The judges' line-up . . .

As promised . . . here is some background information on our three celebrity judges:

1. Returning judge Tracy Thompson. Tracy is pastry chef who learned her trade by studying under her favorite chefs. For 15 years, she worked in various European cafes in Minneapolis. When she moved to Madison, WI, Tracy baked at Cafe Europa and Sun Porch. After three years of working in Madison, Tracy and her family opened Sjolind's Chocolate House in Mount Horeb. Believe me - - we're very glad she did!

2. Returning judge Marcus Candinas. Marcus is a Swiss trained confectioner! He learned his trade in a three-year apprenticeship program in Switzerland. This "passion for fine foods, and in particular for all things sweet, drove him to create his collection of chocolate mastery" (www.candinas.com). Today he owns the thriving business, "Candinas Chocolatier" located in Verona with a new location in Madison!

3. Newcomer David Bacco. David started his career in 1994 in Lexington, Kentucky. He began at a local restarant where he learned all areas of the kitchen, culinary and pastry skills, and the science of natural flavor combinations and palate tasting. David moved to Madison, WI in 1997. Since moving to Madison, David has worked at the Opera House as the Fish and Vegetarian chef, Elegant Edibles as a wedding cake decorator, The Madison Club where he was the Head Pstry Chef, and the Mediterranean Grill where he was also the Head Pastry Chef. In 2005, David helped open the new French Bistro, wine bar, and confectionary Cocoliquot. He has expanded his repertoire to elegant, fun French desserts and started his own line of choclates, DB Chocolats, which are now featured in the menu! David has formal training from the French Pastry School in Chicago, IL. He also has won numerous awards for his desserts and choclates. We are very excited to have him on board for this year's DBC!

Now announcing the judges!!!!!!

I am very excited to announce the judges for DBC 2008!!! The library is very happy to have returning veteran judges Marcus Candinas (Candinas Chocolates, Verona WI) and Tracy Thompson (Sjolind's Chocolate House, Mt. Horeb, WI) join us for the third annual DBC. Joining Marcus and Tracy is newcomer, David Bacco. David is the pastry chef and chocolatier at downtown Madison's Cocoliquot. Cocoliquot is known as "Madison's premier wine and chocolate destination serving French bistro and cuisine, housemade chocolates and desserts, and over 50 wines by the glass" (http://www.cocoliquot.com/).

Stay tuned for more information about our judges (i.e. more in depth biographies)!

2008 Death by Chocolate Bake-Off date has been determined!

Get ready for Mount Horeb Public Library's third annual Death by Chocolate Bake-Off!!

The date has been set for Saturday, February 16, 2008. Tasting commences promptly at 6:30 p.m.

Stay tuned for the latest news and updates!

Soon to be announced . . . this year's celebrity judges . . .

Announcing the winners of the 2007 Death by Chocolate Bake-Off, Mount Horeb Public Library

Here are the award winners from last Saturday’s Death by Chocolate Bake-Off at the Mount Horeb Public Library.

People’s Choice Award Winner
Blue Sky Café’s Chocolate Cookie, #CK1

Judges’ Choice Award Winner
Davina Penne’s “A Piece of the Good Life” , #CA9

Category awards determined by voting tasters:
1st place Brownie: #BR3, Angel Stampfli’s Chocolate Peppermint Brownies
2nd place brownie: #BR2, Blue Sky’s Café’s Black Forest Brownies

1st place cake: #CA9, Davina Penne’s “A Piece of the Good Life”
2nd place cake: #CA1, Donald Peterson’s Chocolua Cake

1st place cheesecake: #CH1, Cheryl Heusuk’s “Al’s Awesome Chocolate Cheesecake”
2nd place cheesecake: #CH4, Joni Greiber’s Oreo Obsession Cheesecake

1st place cookie: #CK1, Blue Sky Café’s Chocolate Cookie
2nd place cookie: #CK2, Gail Van Haren’s Sand Dollar Doodles

1st place candy: #CY6, Hannah Zoromski’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Truffles
2nd place tie for candy: #CY2, Ellen Wright’s “The Wright Chocolate Drop” ; #CY3, Kendra Sutter’s McDreamy Chocolate Covered Cherries

Judges Lysianne Unruh, Marcus Candinas and Tracy Thompson deliberated on 30 desserts looking for what Lysianne called
“that ultimate chocolate experience”.

