Tag Archives: Ashby Confections
Foodie Holiday Gift Guide 2020: Local gifts, part 3
Santa Cruz-themed gift assortment from The Local Box Shop. Photo courtesy of The Local Box Shop
Here is part three of my local foodie holiday gift guide – hope you’ll join me in supporting small businesses. I am mostly highlighting food-related gifts, but also mentioning a few non-food items. If you have something you’d like to suggest for a future installment of this guide, please email tara@santacruzfoodie.com.
Also see:
Note: past installments include events that have already taken place, but they also mention local businesses you can still support!
This Sunday is the second installment of the Westside Marketplace: Dec. 6, 11am-4pm.
The collaboration between Food Trucks A Go Go and the Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market is an outdoor market at the Old Wrigley Building Parking Lot, 2801 Mission Street. There is free admission and more than 35 Santa Cruz County-based vendors plus a range of food vendors. All vendors and attendees are required to wear face masks. Artisans selling products include Ashby Confections, Anuenue Juice California, Arose Teas, Bee Happy Today, and Freedom Touch Studios. See event page for full list of vendors. Food trucks will be Drunk Monkeys, Pana, Taquizas Gabriel, and Aunt LaLi’s ice cream. Beginning in February, there will be outdoor markets at this location the 1st Sunday of every month.
Bee Happy Today, one of Sunday’s vendors, also offers products through “goods4goodmarket,” an online marketplace that local resident Jill Potts recently launched to showcase “gifts that give back.” She features sustainable and socially impactful businesses like Maggie’s Organics, which is donating 10 percent of sales to The Center for Biological Diversity to help protect endangered species; and Bee Happy Today, which is donating a portion of proceeds to benefit Santa Cruz Bee Company. Visit goods4goodmarket.com.
The Local Box Shop offers hand-curated, locally sourced gift boxes including ones featuring items from women-owned Santa Cruz County food businesses like Ashby Confections and Friend in Cheeses Jam Co. Each also has soap from nonprofit Homeless Garden Project. Normally there are two sizes, small and large, but the small SC-themed box has sold out for the season. You can buy the large one here. The Local Box Shop also offer a variety of gift boxes sourced from artisans around the greater Bay Area. Company founder Molly Shane started the business earlier this year, partly to help support many “small businesses, artists and makers struggling to stay afloat in our Bay Area community.” She supports more than 25 small businesses, many of which are women-owned, black-owned, immigrant-owned, and POC-owned. thelocalboxshop.com
Speaking of Homeless Garden Project (HGP), their downtown boutique is open for your holiday shopping at 1338 Pacific Ave. As always, the shop has lots of appealing gifts handmade by trainees in HGP’s program. Food products include Lavender Shortbread Cookie Mix (organic ingredients, including lavender hand-picked from HGP’s farm), herb salts and other seasonings, strawberry lemonade pancake mix, and jam. You can shop online too. Income from gift sales helps provide job training and transitional employment for people who are homeless, and volunteer and educational opportunities for community members who want to learn about and practice sustainable agriculture and social justice. HGP’s job training program delivers an annual average of 90% success for graduates securing stable housing and employment.
Another gift idea: if you want to give someone a Hanukkah gift or early Xmas present: Dec. 12 is HGP’s next virtual “Sustain in Place: A Series of At-Home Tastings” event. Cultivating Growth with Seedfolks will feature readings from Paul Fleishman’s award-winning book Seedfolks, a story of “personal transformation and growth at a community garden.” Readers will include local renowned author Jonathan Franzen, our current and incoming Santa Cruz Mayors (Justin Cummings and Donna Meyers, respectively), and Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director Mike Ryan. There are a range of ticket packages including one that includes a gift bag with HGP’s cookie mix and jam plus a loaf of La Posta bread. Visit website for more info & tickets.
Mission Hill Creamery is holding its annual gift card sale. Through Dec. 24, the artisan ice cream shop is offering 20% off gift card purchases if you spend at least $25. Go to the shop’s gift card site to order. During checkout, you need to click “add a coupon code” and enter the code “20%OFF” to receive the discount. If you don’t want to order online, you can also order by phone and they can also ship the cards. 1101B Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, 831-508-0774, missionhillcreamery.com
Johnny’s Harborside is also running a gift card promotion. Buy a gift card for $50 or more and receive 20% back on a separate card. For example, buy a $50 card as a gift and get a free $10 card for yourself, spend $100, get a $20 card, etc. Call ahead for curbside pickup during business hours. 493 Lake Ave, Santa Cruz, 831-479-3430, johnnysharborside.com.
