $5,000 in opening operating costs, mostly spent on literature. Today, Perrotta is out networking at least twice a week, giving demonstrations in local libraries, adult education classes and in corporate offices, she said.

Perrotta said she also often runs chocolate “tastings,” emphasizing the differences of white, sweet and dark chocolates, teaching aficionados the subtities of bouquets and undertones.

The price of chocolate is ruled by commodities markets, Perrotta said, and these days the price is high, since dark chocolate has been anointed a heart-healthy “power food.”

Passion is not too strong a word for Perrotta’s feelings about chocolate. Instead of putting on a pot of coffee when she goes to work, she starts up her liquid chocolate fountain in her studio.

“I always wear brown,” she said, and is inevitably known as “the chocolate lady.”

Her husband, Paul, also wears brown – he’s a UPS driver. “People ask him, ‘What can brown do for you?’” she said. “I say, ‘I’ll really tell you what brown can do for you.’”

Get the skinny on chocolate...	2
Wines to pair off with	3
Holiday White Chocolate Cookie Crisp Recipe	3
Chocolate as medicine	2
Diet chocolate recipes	3
What is white chocolate? REALLY?	3

Want to impress that certain someone? Want your boss to give you that raise or promotion. Or maybe you want to blow away you clients. Whether you are wooing a new client or just saying thanking your existing clients for their business; chocolate is the way to go. f you want to stand out in the crowd this holiday gift season this year, then maybe you’d better consider giving chocolate..

Chocolates are sweeter than flowers, and definitely healthier! With dark chocolate on the top of the power foods list. It’s a no brainer! Although they last for less time than flowers, they are absolutely a more un ique way to express yourself and the interests of the receiver.

Flowers can be pas’e, while chocolates by RR Chocolate wants to customize every gift you give.

Whatever the theme, reason or season we’ll customize truffles and fudges to your friends and families favorite flavors. We will create custom portraits and sculptures that really express how much you care about the person you are giving your gifts to.

RR Chocolate makes it easy for you to be remembered for a long, long time!

Try our truffles, chocolate bars, fudges, gift platter, sculptures and portraits. We Have sugar-free and peanut-free chocolates, with a multitude of flavors, RR Chocolate makes it simple!

I lost 125 pounds and ate chocolate everyday! That’s right, EVERY DAY!

After my son Brandon, was born almost seventeen years ago I went on a diet to loose weight. I loved chocolate so much that I almost couldn't bare to not have it…. So I did...a little…..everyday.

I adjusted my calorie intake to allow for my one tantalizing bite of heaven. While I don’t recommend it for everyone it worked for me.

Here's a tip…. Try using unsweetened cocoa powder to amp up a Chocó lately taste without adding extra sugar and fat. If you eat dairy products try using fat free creamers and milk. As for sugar substitutes if you must use one use a product called STEVIA . It is a natural (chemical free) sugar substitute. It is plant based and so far all studies show its safe and healthy! Avoid using products like Splendor, and the pink and blue stuff!

Well it’s not chocolate that’s for sure….White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla. Its is called ‘chocolate’ to entice non-chocolate lovers to join the foal under the proverbial chocolate umbrella It can be defined and earn the chocolate stamp because of cocoa butter which is a component. Of true chocolate.

So the next time you eat white chocolate, you sort of are eating real chocolate but not really!

NO BAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE HOLIDAY COOKIE CRISPS

Ingredients

2 cups white chocolate morsels

2 cups Rice Crispies

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 11x16 wax paper sheet

Food coloring- optional

Colored sprinkles -optional

Directions

Melt chocolate chips either in a microwave safe container or on top of the stove using a double boiler. Lay wax paper on a flat pan (you can also use parchment but wax paper is less expensive) In a large bowl place rice crispies . Drizzle vanilla extract over the crispies and using your hands toss the crispies. Pour melted white chocolate over rice crispies and working quickly mix——immediately you want to take spoonfuls and drop them on the wax paper using your thumb and index finger create little ring shapes. Sprinkle with sprinkles, jimmies or non-parels before chocolate dries. An extra special touch is to drizzle milk chocolate atop of the cookies or add food coloring to create a color splash. Perfect for the holidays. Makes 36 2” cookies.

Store in an air tight container. To maintain crispness and freshness

-Enjoy

Why be a devil when you can be an angel? Isn't it better to nice not naughty? The holidays are threaded with good connotations and you don’t need to be religious to get it! If your on a diet but crazy for chocolate? Try my Chocó lately light prescription for the holiday diet blues…….

CHOCOLATE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Ingredients

6 egg whites

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I of course use more like 3/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt ( I like kosher salt best for everything)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar-if your using a substitute see my article on Get the skinny on chocolate

2 cups flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate eggs and beat on high slowly adding sugar until whites form a smooth ribbon add cocoa powder, salt, and flour a little at a time. Bake in an non greased 8” or 9” non-aluminum pan (aluminums' not good for you) until a toothpick comes out clean approximately 25 minutes. -Enjoy

-Enjoy

With chocolate on the list of power foods along with wine the two certainly compliment each other. So what is a good wine to drink with your decadent chocolate?

Ice wines are light and fresh, harvested when the grapes are still frozen on the vine. It takes more grapes to make ice wines than all other wines. Very elegant an ice wine could pear up well with your chocolate.

Red wines are complimentary to smooth dark chocolates.. Sometimes I like to kick back with a merlot or charaz when I eat my truffles while a white zinfandel or a light chardonnay can parle nicely with a ganache or mousse.

Champagnes are a wonderful celebratory drink and goes well with every chocolate known to man and are known as the wedding truffle companion.

Of magical chocolates. Products such as blueberry fudge, rose fudge and lavender truffles are available as well as dark , milk and white chocolate truffles. Specialty flavored chocolate bars in every conceivable flavor combination are packaged beautifully with postcard quality imagery. Guests taste and order, Simple and fun it offers the home party industry something new to experience and enjoy. Products are shipped/delivered to party magic guests and are complete ready for gift giving.

In addition to their truffle, fudge and chocolate bar line Chocolate Party Magic creates one of a kind chocolate portraits and sculptures that are almost too beautiful to eat.

Games, raffles, trivia prizes are also a part of the campaigns kick-off with seasonal, holiday, birthday, anniversary , centerpieces and party favors which are all available for party guests to order. They can even order custom sculptures by working directly with their chocolate party magic fairy!

Chocolate party magic will continue to offer magical promotions, and discount offers.

Other products that are coming down the pike include a VIP club offering exclusive chocolate products, events, and test products for club member to give feed back and help shape their products for the future.

Features

Links to other stories:

Chocolate lady’ sculpts a new brand of success story

CHOCOLATE PARTY MAGIC MAKES ITS SWEET DEBUT

Chocolate Stands Out In The Crowd, You can too

Get The Skinny On Chocolate

Chocolate…..As...Medicine...What?

What is White Chocolate………Really?

On a Diet? Try My Chocolate Angel Food Cake Recipe

Wine & Chocolate A Match Made In Heaven

CHOCOLATE PARTY MAGIC MAKES ITS SWEET DEBUT