(Dallas) July 31, 2012 – Dallas By Chocolate presents the “Taste of Opportunity” Chocolate Tour from 1 to 4:15 p.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012. It’s a chance to taste the best of Dallas’ chocolate and help out at-risk youth at the same time.
A portion of each ticket will benefit Café Momentum, the Dallas-based restaurant and culinary training facility within the Dallas County Youth Village that transforms and equips at-risk juvenile offenders with life skills, education, and employment opportunities in restaurants to help them achieve their full potential. These are non-violent, adjudicated young men, aged 13-17, who get a chance to train with real chefs, as they participate in an actual restaurant concept called Cafe Momentum. They learn how to prep, cook, plate and serve their dishes, and graduate to paid positions at Cafe Momentum’s monthly pop-up dinners and, eventually, the restaurant.
This concept was developed by Chad Houser and Janice Provost of Parigi to complement the ongoing programs of the Youth Village Resources of Dallas. Learn more about the program at cafemomentum.org.
Chad and Janice are very excited that this chocolate tour can help keep these youth off the streets and making a productive living in the culinary arts field.
Tour tickets are $35 plus tax per person and seats are limited to 25 persons.
The tour includes visits to 4 chocolate-related venues, with abundant samples at each. We will travel via bus and serve chilled wine and water onboard (only those 21 and over may drink wine). You will also learn about the history of chocolate, interesting facts about chocolate, play chocolate trivia for chocolate prizes, and learn about Dallas landmarks and great places to eat chocolate and other foods in Dallas.
RESERVE SEATS NOW AT dallasbychocolate.com.
About Dallas by Chocolate
Dallas by Chocolate and Dallas Bites! taste tours are focused on finding the finest desserts, chocolate creations, wines, baked goods, savory foods and gourmet foods in the Dallas area. We learn how local artisanal chocolatiers and those with businesses related to chocolate (i.e. restaurants, cheese makers, cookie makers, wine merchants, bakeries, etc.)—as well as savory foods purveyors—create their specialties and the philosophies behind what they do.
Our unique taste tours are typically held from 1-4:15 p.m. on weekends and weekdays. We visit up to 4 chocolate-related or savory locations (on savory tours), depending on the tour. We typically have 17-24 guests on our tours riding in our private bus, and have a food writer or expert along. Typically, Steven Doyle (cravedfw.com) and Jeanine Stevens are your guides.
Most of our tours sell out quickly and have long waiting lists, because so many people want to taste chocolate, wine and other specialty foods! We plan to expand our tour offerings to also include tours with savory offerings, such as gourmet cheeses, bbq, cocktails, pizza and other gourmet foods (these tours will be under the “Dallas Bites” umbrella).
During a typical stop on the tour, the representative from an establishment talks to the group for 5-10 minutes about what sets their store apart. Then we taste some samples of signature specialties and give guests an opportunity to purchase these items. Some of our other participating venues: Eatzi’s, Central Market, Society Bakery, Zen Baking Company, Great One Cookie Company, Sublime Chocolate, Empire Baking Company, the Dark Chocolate Bakery, the Chocolate Angel and Dude, Sweet Chocolate. We have even been invited into chefs’ homes to do chocolate tastings, such as the Chocolate Glob, sampled at chef Janice Provost’s (of Parigi) home.
We typically travel in a private bus (large enough to hold 23-32 people). We are allowed by law to drink wine in the bus, so we do chocolate and wine pairings onboard. We also talk about the history of chocolate, various wine/cheese pairings, etc. and do trivia contests for chocolate-related prizes or gift certificates.
More information is available at www.dallasbychocolate.com. We have also been written up recently in the Dallas Business Journal , as well as the SheIsDallas blog, Dallas Child, Dallas Morning News, Blue Ribbon News, and the SMU Daily Campus.
Related YouTube video: youtube.com/watch?v=BZXJiMih154
For more information, call 972-442-6963.
Submitted by Jeanine Stevens, Dallas by Chocolate.
To submit your good news and events, email editor@BlueRibbonNews.com.
‘Taste of Opportunity’ Chocolate Tour helps at-risk youth added by Editor on
View all posts by Editor →