Hannah Zoromski and Joni Greiber also won ribbons last year. Hannah Zoromski placed second last year in the candy category with “Last Minute Madness” and Joni Greiber placed second in 2006 in brownies with her “Killer Brownies”.

A total of 300 votes were cast by visiting tasters to determine the People’s Choice award and the category awards. People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice award winners took home a traveling trophy and $100.

Recipes for all of the competing desserts of both 2006 and 2007 Death by Chocolate Bake-Offs are available at the library for customers to photocopy. The top two winning recipes will be available through the library’s website, www.mhpl.org by late evening at the latest, Monday the 19th.

34 entries registered!

We have a total of 34 entries registered, which is just 1 more than last year. And that's great! If you have not registered yet - it is too late. Deadline was 8:30 PM last night.

If you didn't make the deadline for competition, come and vote on chocolate goodies at 6:30 pm Saturday.

Here are the total number of entries in each dessert category:
Brownies : 7
Cake : 9
Cheesecake: 5
Cookies: 5
Candy: 7

Bakers, please bring desserts between 5:45 PM and 6:15 PM for set up on Saturday.
And bakers and candy makers, please feel free to clarify points with me by email - mhplibrary@yahoo.com or phone 437-5021 ext 109.

Carol Gruba

Last year's dessert category winners and their recipes

If you want to see what kinds of recipes were entered last year, come to the Mount Horeb Library's Death by Chocolate display and look at the recipe binder.

Here are the bakers and recipes that won in each category in 2006. Ask these people what they're baking this year!

Bar/Brownie Category (this year it's divided into separate divisions!)
#1 Karen Lazar: Turtle Bars
#2 Joni Greiber: Killer Brownies

Cake
#1 Patricia Morris: German Chocolate Cake
#2 Sherry Tompkins: Death by Chocolate Cake

Cheesecake
#1 Ann Snodgrass: Chocolate Madness Cheesecake
#2 Karen Matyas: Life after Death Cheesecake

Cookies
#1 Mary Penninga: Cocoa Climax Cookies
#2 Susan Merklein: Our Big, Awesome, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Candy
#1 Kaleidoscope Marketplace: Truffles
#2 Hannah Zoromski: Last Minute Madness

Death by Chocolate makes the Capital Times-Correction on Prize Amounts

Here's a great link to the Capital Times article printed Monday on both our event and a really neat trivia event called The Brain Games held in Mineral Point Sunday February 11th

I need to offer a correction to the article regarding prize amounts.
There will be fourteen Death by Chocolate prize winners.
Two contestants will win $100 each: the winner of the People's Choice Award and the Judges' Choice Award.
Additionally, each of the six categories of dessert, (cookies, brownies, etc.) will have a first place category winner and a second place category winner.
First place category receives a ribbon, a certificate and $20. Second place category winner receives a ribbon, certificate and $10.

Link to "2 Towns Fight Winter's Monotony with Fun Events", Capital Times, Mary Bergin
http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2007/01/29/0701290057.php

Kalscheurs is a Death by Chocolate Sponsor!

Drop by Kalscheurs Fine Foods and take a gander at the Death by Chocolate display by the magazines. It looks jazzier and has more sales every time I visit.

Celebrity Judge Reveal

Drumroll please: Tracy Thompson of Sjolinds Chocolate House and Marcus Candinas of the Candinas Chocolatier company in Verona are signed on!
Interested in learning more about Candinas chocolates?
http://www.candinas.com/
(Sjolinds does not have a web site. Visit 219 East Main Street in Mount Horeb!)

It will be exciting to work with judges with this much experience and expertise.
Stay tuned for announcement of the third judge!

Questions: White chocolate? Ice cream?

I love questions. That's why I work in a library.

A baker asked, " Can we use white chocolate?"

The answer: You can use white chocolate, or walnuts or whatever tasty stuff you want to use BUT you have to have some plain old brown chocolate in there somewhere.

