Candy parties...I need advice

Background: I make fabulous chocolate truffles with liquor-based fillings. A year or two ago I was looking into making a business out of this passion, but circumstances led me to abandon that dream.

Today: a friend in advertising asked if I'd be willing to conduct a dipping party for some clients of hers, whereby I'd facilitate the dipping into chocolates of a variety of items (think apricots, pretzels, strawberries etc.), along with jimmies and crushed hard toffee and other things to sprinkle onto the melted chocolate-covered stuff. My friend's agency would provide the space to do this (a conference room) as well as containers for participants to bring home their goodies.

My job would be getting to this non-kitchen space, melting down the chocolates, providing instruction and setting up all the dippers, tongs, wax paper for setting, etc.

I'm tremendously excited about the opportunity and know I can do this (and maybe even make a little money at it!) and do it well. My questions for you professionals are mainly about supplies and provisions etc.

Is there a restaurant supply shop around (I was very familiar with Edward Don but that's gone) that sells to the public? I'm thinking of using fondue or ceramic pots with sternos since there won't be stove or microwave access, but I'd like it to look nice and have some bases on which to set the pots over the heat. Wax paper in bulk...I can cut the sheets myself, but I'd like to buy it cheap. What about personalized placemats? I think people will not want to get super messy so having some disposables would be helpful.

Finally, and I'm almost afraid to ask since I know what I would respond LOL but how horrible would it be to use candy melting discs? I dont' think anyone is looking for a gourmet experience with this (all the stuff I make is 100% natural, real chocolate, real vanilla, real butter etc.), just the fun of dipping and seeing the finished product. Tempering chocolate is certainly manageable under optimal conditions but with a foundu pot or other "portable" options, chocolate could go out of temper very easily, leading to streaks and other not-attractive things. Remember most if not all of the participants would not be foodies, just regular folks who would NEVER think to do this themselves at home.

I'm sincerely interested in anyone's thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc. I know if it goes well there's a real opportunity to do this sort of thing for my friend's colleagues and their clients.

Thanks,
Sue

Hi there,

I would recommend looking as professional as possible - lay the items out on large sheet pans with parchment paper, dress nicely, etc. In terms of a wholesale restaurant supply, I'd recommend using a search engine such as google, or ask a bakery or cafe owner. I think personalized placemats may be going a bit overboard (after all, they're taking them home, not eating them there), but maybe abels for your dipping and sprinkling items, especially if you decide to use some more exotic food items (quince, goji berries). Source out something fun - introduce some new experiences for your guests! (and jimmies are awfully artificial, look around for some other topping ideas such as roasted nuts, candied nuts, cocoa powder, maple sugar, raw sugar, fleur de sel, chopped coffee beans). In terms of candy melting discs, I would advise against it, as it would detract from the pure taste of the dipping items. I would even suggest using melted, un-tempered chocolate over the discs. Sure, you sacrifice some in texture and you're risking streaks, but the taste difference would be worth it.

Good luck!