Why Food Trends Can Be OK

Lately I've been putting down the idea of "food trends" because I feel that they create an elitist attitude towards food and in my opinion limit the types of foods people will try.  While I still agree with this, I have to say there is one great thing about food trends.  They often lead cooks and food manufacturers to experimentation when dealing with trendy foods.  Case in point is Denny's bacon topped ice cream sundae, if bacon wasn't trendy we would never see this treat.

Click here to read about Denny's new ice cream treat.

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Peeps Car Is Awesome

Photo found on Candy and Snack Today

The folks at Just Born are taking a new Peeps car on tour this year to spread yellow marshmallow joy around the US.  Sure the samples and the fun stuff they have planned sounds great, but frankly I just really want to check out that cool giant Peep on top of the car.

Click here to read more about the tour.

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Crazy Billboards

Best Design Tuts has posted a series of really creative billboards.  Included is this one billboard for Dairy Milk which looks like it was taken in my hometown of Toronto.

There's also this neat use of the sun, from Sun Chips.

Click here to check out some other (mostly non-candy) ads.

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Do It Yourself?

The New York Times has a list of 13 foods that most people just buy off the shelves at grocery stores, but according to them they're really easy to make yourself.  While most of the list is condiments and other dinner type products, they did post instructions on how to make your own Nutella type spread.  Although I'm a big fan of Nutella, I'm also really lazy, so chances are I'm not going to ever try this recipe.

Click here to check it out.

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A Little Bit Of Re-Designing

You might notice that some of the photos on this blog are starting to come up bigger, and at this point kind of random in size.  Well I'm experimenting with photo sizes and I want to see what works and what doesn't.  Once I'm happy with a look I'll stop messing around.

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Candy Might Not Be All That Bad For You

I'll never tell you that candy is "healthy" but I will always argue that candy is not the cause of every health risk in the world.  The problem is candy is always singled out as the sole problem dealing with diet when there is so much more to keeping healthy and eating right than just cutting out candy.  Fortunately studies keep coming up proving that sometimes candy isn't the biggest problem with certain health conditions.

And here's just one such study.

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Jane's New Book

Candy Critic contributor, baking/DIY desert expert, and food photographer Jane has just put out a book about a recent trip she took to Lota, in South America.  The photos are spectacular and the book looks fantastic, but I'll let Jane explain it in her own words:

"At the end of October 2010 about 15 people from Canada visited Lota, and got a glimpse into a way of life different from our own in many ways. We asked questions, looked for design opportunities, and tried to understand how the city worked."

"I curated this collection of photos because they didn’t exactly fit in with the research documentation, but were too good to be filed away and forgotten. This is the Lota I find myself remembering: it has breath-taking views of the ocean, panoramas of colourful houses clinging to the hills in a maze of streets and alleyways, and it’s flushed with spring time growth while at home the days were getting cold and grey."

Click here to pick up a copy of the Jane's beautiful book.

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Candy Land Movie?

Now I don't want to be one of those people that pre-judges movies before they're even conceived, but in my opinion I don't think a movie about the board game Candy Land is going to have a riveting plot.  I'm sure visually it'll look fantastic, but let's be honest here.  Candy Land is pretty much one of the most boring games on the face of the planet, there I said it and I feel much better.  So how in the world is anybody going to make a decent story out of it?

Click here to read more about the upcoming movie.

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Vanilla Risotto... or Rice Pudding?

The other night a group of us decided to head to a slightly fancy restaurant here in Athens called Agora (it means market in Greek).  The meal was fantastic, and if you ever get the chance to try honey and cereal crusted goats cheese I highly recommend it.  Being the sweet treat fanatic that I am, I couldn't resist a desert, and when I saw "Vanilla Risotto" on the menu my mind was set.  The dish came and we all dug in, it was tasty, but in my head all I could really see and taste was basic rice pudding.  Sure it had some chocolate sauce and cookies crumbled on top, and it was nice and warm, but I'm not sure why you would call it "vanilla risotto".