Typical dark or milk chocolate of the brown variety is the sort of chocolate required in every Death by Chocolate recipe. How much chocolate? Your call. For example a white chocolate fudge could contain some shavings of dark chocolate and still qualify.

Another baker asked, "Could I submit an ice cream containing brownie chunks?

Here I had to say, "No." It just does not fit into the existing categories if it is a lump of ice cream that contains parts of one of the dessert categories.

(Ice cream. Brrr.)

Ask your questions by emailing Carol the Chocoholic Librarian and instigator of Death by Chocolate at mhplibrary@yahoo.com

Take a Chocolate Quiz

Care to be an official chocolate geek?
Learn about something you love while you take a chocolate quiz at the Discover Channel.

http://www.menschmedia.com/chocolate/quiz.html

Click on the chocolate bar segments at the top to learn even more about caocao trees in Madagascar, how caocao trees grow in groves, and more!

Collaborate on a Cake or Cookies!

Wondering if your entry can be a collaborative family project? Sure.

Although the entry rules say that contestants must be 16-years-of-age or older, family members of all ages may test and bake as a group and enter under one grown-up's name.

Pictured at left: Yvonne Hiebert and Ron Royston enjoying their jobs as voting tasters at last year's Death by Chocolate Bake-Off.

Recipes:The Original and the "Lite" from 2006

Patricia Morris won last year with her Aunt Blanche's delectable chocolate cake recipe ( I fondly remember its cinnamon-y and moist chocolate essence).

The cake includes a Duncan Hines cake mix AND is indeed rich with 9 eggs and 1 cup of coconut milk included. But that is the sort of over-the-top 1,000-calorie a slice richness that led to a 2006 Best in Show trophy for Patricia.

If you care to give Patricia's recipe a spin, click
http://www.mhpl.org/programs/adult/bestinshow.html

If you care for a lighter version,
Donna Weihofen of Channel 3 and UW-Madison made a 350 calorie version which may be found here:

http://www.channel3000.com/donnasrecipes/8240885/detail.html

Bake on!
Carol Gruba
Mount Horeb Public Library
mhplibrary@yahoo.com

FAQ for Mount Horeb Public Library Death by Chocolate Competition!

FAQ

Mount Horeb Public Library
Death by Chocolate Bake-Off

Saturday February 17 6:30 pm
Mount Horeb Public Library
www.mhpl.org

What?:
The 2nd annual Mount Horeb Public Library Death by Chocolate baking competition will feature delectable homemade bars, cookies, cheesecake, candy, brownies, and cake. Local bakers will vie for the Judge’s Best in Show trophy and a People’s Choice Award.. Admission is free and all who come may vote for their favorite in each category and their favorite in the entire bake-off. Those who win the Best in Show and People’s Choice prizes will receive trophies and $100 cash awards.

This year, competing bakers will have the option of donating a 2nd dessert for auction. Proceeds from the auction go to the Mount Horeb Public Library Endowment Fund.

Who?:
Anybody age 16-years-old and up may bake and win with the entry of a form and $5.00. See www.mhpl.org for complete entry details. Also, anybody may attend this free event and vote. This event is sponsored by Kalsheurs Fine Foods and the Friends of the Mount Horeb Public Library.

How?:
Those who attend this free bake-off will receive a voting ballot at the Mount Horeb Public Library front door. Voting tasters will then proceed to any one of 24 tables covered with chocolate desserts. Desserts will be served by attending bakers or their representatives. Bakers do not have to be present to win this year.

Why?:
The Mount Horeb Public Library’s annual chocolate bake-off is a fun way to raise the library’s visibility in the community while honoring the genius of family bakers everywhere.

Contact Information:
To find out how you can become a celebrity taster or get more details for an article or television presentation, please call Jessica Williams at 608-437-5021 ext 109.

Jessica Williams
Events and Promotions Librarian
Mount Horeb Public Library
105 Perimeter Rd. Mount Horeb , WI 53572

Official Death by Chocolate 2007 Entry Form and Rules

Please print off the Official Death by Chocolate Entry Form and Rules found below. Most questions will be answered if you read the rules, but if you are in doubt, see my Death by Chocolate FAQ or call the Mount Horeb Public Library at 608-437-5021 and ask for Carol.
HAPPY BAKING!


