Thank you and Happy New Year!

Christmas was a lot of work but a lot of fun. The new kitchen is working out beautifully. Pat from Cravings Specialty Bakery and I worked side by side - her making mountains of gingerbread men and delicious holiday baked goods and me turning out a few thousand assorted chocolates. A few days before Christmas we stood there and looked at each other, blurry eyed and ready for some rest but very very happy to be busy this holiday season.

All I have to say to that is THANK YOU!

Today is Tuesday the 29th of December. I just finished out my year with a very fun project. I had the pleasure of meeting a talented Maui based bathing suit designer at a friend's house on Thanksgiving. Lisa Letarte Cabrinha and I sat next to one another at dinner and chatted about our lives, our work, our families. WELL, I went to her site the next day and was completely wowed by the gorgeous line of swimwear, cover ups and other resort wear she designs and sells around the country. I went down to her store in Paia and had a look and her things are even more beautiful in person. I was truly impressed.

But it only gets sweeter! I had a call from her with an order for my lilikoi creme chocolates to be included in her trunk show this week in Wailea at the Four Season's Hotel. I found little 2 piece boxes in her company's color - light blue and dark brown ribbon to complete a custom look for her. After the long hours filling holiday orders this was like Zen meditation to spend a day making and packaging chocolates for this event. I'm grateful to be a part of it and hope her guests enjoy eating the chocolates as much as I enjoyed making them.

If you have a chance, take a look at her website http://www.letarteswimwear.com/

Starting next month my blog will focus primarily on how chocolate is produced from the field and the cacao trees to the truffles you enjoy. I'll include photos and recipes and, hopefully, at some point there will be some short instructional videos posted on this blog.

And, if you are wanting to order chocolates this month, I have a very nice assorted selection that will include my holiday flavors and a few surprises as I work on new flavors for 2010.