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Three Chocolate Events Coming Up

On of the events is the Pechanga chocolate and wine festivals next weekend, I believe this takes somewhere in California, but you'll have to read more to be sure.

Click here to read more about this festival.

There's also a Chocolate festival in Natick this Friday, not sure exactly where that is, but I'm sure if you know Natick you'll want to be there.

Click here to read about the Natick festival.

Finally if you find yourself in Lewisburg on April 9th, then you better make your way to the 5th annual Chocolate festival.

Click here to read about the Lewisburg festival.

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More Bad News About Easter Chocolate Prices

It's starting to become a mainstream media story now.  The price of chocolate and candy treats for this years Easter will be higher than usual.  Worst of all it appears that some say the increase may be permanent and may continue to increase after Easter.

Click here to see what the Huffinton Post had to say about it.

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Popcorn Nerve

All over Europe I've come across many different variety of self service popcorn machines, they mystify and terrify me at the same time.  I can never get the nerve to drop in a Euro or two and watch the magic happen.  I can't drop in the money because I figure the popcorn will be horrible (I'm a bit of a snob since Allison taught me how to make excellent popcorn), and I also think that two Euros is a lot to pay for a small bucket of popcorn.  It's just that my curiosity about these machines is probably setting me up for a great deal of disappointment.  Should I go for it?

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Chocolate Chef

Chocolatiers are an interesting group.  They're candy makers for sure, but they're also a little bit like chefs and a little bit like fine artists.  A great chocolatier worries about every aspect of their candy creation and most insist on making everything by hand.

Click here to read a great article about one such Chocolatier.

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Chocolate Fix

Some people say that they need a piece of chocolate every day.  They just get that craving and nothing else will do.  These people aren't necessarily obese or unhealthy, many of them know that a simple sweet bite will do.  But they need chocolate every single day, it's an addiction to some extent, although I don't think science calls it a real addiction.  I'm not one of those types strangely enough, I'm not into this candy thing to fill my chocolate needs.  But to those that are, just remember, moderation and quality are the key to keeping it up.

Click here to read the story of one such person.

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More Toxic Waste Recalls

Last January Toxic Waste candy recalled a bunch of their treats due to high lead levels.  Well once again, another series of candies they produced has been found to contain higher than allowed levels of lead.  Seriously we get it, Toxic Waste, very funny, but enough with the lead.

Click here to read more.

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What's In Theater Food?

According to this article the FDA wants theater concession stands to display the nutritional value of their treats.  I have to say what's fair is fair, and if candy bars, fast food restaurants and many other food producers have to display them then theaters should not be excepted.  However, I don't want people to freak out when they notice how much fat and carbs are in these treats next time they go to the theater.  I want you to ignore the ingredient lists and continue eating as usual. I want you to do this because if you're deluding yourself into thinking that any of the concession foods are healthy then the shock might do more damage than the butter on your popcorn.

Click here to read the article.

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Next Cool Thing In Chocolate

I know I always say that I'm not really into trendy foods.  But people keep asking me what the next big thing in candy is going to be.  Well I'll tell you now, it's going to be Bean to Bar.  That's when a chocolate maker starts out with cocoa beans and finishes up with a bar all in one factory.  Most chocolate makers actually buy their chocolate from manufactures that do the cocoa to chocolate conversion.  But I think that Bean to Bar will start to become more and more prevalent as time goes on.  I'm not saying all Bean to Bar chocolate makers are making better or worse chocolate than others, I'm just saying it's starting to become a merchandising idea.

Click here to read about one Bean to Bar company.

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Creative Cadbury Eggs

I love it when people use Cadbury Creme Eggs in creative ways over the Easter holidays.  This one is sheer genius.

Click here to check it out.

