Tien Chiu

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You are here: Home / Misc / Chocolate / Chocolate Making

Chocolate Making

Every year, I make a batch of chocolates over Thanksgiving weekend. The size of the batch varies from year to year (the current record is 133 pounds), but usually it’s around 90-100 pounds. I send them to friends, family, and donors to my annual “Chocolates for Charity” campaign.

I would describe myself as “semi-pro”; I learned my craft by working for Richard Donnelly, who was named one of America’s top 10 artisan chocolatiers by Chocolatier Magazine. He taught me a lot, and I’ve studied quite a bit on my own. (I’ve been at this since 1989, so I have a lot of boots-on-the-ground experience, too.) My recipients tell me that my work is on par with the best artisan chocolatiers.

The 2008 Chocolate Extravaganza!

In 2008 I teamed up with Michael, a fellow chocolatier, to produce 133 lbs of chocolates, about half made in my home kitchen, half made in a commercial candy kitchen that we rented for the occasion. It was a week of nonstop chocolatiering – fun, but exhausting!

You can read the saga in my blog, starting here. The saga runs through Dec 1 or so.

[Show as slideshow]
Melted Chocolate
First Guitar Cutting

Second Guitar Cutting
Third Guitar Cutting

Cut Centers
First Dipping

Third Dipping
Second Dipping

Fourth Dipping
Fifth Dipping

Sixth Dipping
Dipped Amaretto

Bergamot Peel
Chocolate-dipped Apricots

Chocolate Spatters
Unmolded Chocolates

133 lbs of Chocolates
Ooma Loompas At Work

Half the Cupped Chocolates
2008 Insert Fudges

2008 Insert Fruits and Caramels
2008 Insert Dipped Chocolates

2008 Insert Molded Chocolates
Granite Table

Tien Chocolate
Caramels Chocolate

Finished Caramels
Chocolate Balance

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