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Santa Cruz Foodie Holiday Gift Guide 2020: Local gifts, part 1
Photo courtesy of Baker’s Bacon.
It is holiday shopping season: with lots of local businesses struggling during the pandemic, I wanted to spread the word about as many as I can, especially for food-related gifts for foodies in your life. Let’s all shop local this year!
I’m going to publish a few articles as the weeks go on. I will be publishing about Santa Cruz County and nearby, including a few Monterey County businesses.
Rocky Road from Mamma Camps Creative Confections earned first place awards at the 2019 Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County Fairs. You can order this treat plus other confections like chocolate-covered cherry mice and family-sized chocolate peanut butter cups—all handmade by Jen Campagnolo—at her Etsy store @mammacamps or via her FB group (author’s note: when this was first published Jen was going to be at this weekend’s Holiday Sip & Shop Market at the Chaminade – more details below – but she is now unable to attend). The treats were first made by Jen’s grandmother; recipes were passed from her to Jen’s aunt and then to Jen, who has made slight adjustments to a few ingredients. Jen is a Live Oak local. I haven’t met Jen in person, but we are both elementary school parent volunteers and participated in the same Zoom call recently. One of the other attendees ordered some Rocky Road and gushed about how great it was last holiday season—that’s how I first learned that Jen is a talented candy-maker. Follow her on IG @mammacampschocolates.
Holiday Sip & Shop Market at the Chaminade: Saturday, Nov. 28, 1-5 p.m.
This open-air holiday market features local artisans with both food-related (like honey from Santa Cruz Bee Company) and non-food-related gifts (candles, jewelry, prints, and more, including skin care from Spa at Chaminade). Admission is complimentary for browsing and shopping, and there will be wine, cookies and small bites available for purchase. There are also two 90-minute fee-based classes if you’d like to learn to make a holiday wreath or centerpiece for yourself or to give as a gift. Tickets are limited in order to enforce social distancing; advance purchase is required through event site. Cost is $50 per class or both for $85 and $10 from each ticket benefits Second Harvest Food Bank. Chaminade Resort & Spa, One Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz, (831) 475-5600.
Also this weekend is the 7th Annual Santa Cruz Mountains Holiday Makers Market: Friday & Saturday, Nov. 27-28, 10am-4pm.
This year organizers are spreading the market out over two days to accommodate for social distancing. Masks are required for entry and a limited number of shoppers will be allowed in the building at one time. Admission is free. There are different artists and craftspeople featured each day, and it’s at Felton Community Hall (6191 Highway 9). Vendors will include Ashby Confections, Bee Happy Today, Big Paw Olive Oil, California Jam Queen, and Coastside Homegoods. Visit scmmakersmarket.com/scm-holiday-makers-market for full list (including who is there on each day) and more details.
Finally, if you have any bacon lovers you’re shopping for, here is some great news. Baker’s Bacon is a scrumptious, artisan product made by Monterey County chef Tony Baker. I have been a Tony Baker fan for a long time, having dined at Monterey’s Montrio Bistro back when he was executive chef. The England native launched his bacon company in 2011, and for many years he only sold to high-end restaurant chefs across the county. Now, he is selling bacon to consumers through his website bakersbacon.com and through his retail shop in Marina. There are subscription options and gift boxes perfect for the holidays.
Baker’s Bacon is offered in two styles, British-style Uncured Back Bacon and Dry-Cured Double-Smoked Bacon. It’s made in small batches at a California smokehouse with sustainably raised heritage breed pork (the pigs are from family-owned Iowa farms). I had the pleasure of receiving complimentary samples, and I can say with confidence this is high-quality, delicious bacon.
Gift boxes, with three bacon packages, are $42 plus shipping (anywhere in the country). Subscription boxes, with eight bacon packages, are $95 including shipping (for these, states are limited). If you decide to shop at the Marina retail location (445 Reservation Rd. Suite G, 831-250-0606, weekdays only), note that they also carry products like Santa Cruz County’s Rogue Pyes (frozen) and packaged dinner kits like “everything you need to make pasta Alfredo with bacon.”
Please email tara@santacruzfoodie.com if you have information to share, or corrections, for future articles.