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Turkish Cypriot Treats

If you're not too familiar with Island of Cyprus, one might say that they're a little tension going on between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.  The tension is like nothing I've ever seen before, and even crossing from one side of the border to the other was really strange.  I mainly stayed on the Greek side (mostly because that's where my hotel was) but when I did go across I made sure to check out a Turkish treat store.

They had all kinds of Turkish Delights to choose from.  I've even reviewed one here.  Also, to be politically correct, I've reviewed the Greek Cyprus Delight here.  Let me just say my opinions do not have any bearing on a political opinion about the country or the people.

In these Turkish sweets stores, they had all kinds of interesting treats including these beautiful jars of honey filled with nuts.  It's a little sad that the borders are so tense because the people on both sides are really nice, and the treats are all fantastic.

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Cocoa Heaven's Sweet 16 Is Over...

Last week I posted about Cocoa Heaven's Sweet 16 contest where they decided to try and pick the best candy bar using a tournament style NCAA competition.  So the winner... Milky Way?!!  This can't be!  Looking at the standings I have to say that I'm not sure how some of these bars progressed while others fell behind.  Most importantly I can't see how Snickers lost to Milky Way in the final, it's just wrong.

Check out the final results and complain about them here.

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A Classic Review

The number of times I'm e-mailed and asked "you haven't reviewed (insert any classic candy that I haven't reviewed yet here)?!!"  is astonishing.  On occasion I forget to review something, I see it around, and I may even enjoy one now and again, but I just forget to photograph it, write about it, and post the review online.  It's a lot of work to put a up a review, it's not just about eating a particular treat.  Well all of you "Nerds Rope" fans, I've done the review, and frankly I feel I should have done it sooner.

Click here to read the review.

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An Inside Look At Haribo

After all of the publicity that Haribo has garnered recently (being the favorite treat of the new royal) they decided that they would let the Daily Telegraph into the factory and grant them a tour.  Candy companies don't often let people tour factories like this and rarely give such detailed interviews.  The photos alone are enough to make any candy fan drool.

Click here to read the article and be sure to check out the gallery too.

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Lindt Gold Bunny Contest

Lindt has announced a really cool contest this year for Easter.  What they're looking for is the most creative picture of a gold Lindt bunny that you can come up with and the first prize is a thousand bucks.  The basic idea is to take a really creative photo with a gold bunny, but that's not your only choice.  They're also excepting creative drawings or other artistic interpretations, just in case you can't get your hands on a gold bunny.  I like this a lot, and I think I might even enter one myself.

Click here to read more about the contest.

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A Bounty of Baklava

 This week I got to taste Baklava sent by Donna from DJ's Baklava, and it was a treat! I have to admit I've never been that interested in baklava, flashier treats usually catch my eye before I get to it. However, DJ's Baklava with it's twists on tradition and layers of golden pastry have made me a convert.

Traditional Walnut

I was generously sent six types to try:

Traditional Walnut
Almond Toffee
Apple Craisin
Pecan
Pignoli (pine nuts)
Peanut Chocolate Chunk

The first thing I noticed was baklava is incredibly sweet! If you have a sweet tooth, this might be just the thing. Traditionally it's made with honey, and the traditional walnut piece had the most noticeable floral honey notes to it.

Apple Craisn doesn't have nuts, but they're not missed from this combination.

My personal favourite was the Pignoli. It was bursting with toasted pinenuts, a flavour that is earthy, and warm. It was complimented nicely by the sweetness, and with a cup of tea it was the perfect way to relax and re-energize mid-afternoon.

Pignoli - yum!

The Almond Toffee pieces had a gentle cinnamon spice flavour to them, and reminded me of holiday baking. The Peanut Chocolate Chunk is a playful combination, the chocolate is somewhat subtle in the mix of flavours.

According to the website there are 36 layers of organic phyllo pastry, hand brushed with butter and honey syrup. Sounds good to me. It's also clear that Donna uses the best quality of nuts in her baklava. They all tasted fresh and full of flavour.

