Rocky Road S’mores

I was recently at Bruno’s Market checking inventory of Lula’s, when I saw a dear friend, Linda. While we were catching up and offering suggestions for each other’s businesses, I met Kimberly, a Lula’s Chocolates fan.

Of course, Linda began to extol the virtues of Lula’s—taste, freshness, local product, and gift-ability—to our new friend. Not to be outdone, Kimberly explained that she had created a new recipe for the Dark Aloha Rocky Road S’mores. As she described it— you take a 4.0 oz Aloha Rocky Road and cut or break in half. Sandwich the half rocky road between 2 graham crackers. Next, wrap tight in aluminum foil and place near fire for sufficient time to melt the chocolate. Peel off foil and enjoy with friends and family.

I look forward to trying this fresh spin on a classic recipe this Memorial Day weekend. See you at the beach.

KYMB TV Spot!

It’s always nice to be recognized for your chocolates and get free publicity at the same time. Recently Juliana of KYMB 27 approached me to do a spot with Sara Meyn, here is what we ended up with.

Hope you enjoy!! (TV is a lot harder than it looks!)

Sea Salt Caramels... yum!

Lula’s and I are thrilled to announce that we are launching a line of sea-salt caramels. We debuted them at Pebble Beach Food & Wine to much enthusiasm. With a total of nine different flavors, there is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for any palate.

Our flavors include:
Lime Fresco – Strong but not too tart, this course, lime-colored salt is sprinkled playfully across the surface of the caramel to evenly distribute the flavor.

Chili Verde – Don’t underestimate this fine-grained, dark-roasted chili salt. This caramel’s salt is clustered on the end of the caramel to give you a blast of flavor and a zesty kick you’ll remember.

Vintage Merlot – The result of a lovely pairing of vintage wine and chocolate is a caramel topped with salt that has a distinctly grape tint and is poured in a long band along the surface of the caramel. Forget the glass and experience a new dinner party favorite.

Matcha (Green Tea) – Flavor harvested in the tea fields of Japan, this salt is fine-powdered, with a tea-green hue. It’s clustered in the center of the caramel for easy identification. Enjoy your own private tea ceremony.

Cyprus Flake – This subtle, white salt has a pyramidal shape, and its crystals are large and course. It’s sprinkled boldly across the surface of the caramel, transporting us to the sweet air of it's Mediterranean roots.

Hiwa Kai – Large, course, and distinctly charcoal-hued, this beautiful Hawaiian salt is sprinkled breezily across the length of the caramel.

Alaea – This course grained red salt is a traditional Hawaiian sea salt. Enriched with reddish Hawaiian clay (‘Alae), this bold salt provides an Aloha experience with every bite as it hulas the length of the chocolate.

Fleur De Sel – Acknowledged by many chefs as the best finishing salt in the world. With its mild flavor and crisp texture, this French salt graces the center of caramels in a soft cluster.

Himalayan – This pure, hand-mined salt found deep inside the pristine Himalayan Mountains. It’s marked by the soft pink, course salt scattered lightly over the caramels.

All our caramels are enrobed in dark chocolate and accented with a sprinkle of these remarkable salts. The salts are all available from gourmet sea salt company SaltWorks of Woodinville, Washington.

We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions on this exciting new line.

Pebble Beach Food & Wine

Hey there! Chad here. Scott asked me to do a little report and recap on our time at the first ever Pebble Beach Food & Wine, and gosh is there a lot to tell. For those of you that weren’t able to make it to the event, it was pretty impressive, and you should make a point to visit next year. The whole team did an incredible job putting things together, and it is sure to become another must-attend event on the Peninsula.

We began the weekend with an invitation to provide a tasty treat for the VIPs at the after party on the first evening. The opening festivities were showcased by the amazing Inn at Spanish Bay. Several of the other sponsors (Patron, Tommy Bahama Rum, & Lexus) helped to make the entire party something to remember – and not just because of the breeze in the air.

We were featured right at the bottom of the stairs as guests arrived. Vases were filled with chocolate to create a decadent feeling of luxury, and with the assortment of chocolates provided, we made sure that no one went away unsatisfied. Gail Simmons of Food & Wine Magazine and Bravo’s Top Chef even stopped by for a taste. The hit of the night (the whole event really) was the tasting of our new sea salt caramel collection. More will be written about all the amazing flavors, but for now let’s just leave it that they are all beyond incredible.

Next up was working the Lexus Grand Tasting on Saturday and Sunday. That kept us busy. We were featured in the 30,000+ sq ft. tent that was constructed on Pebble Beach’s Equestrian Center. There were over 200 wineries and 20 celebrity chefs, and no wonder – there were 2,000+ people scheduled to attend.

Being placed up on the VIP stage in the back tent was a mixed bag of gift/concern. On one hand we were able to really target-market our product, but at the same time we weren’t able to get the exposure we might have had elsewhere. Either way, it seemed like we made a splash created lots of talk and enjoyment.

Also adding a nice compliment to the Grand Tasting: we supplied the valets with 4-piece boxes so that any Lexus driver would get a bonus – not a bad perk for arriving in luxury.

Thanks to all the folks at Pebble Beach Food & Wine for including us in this unbelievable event, and to the staff at Pebble Beach for all their help. We look forward to participating again next year and seeing where things lead.

My Very First Blog

Q. Why does one start a blog? For me, this blog will capture a fresh perspective as I interact with current friends and future friends who share my passion for chocolate. Our website, http://www.lulas.com/ doesn’t provide me with the feedback and dialog that I would really like to have.

For example, the website is mainly about marketing and sales, with a little information and fun mixed in. My hope is that the blog will bring about shared experiences, stories and some education in the world of chocolate. Another benefit of this blog is the informality in conversation it brings—I can use my “blog” voice.

Best of all, this blog will allow me to receive questions from you. It is your opportunity to get answers to anything you might wonder about my sweet life in the chocolate industry. Feel free to ask as many questions as you would like. Lula’s has very few secret recipes, so ask away.

Let me start with the most frequently asked question—“Who is Lula?” Lula was my grandmother. She was an amazing woman with charm, wit and a great work ethic. Her candy kitchen in Utah was spotless. I remember her saying, “if someone finds a bug in my kitchen, I’ll eat it.” She never did, and the Lula’s Chocolate factory would make her proud. We use her recipes and believe in her ideals. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right!” The Lula’s Story is a great one and I invite everyone to read it when you go to the website.

I look forward to telling you about our recent experiences at Pebble Beach Food &Wine which we attended last weekend. It was fabulous! I will put a teaser out there for you…can you say “Lime Fresco?” If you haven’t tried this new Sea Salt Caramel, you are missing a party in your mouth.

The buzz about Lula’s Chocolates is making its way around. We have come so far, but we are striving for more. Ilovelulas.blogspot.com is just another step in that direction. I look forward to your visits, chats, chocolate confessions and more.