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Special Mother’s Day chocolate gifts: Recchiuti Confections, Ashby Confections
Mother’s Day Truffle Collection.
Photo Credit: Recchiuti Confections
Fancy, delicious chocolate is a perfect Mother’s Day gift—San Francisco-based Recchiuti Confections and Scotts Valley-based Ashby Confections have many offerings to choose from.
Recchiuti Confections
Recchiuti Confections handcrafts their recipes in small batches using traditional European techniques. They blend chocolate from Guittard, El Rey, and Valrhona to create “signature flavor profiles.” Store locations are One Ferry Building, Shop #30 (415-834-9494, and 801 22nd St. (415-834-9494). Here are a couple current selections; there are lots more options on the web site including items for fruit- and or nut-lovers, and a “sauce duo” with flavors Extra-Bitter Chocolate and Burnt Caramel. Visit recchiuti.com for details or to order online.
- Mother’s Day Truffle Collection: this is a best-selling truffle assortment available both in store and online. The 8-piece collection ($26) holds one piece each of Kona Coffee, Sesame Nougat, Rose Caramel, Piedmont Hazelnut, Ginger Heart, Bergamot Tea, Burnt Caramel, and Candied Orange Peel. The Burnt Caramel piece is topped with a sweet Mother and baby bird design. I had the opportunity to receive a complimentary sample of these truffles; they were unique and wonderful. The Kona Coffee was my favorite, so rich!
- Sharing Gift Box (just under 2 pounds, $110): If you want to give Mom a gift that she might share with you, try the aptly named “Sharing Gift Box.” It includes a Sepia Truffle Box, Fleur de Sel Caramels, Cacao Nib + Fleur de Sel Mendiants, Malted Dark Milk Revolutions, Dragée Sampler, Dark Milk Bar, Semisweet Bar, and Bittersweet Bar. This is only available online.
Ashby Confections
Jennifer Ashby makes her Ashby Confections treats from scratch, in small batches. Everything is 100 percent handmade. Ashby exclusively uses locally sourced organic chocolate from Guittard and White Label Chocolate, and Clover Organic dairy products. Fruits, herbs and spices are fresh, organic and sourced locally whenever possible. Her store is at 16C Victor Square, Scotts Valley, 831-454-8299. Here are a couple current selections; there are many more options such as sea salt caramels, sour fruit strips and pates de fruits (fruit jellies). All of Ashby’s fruit confections are made with only five ingredients. Visit ashbyconfections.com for details or to order online.
- Assorted Chocolate Boxes ($13.99-$63.99): Four-piece assortments are available in choice of milk or dark chocolate. The five, 10- and 25-piece collections are a combination of milk and dark.
- Tortoises ($8.99): There are seven varieties (including choice of milk or dark chocolate, and additions like Monterey Bay Sea Salt) and this is one of Ashby’s most popular products. They come in pairs, and are all made with roasted pecans, and their original handmade caramel recipe.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Valentine’s Day gifts & activities from Santa Cruz chocolatiers, Gilroy Premium Outlets
Mutari Craft Chocolate House on Pacific Ave.
Photo credit: Mutari Facebook page
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching—here are some shopping ideas if you’re a chocolate lover in Santa Cruz or you’re considering a trip to Gilroy Premium Outlets.
Santa Cruz Chocolatiers
Santa Cruz County residents are very lucky; we have a variety of talented local chocolatiers. Some highlights, in alphabetical order:
Ashby Confections, 16 Victor Square, Scotts Valley
Donnelly Fine Chocolates, 1509 Mission St., Santa Cruz
Mackenzies Chocolate, 1492 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz
Mutari Chocolate (specializes in single origin craft drinking chocolate, it’s featuring housemade bon bons for Valentine’s shopping) – two locations: 1108 Pacific Ave., next door to Assembly, and 504A Front St. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Front St. location — usually open weekends only — is going to be open Wednesday 2/14 from noon to 9 p.m.
Gilroy Outlets
If you haven’t made restaurant reservations yet, there aren’t many left—how about staying home with your significant other or gathering a group of friends for some Valentine’s Day fun? Host a stay at home date or girls’ night with goods from Le Creuset or Kitchen Collection for accessories and tools to whip up a festive dinner party. Both have shops at the Gilroy Outlets.