Death by Chocolate Entry Form

(Please print legibly)Your name: ___________________________________________________________________
Dessert Name:_________________________________________________________
Dessert Category: (Circle One)

Cheesecake,

Cake,

Cookies,

Brownies

Bars

Candy

Mailing address: (Street/City/State/Zip)__________________________________________________________________

Phone number:_______________________________________________________

E-mail:_________________________________________________________
Entry forms are due on Wednesday February 14 by 8:30 pm.at

Mount Horeb Public Library
105 Perimeter Rd
Mount Horeb, WI 53572

Please double check that you have included the following:
__Entry fee of $5.00 per entry form (one form per dessert).Checks or cash are accepted. Make your check out to the Mount Horeb Public Library
__Signed copy of the official rules Death by Chocolate Bake-Off Rules

Official contest rules
1. Entry forms are due at Mount Horeb Public Library, 105 Perimeter Rd, Mount Horeb, WI 53572 on Wednesday February 14 by 8:30 pm. Each must be accompanied by a $5.00 entry fee. Make checks out to “Mount Horeb Public Library”. Either cash or check is acceptable.

2. Your competition dessert must be given a name that will not infringe on any trademarks.

3. There are 6 separate categories for bake-off entries:
Cheesecake,
Cake,
Cookies,
Bars
Brownies
and
Candy.

Required servings/amounts for each category: Cheesecake: 10-12 servings,
Cake: 10-12 servings, Cookies: 2 dozen cookies, Brownies: 2 dozen servings, Bars: 2 dozen servings, and Candy : 2 dozen pieces.

4. Participants must be 16 years of age or older to participate

5. Judging for entries will be conducted by a panel of appointed judges and by the voting public tasters. Appointed judges will give the Judge's Choice Award. The public will vote for the People's Choice Award. Appointed judges choices will be based on appearance, taste and creativity. The bake off organizer will make every attempt to make sure that attendants of the Death by Chocolate Event on Saturday February 17 will be allowed one vote per dessert category, within the allotted voting time.

6. Recipes for entries must be typed or neatly written on a separate piece of paper and submitted with the dessert Saturday February 17. List all ingredients in the order used, with exact measurements and package sizes. Submit complete directions including cooking times, temperature and number of servings. If your recipe is not your own invention, please give credit to its source.

7. Your name, address and phone number must be entered on the entry form.

8. Please deliver desserts to the library reading room by 6:15 pm the day of the event, Saturday February 17. Entries will not be accepted in any other location. All entries and materials submitted become the property of the Mount Horeb Public Library. Assume that all desserts will be consumed in their entirety at the tasting. Recipes may be published, at the promoter's discretion, with entrant's recognition, and without further compensation.

9. Collected entree fees will be used for cash prizes to first and second place winners in each category. First prize winners win $20 and second prize winners win $10. Winner of the Judges’ Choice Award receives $100. Winner of the Peoples’ Choice Award wins $100.


10. To win, contestants do not have to be present at the Death by Chocolate Bake Off event Saturday February 17 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

11. Mount Horeb Public Library will not be held responsible for the accurate labeling of items containing nuts or nut derivatives.

12. Due to possible illness, do not submit desserts made with raw eggs.

13. A maximum of 70 entries may be accepted in total. See the Death by Chocolate Blog for up the moment information on available entry slots and other contest news.

14. Contestants may enter more than 1 dessert, provided they properly pay fees and submit forms for each.

15. Auction Option: This year, if you would like to donate an extra batch of your dessert, you may. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Mount Horeb Endowment Fund. The auction will be held while votes are being tallied.

Agreement of official rules: By participating in this contest each entrant unconditionally accepts these official rules and the decision of the judges, promoter and administrators. Failure to comply could result in disqualifying the dessert entry or entries.

__________________________Signature


Date
STAFF ONLY:Time entry taken:Payment rec'd:__Cash __ Check

Has the customer signed the rules above?

Staff initials: