Chocolate Adventure Recipe Contest, $5,000 Grand Prize

"CHOCOLATE ADVENTURE CONTEST" SEEKS INNOVATIVE RECIPES


Explore your dark side with the second annual Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and TuttiFoodie.com "Chocolate Adventure Contest." The contest calls for amateur and professional chefs alike to submit their most ingenious recipes in three categories: Sweet, Savory and Beverage. One grand prize winner in each category will win $5,000 and other prizes.

To be eligible, entries must call for Scharffen Berger chocolate along with at least one "adventure ingredient" from the following list: popping candy (unflavored or flavored), wattleseed, palm sugar, basil, mustard seeds, coriander, black sesame seeds, black or pink peppercorns, chili pepper (fresh or whole dried), coconut milk, kaffir lime leaf, matcha tea, mango, plantain, jicama, tapioca pearls (any size), tamarind (or tamarind paste), and/or cacao nibs.

Entries will be judged by a panel of celebrated chocolate experts, including cookbook authors Alice Medrich and Elizabeth Falkner, John Scharffenberger and TuttiFoodie.com's Lisa Schiffman. Judging criteria include originality and creativity; taste; and ease of preparation.

The contest asks chocolate-lovers to think about chocolate in new and exciting ways. "When we started Scharffen Berger we were the first ones in the U.S. to focus on bringing out the intrinsic flavors of cacao in our chocolate, and the first to highlight the importance of cacao by featuring its percentage on our label," says John Scharffenberger, co-founder. "Our goal was to enhance the way Americans thought about chocolate. We're looking for that same forward-looking spirit in this recipe contest."

"The contest is the first artisan chocolate contest in the country, "said Lisa Schiffman, founder of TuttiFoodie.com and contest director. "And the first one to involve the kind of exotic ingredients that spark the adventurous cook's imagination."


Winning recipes in the 2007 Chocolate Adventure contest included Scharffen Berger� Chocolate Wasabi Pom-Poms, made with pomegranate seeds coated in bittersweet chocolate and dusted with cocoa-wasabi powder; chai-spiced Dark Chocolate-Caramel Calzone featuring semi-sweet chocolate, soft caramel candy, cardamom and coriander; and Grapefruit Madeleines with Rosemary-Infused Chocolate Drizzle.


The Chocolate Adventure contest will accept entries from October 1, 2008 through January 4, 2009 and is open to U.S. residents at least 18 years old. To enter online, and to view complete contest rules, visit www.chocolateadventurecontest.com. Entry forms and contest rules are also available by mail by writing to Chocolate Adventure Recipe Contest, c/o TuttiFoodie, 1714 Franklin Street #100-280, Oakland California 94612-3409. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by January 4, 2009 and received by January 15, 2009. Winners will be announced towards the end of February, 2009.

About Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker was established in 1996 in San Francisco, California, and first earned national recognition for its artisan-quality chocolate in 1998. Producing bean to bar premium chocolates, Scharffen Berger is one of the world's finest chocolate makers. All Scharffen Berger chocolate is composed of proprietary bean blends from up to nine different cacao-growing regions throughout the world. Manufactured in small batches in Berkeley, Calif., Scharffen Berger chocolate has received recognition throughout the U.S.

Scharffen Berger products are sold by retailers nationwide as well as Scharffen Berger's own retail locations in San Francisco, Berkeley and New York City, and through its website www.scharffenberger.com. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mak