Want to buy a sweet Valentine’s gift, either for yourself or someone else (whether it be a romantic partner, a co-worker, family member or friend)? You can find raspberry hearts, “conversation beans,” sour “smoochi” lips, Valentine’s Day gift boxes and more at the Jelly Belly store.
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Feast for foodies & beer/wine lovers for cancer research
The 2017 Gourmet Grazing festival is October 7.
The 14th annual Gourmet Grazing on the Green—Saturday, Oct. 7 at Aptos Village Park—features more than 75 vendors including local restaurants, caterers, wineries, breweries, and spirits distilleries. Proceeds benefit the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG).
The event is from noon to 4 p.m. Buy $65 tickets at New Leaf Community Markets (downtown, Westside or Capitola locations) or online or pay $70 at the door if it’s not sold out. Adult admission includes food, drinks and a souvenir wineglass. Kids 10 and under are free; kids ages 10-20 are $35.
Participating food, drink & other vendors include:
Alfaro Family Vineyards
Armitage Wines
Bargetto
Bonny Doon
Burrell School Vineyards
Café Rio
Cantine Winepub
Comanche Cellars
Corralitos Brewing
Dustbowl Brewery
East Side Eatery
Efi’s Dutch-Indo Kitchen
Ella’s at the Airport
Fresh Prep Kitchen
Hollins House
Hula’s Island Grill
Integrity Wines
Kathryn Kennedy
Kings Mountain Vineyards
Krazy Farm Cider
Loma Prieta
Malone’s Grille
MJA Winery
Muccigrosso Vineyards
Muns Vineyards
New Bohemia Brewing Co
New Leaf Community Markets
Odonata Wines
Pelican Ranch
Real Good Fish
Roudon-Smith
Santa Cruz Fish Co
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Seabright Brewery
Scheid Family Wines
Shadowbrook Restaurant
Solaire Restaurant & Bar
Something to Taste
Soquel Cider
Storrs
Surf City Sandwich
The Crow’s Nest Restaurant
The Turkey Boat
Venus Spirits
Via Vega
Villa del Monte Winery
Whole Enchilada
Wrights Station Vineyards
Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine
Ashby Confections
Cinnamon Bay
Cowgirl Creamery
Fran Battendieri Jewelry
Friend In Cheeses
Goose Organics
Hive And Hum
K Deznyz Jewelry
La Vie Wellness
Notso Hot Sauce
Pacific Coffee Roasting
Pure Valley Water
Redwood Hill Farm
Sandbar Solar
Santa Cruz Fish Co
Skyros Ceramics
Smart Chicken
Sunridge Farms
Tomales Bay Foods
Proceeds from SCCBG’s events benefit these local cancer support and research organizations: Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Association, Katz Cancer Resource Center, researchers from UC Santa Cruz, the Teen Kitchen Project, and WomenCARE Cancer Advocacy.
For over 20 years, the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for people living with cancer in the Santa Cruz community, by raising money to support beneficiary organizations and fund new research that will provide possible cures and better solutions for treating cancer. They have raised more than $22 million since 1995.
For more information on the event, see sccbg.org. Parking is limited at Aptos Village Park. There is free shuttle service every 15 minutes from Cabrillo College, where people can park for free.
Aptos Village Park: 100 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos
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Food, wine and beer at 2016 Grazing on the Green benefiting cancer research
The 13th annual Gourmet Grazing on the Green—Saturday, Sept. 24 at Aptos Village Park, features 70-plus vendors including local restaurants and caterers, other food businesses, and local wineries, breweries, and spirits distilleries. Proceeds benefit the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG).
The event is from noon to 4 p.m. Buy $65 tickets at New Leaf Community Markets (downtown, Westside or Capitola locations) or online http://sccbg.org or it will be $70 at the door if it’s not sold out. If you have a group of 10, you can get tickets for $60 each. Adult admission includes food, drinks and a souvenir wineglass. Kids 10 and under are free; kids ages 10-20 are $35.
Participating restaurants, farms, and food vendors for 2016 include The Crow’s Nest, Café Cruz, Café Rio, Real Good Fish, Niman Ranch, SunRidge Farms, Ashby Confections, Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine, Cremer House, Ella’s at the Airport, Surf City Sandwich, Hula’s, Hollins House and Sid’s Smokehouse.
