Intimidation by Chocolate

I hope you all had a great weekend! My dating odyssey continued. Saturday night I did Speed Dating. I've actually done this before, and while it's kind of fun, it's also a little overwhelming. Can you imagine meeting 20 people in a couple of hours? You get about 5 minutes with each one. By the end of the night, I couldn't remember my own name, much less theirs.


I was told by one helpful guy that the men were intimated by my "big personality" (his words, not mine.) Well, I don't think the ol' personality is going to be changing anytime soon, so I may not be finding a boyfriend in this life. And a "big personality" does come in pretty handy when you're a motivational speaker. To be honest, if I have to give up my personality to find a good guy, then the price is too high. I like who I am.


What I didn't tell him was that most of the men were about as exciting as drying paint. The Research Triangle is loaded with scientists and software developers - apparently all of whom are single. And let's just say they're not bringing sexy back.


Speaking of sexy, today we're going to The Chocolate Fetish, a great little shop I discovered on the Asheville trip. I was lucky enough to get to meet the owner, Bill Foley, while I was there. Bill is a great guy who took time out of his busy day (the shop was packed - what recession?) to visit with me and show me around. Now, I am absolutely insane with this chocolate thing and bought a ton of stuff from him. So we're going to have to pace this visit out a bit. This ain't no stinkin' Speed Dating!


Let's start with their website just in case you want to get in on this delicious adventure: http://www.chocolatefetish.com/


They ship all over the US and even have a few international customers. They mix their own chocolate (this is not like Wolfgang Chocolates where the tanker truck of chocolate pulls up - seriously - I saw the pipes! They just pump in the chocolate like oil!). Fetish blends chocolate from Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Venezuela and four types from the US into their own special mix. They use no vegetable oil - only the natural cocoa butter and no chemical preservatives.


Their shop is cute - they even have some gift items:






They also do chocolate art - sculptures, amazing cake-like confections - gorgeous stuff. And they've been written up in loads of publications like Southern Living and Chocolatier. But let's get down to the nitty gritty and do some tasting!!


Now remember we are pacing! And Bill will probably die when he sees what I picked to start with:




Peanut Butter Malted Milk Balls. What can I say? I love peanut butter and when I had those Reese's Peanut Butter Whoppers it changed my life.

Well, Bill's are better.

I even tried Harry and David's:




Harry and David has a whole line of assorted malt balls. I, of course, was drawn to the peanut butter like a smoker to nicotine. They too have nothin' on Bill. The Fetish rules!!!

A little Chocolate CSI reveals why:





Oh yeah, baby! Look at all that peanut butter in the Fetish ball. And look at all that malt in the Harry and David ball. No contest. I wish I had a Whopper to dissect. Although I have no doubt about the result. Bill is da man!

What do you think all those Speed Dating scientists would think about these high-level experiments? Somehow I think they just wouldn't get it.

More from The Chocolate Fetish tomorrow!

Until then I have to close with a very appropriate quote sent by my good friend Mark Fleming:

"If you love something, set it free. Unless it's chocolate. Never release chocolate." - Renee Duvall


Release the scientists!!!!