Participating wineries, breweries and distilleries include Alfaro Family Vineyards and Winery, Beauregard Vineyards, Hallcrest Vineyards, Kathryn Kennedy Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Sones Cellars, Wargin Wines, Wrights Station Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Discretion Brewing, Seabright Brewery, New Bohemia Brewing Co. and Venus Spirits.
Proceeds from SCCBG’s events benefit these local cancer support and research organizations: Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Association, Katz Cancer Resource Center, researchers from UC Santa Cruz, the Teen Kitchen Project, and WomenCARE Cancer Advocacy.
For more information on the event, see www.sccbg.org.
There is free shuttle service every 15 minutes from Cabrillo College; parking is also free.
Aptos Village Park: 100 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos
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Santa Cruz restaurant news highlights, Part 2 of 2
Savory hand pies at Buttercup Cakes & Farmhouse Frosting
Here is some restaurant news for Santa Cruz — I published Part 1 of this two-part series a few days ago.
Openings
Buttercup Cakes & Farmhouse Frosting opened its new spot about 2 weeks ago, moving to Pacific Ave. (former Noah’s Bagels site) from around the corner on Locust. It’s got so many changes that it’s basically a brand-new place! Don’t worry: the amazing cupcakes, regular or mini-size ($4 or $2), are still available in flavors including signature Triple Orange (Earl Grey frosting on blood orange cake). Now you can order espresso from Lulu’s to accompany the sweet treats. New food items include granola with yogurt or milk ($5), spicy corn muffins with paprika garlic cream cheese, gluten-free vegan “miracle muffins” (ingredients include coconut and almond flour), and vegan scones (like lemon cherry; ingredients include coconut oil). There are savory and sweet “handpies” (mini $2, regular $5) with rotating flavors like potato-egg-cheddar or The Greek (feta, spinach, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts). Rotating soup varieties include chipotle corn chowder ($4/bowl). Current hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun-Thurs, and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri-Sat. In the future, hours will expand to 8am-9pm daily.
Location: 1411 Pacific Ave., (831) 466-0373.
Ashby Confections now has a second storefront—it’s keeping the Victor Square store in Scotts Valley, and is now offering lots of goodies—including selected handmade chocolates and caramels—at the Santa Cruz Food Lounge (it took over the space formerly occupied by Mutari; for more on Mutari, see “Changes” section below). Just today Ashby announced a new, freshly made ganache “made with Askinosie Chocolate dark milk chocolate made with single origin Filipino cacao with a touch of goat milk powder and sea salt.” They are serving lots of hot chocolates including “European style” and traditional South American-style drinking chocolates made by local company CACOCO. They also offer fresh honey marshmallows and vanilla bean whipped cream. Hmmm, and there is rain in the forecast the next few days…sounds like a good combination! In the future, Ashby will have a variety of chocolate milks and frozen desserts available at the Lounge. Current hours are Wed-Sun noon to 8 p.m. Location: 1001 Center St.
Opening Soon
Café Iveta will be opening its second location soon, probably in late March: an expanded restaurant at UCSC. The original Westside location—2125 Delaware near Swift—will remain open (and thriving!). The new location will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It will feature a full espresso bar and sustainable coffee, plus craft beer and wine. Campus hours will be 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon-Fri and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. Location: Graduate Student Commons (across from the Bay Tree Bookstore), UCSC, 1156 High St.
Changes
The Santa Cruz Food Lounge is now open 5 to 9 p.m. Wed-Sat with a full bar serving local wine, beer, cider, and artisan spirits. There will be special guest bartenders on occasion; this Saturday, March 5 features Tabitha Stroup (owner of Friend in Cheeses Jam Company) who will be “slinging original cocktails incorporating her delicious locally made jams” according to Food Lounge owner Andrea Mollenauer. On March 5 customers can also purchase food from Tanglewood…if you haven’t tried this yet, I highly recommend it. I tried Tanglewood chef Rachel Hughes’ meatballs at the last Artisan Market and they were delicious. Hughes is a former Ty’s Eatery sous chef. Tanglewood will be serving food at the Food Lounge bar regularly (except at the times other local chefs are doing popup dinners). Location: 1001 Center St.
Ty’s Eatery, which used to do a weekly pop-up Sunday brunch at the Food Lounge, is no longer a regular participant. However, Ty still does catering; for details call him at (925) 451-7944.
Mutari Hot Chocolate is no longer at the Food Lounge. Owners Adam and Matt Armstrong closed that location at the end of 2015, and sold the business to Katy Oursler and Stephen Beaumier. Mutari fans can still buy products online, and Oursler and Beaumier are hosting occasional popup cafés at Front Street Kitchen (504A Front St.). The next one is Friday, March 4, 5 to 9 p.m.
LionFish SupperClub has big news. It has discontinued the weekly Tuesday popup gig at the Food Lounge. LionFish is now offering dinner service every Wednesday through Saturday at nightclub MOTIV’s upstairs bar/kitchen (formerly known as Pearl Alley Bistro). Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Wed-Thurs and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fri-Sat. The grand opening celebration and Santa Cruz Chamber ribbon cutting is Friday, March 4, beginning at 5:30 p.m. LionFish will continue to hold occasional special events such as dinners (at various venues) and private culinary events. Location: 1209 Pacific Ave./110 Pearl Alley.
Follow me on Twitter @santacruzfoodie. Have food/restaurant/wine/culinary event news to share? Write me at tfatemi@gmail.com.
Santa Cruz chocolate festival has sweet cause
Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting at the 2015 Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival
The 9th annual Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival is Sunday, January 17, and there will be delicious sweets with a delicious cause: UC Santa Cruz scholarships. The event is from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Cocoanut Grove by the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
The Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival brings together about two dozen vendors. See complete list. Participants include local confectioners and bakers like Ashby Confections, Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting, and Pure Heart Chocolate; restaurants like India Joze; and companies like MÄKSĒ Gourmet Rice Crisp Bars, My Mom’s Mole, and Nut Kreations. Wineries include Burrell School Winery and Vineyard and Sones Cellars, and breweries include Highway 1 Brewing Company.
Each food vendor will have treats such as truffles, cupcakes, or ice cream available in exchange for a tasting ticket. Buy tasting tickets at the event (admission is free) or online. Each $15 purchase gets you six chocolate or wine tastes.
There will be live music and a silent auction. Attendees can enjoy activities like cupcake decorating ($4) and face painting (prices vary depending on artist). Select booths will sell chocolate products like Valentine-themed gift boxes.
The festival benefits re-entry student scholarships at UC Santa Cruz (for students returning to higher education after an extended absence, often students who are also parents or military veterans).
The UCSC Women’s Club, a nonprofit organization open to women from both the campus and local communities, presents the chocolate festival. The club has meetings throughout the year (except for the summer) with engaging speakers, and also hosts interest groups including book clubs. In the last 37 years the club has awarded over 340 scholarships totaling nearly $250,000 to deserving women and men for research activities, tuition and childcare.
The Details
Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival
Cocoanut Grove, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz
Sunday, January 17, 2016 from 1-4pm
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Santa Cruz’s Food Lounge: three upcoming events
Chocolates from Ashby Confections, one of the vendors at Food Lounge’s Artisan Market
Santa Cruz’s Food Lounge at 1001 Center St. is hosting many upcoming events in the near future. Here are details for three in the next week; the dates are Jan. 8, Jan. 12 and Jan. 15.
Friday, Jan 8: Food Lounge’s Artisan Food Market
From 4-8 p.m., the Food Lounge is the site of the Artisan Food Market, described as ‘farmers market meets cocktail hour.’ There will be several local food artisans and pop-up vendors, with an emphasis on prepared foods this time (lots of opportunities for purchasing food to eat on-site or to take home). There will also be local wine and beer, and cocktails—and the Food Lounge has announced that later in January, they will be adding artisan cocktails to the regular bar menu. Vendors will include longtime market participant Ashby Confections, Zocalo Gourmet Tamales, LionFish SupperClub, My Mom’s Mole, Ocean2Table Sustainable Seafood, Hand Made Meat Pies, and Hidden Fortress Farm (locally roasted coffee, hot drinks, and more). The band Wild Iris will perform. The Artisan Market series, which began last June, is held the second Friday of each month.
Tuesday, Jan 12: LionFish SupperClub’s Ramen Popup
From 5-9 p.m., LionFish SupperClub is hosting its first Tasty Tuesday of 2016. This one will focus on ramen. They promise three different ramen choices plus some side dishes and dessert. Traditionally, LionFish creates dishes for a popup every Tuesday night. They often rotate cuisines on a monthly. In 2015, customers got to visit places like India and Thailand through their delicious menus.
Friday, Jan 15: Ocean2table’s Pescetarian Popup
From 5:30-8:30 p.m., Ocean2table is holding a “Pescetarian” Popup dinner with a la carte items available for purchase. The main ingredients will be sourced from no further away than 50 miles from Santa Cruz. Their partners for the dinner are Fogline Farm, Lionfish SupperClub, and Crescent Farm. Charlie Lambert and Ian Cole started Santa Cruz-based Ocean2table as a company that provides sustainably harvested fresh seafood to the local community. Last April they launched a popup dinner series with the goal of encouraging community support for local, sustainable food.
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Ashby Confections in Scotts Valley: First-class sweets for Valentine’s Day & beyond
Chocolates at Ashby Confections
Whether you have treats to buy for Valentine’s Day, or just want to treat yourself or someone else, Ashby Confections in Scotts Valley is a must-visit stop!
Valentine’s Day goodies include a five-piece set of heart-shaped chocolates that are each handmade and decorated. It features a Honey Truffle, Liquid Toffee, 70% Dark Chocolate Truffle, Earl Grey Tea Truffle and a Mocha Truffle. Also, there are four-piece Valentine’s-themed sets: Aphrodisiac Truffles with either a “calming and relaxing blend” (herbs include Kava Kava) or “stimulating and invigorating” blend (includes Siberian Ginseng). Or you can create your own gift with chocolates such as Monterey Bay Sea Salt Caramels or Ceylon Cinnamon Ginger Creams.
In December 2013, chocolatier Jennifer Ashby opened the chocolate shop Ashby Confections in Scotts Valley, at 16C Victor Square. Have you visited yet? It’s chock full of tasty, award-winning chocolate made by a fabulous local artisan. This talented confectioner has lots of fans–ones like Chaminade Resort & Spa (they are utilizing her sweets in a special “An Affair to Remember” romance package this month), her many online customers (order at ashbyconfections.com), and people that pick up Ashby treats when they’re grocery shopping at retailers such as New Leaf Community Markets, Shopper’s Corner, and Staff of Life.
I first became an Ashby Confections fan after tasting the amazing chocolate at the 2011 Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival—they are a longtime participant of this festival that benefits UCSC re-entry students. At the January 2015 Chocolate Festival, the company received several awards: Best Truffle, Best Caramel, Most Unique Use of Chocolate, and Best in Show.
Ashby, a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and the Culinary Institute of America, formed her chocolate company in 2004. Before opening the SV store, Ashby made and sold her creations at Heather’s Patisserie in Aptos.
Jennifer and her staff make everything at the shop by hand using fresh, local, organic ingredients whenever possible. All of the chocolate is either fair trade or direct trade, and some of it is organic as well. She regularly uses locally sourced ingredients, including ones from Route One Farms.
One chocolate she uses a lot these days is Askinosie, which is produced in Missouri by Shawn Askinosie and his team. It’s a relatively new addition to Asbhy’s confections. “It’s is single origin and sourced for either Tanzania, Ecuador, Honduras or the Philippines,” says Ashby. “We are using the chocolate from Ecuador beans in our confections now, she adds. “We also are blending our own milk chocolate in house now using the dark Ecuadorian chocolate.” Ashby is proud to be using this chocolate. “Shawn does direct trade with the farmers, and does profit sharing with them as well as numerous things to help the community that these beans come from, like building water wells.” The flavor is complex, and the texture is smooth. “The aftertaste is so pleasant. Using his chocolate has definitely made my confections better,” says Ashby.
She has recently created several new products such as Coco Tortoise, which has caramel on toasted coconut with either milk or dark chocolate; Rosewater Marshmallows; and Dark Chocolate Truffles made with local honey. She is also coming out soon with a line of chocolate bars made with organic California olive oil and “other foods and spices that promote a healthy lifestyle, such as turmeric.”
In case anyone needs suggestions for a chocolate to try, the most popular items at the shop right now are Ghost Pepper Caramels. Ashby describes them as “pleasantly spicy with the amount of ‘kick’ that is found in medium-hot salsa…a delicious menagerie of sweet, spicy, salty and chocolatey.” Another customer favorite is Rocky Road. But I’m sure whatever you try, you’ll enjoy. Bon Appetit! Follow me on Twitter @santacruzfoodie.
Store location: 16C Victor Square, Scotts Valley, 831-454-8299
Store hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue-Sat, Noon-6 p.m. Sun
Web site: ashbyconfections.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ashbyconfections