Peanut Chocolate Chunk

All of these flavours and more can be bought online. I'm curious about Luscious Luau Baklava with coconut, pineapple and macadamia nuts. There are also a few options that don't have nuts, really something to suit everyone.

DJ's Baklava has a website: www.djsbaklava.com
and a blog: http://blog.djsbaklava.com/

Chocolate Boat

I just heard that a French chocolatier has constructed a boat made completely out of chocolate.  Not only that, but he managed to set sail on it for about one and a half hours.  I don't know if this was the work of a genius or a lunatic, but either way he can't be that bad, after all he's a chocolate fanatic too.

Click here to read more about the chocolate boat.

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Best Donuts In NY

Serious Eats offers up what I can only describe as an indispensable tool for any donut lover that might be traveling to New York.  They've compiled a list of the best shops in the Big Apple.  I have to be honest, I never really thought of New York as having particularly great donuts, but until now I've also never thought of looking.  So on my next visit I'll have to check a few of these shops out.

Click here to see the list.

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Cadbury Factory For Sale

Earlier I had mentioned that Kraft had (controversially) decided to shut down one of the Cadbury plants and move production to Poland.  Well the factory is now up for sale.  It's too bad and I really hope another candy maker steps in to keep it rolling and the people employed.  My only question is, how much do they want for the giant Cadbury sign?

Click here to read more about the factory sale.

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Hop... A Movie About Easter

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, for one thing there really isn't a solid story about the Easter bunny in existence and I'm not sure if pooping jelly beans will create this story we need.

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Philadelphia Flyers Drink Slushies?

It sounds like an insult at first, all be it no a very clever one, but it's true.  Apparently the trainers of a Flyers have created a slushy drink that allows the players to rehydrate, cool down, and it's apparently somewhat healthy.  Now don't go off thinking you can go on the "Slushy Diet", these guys are athletes so the extra sugar helps them out when they work hard.  You on the other hand probably sit in front of a computer all day, so chances are you'll just get fat.

Click here to read more about the drink.

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If You Find Yourself In Florida This Weekend

Then you might want to check out the  Zonta Club of Melbourne's Chocolate Festival taking place this Sunday.  All the local chocolate experts are going to try and impress you with their best chocolate treats, so you don't want to miss it.

Click here to read more about the Zonta Club of Melbourne's Chocolate Festival.

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An Interesting Look At Food Trends

I have to say that I generally don't like food trends.  I find them to be used as a status marker for foodies rather than encouraging people to eat new foods.  I have, many times, been asked if I was "aware" of the popularity of many foods at any given time.  Most of the time these foods where not new, but instead they where trendy, and people wanted to gauge how into the food culture I was.  The thing is I don't really care about food trends that much.  Sure I like cupcakes and bacon, but I don't really care if they're popular and I don't write more about them because they're popular.  To me food is about exploring new flavours and flavour combination and "trendy" foods limit this by telling people that they have to eat the same things because it's popular.  I don't want you to look at the candy on Candy Critic and attempt to try out my favorites because you think they might be popular.  I just want to encourage people to try new treats and I use this site more as an excuse for me to be brave and try new treats myself.

Click here to read an article on food trends.

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Chocolate Festival In Nebraska Tomorrow

Not only will you get to sample a variety of chocolate treats tomorrow at The Chocolate Rendezvous but you'll also be giving to a good cause.

Click here to read more about it.

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Goetze's Candy is Having Some FDA Troubles

Apparently Goetze's Candy is having a hard time with the claim on their candy that it's "Fortified With Calcium". I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of candy companies claiming that they're healthy, even if in some respects they are.  I think candy companies should focus on making sure we get our tasty indulgence, and if they want to jump on the "healthy" train they should focus on portion control over ingredients.

Click here to read more about Goetze's Candy.

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That Woman Love's Her Chocolate

I found this ad on Boing Boing featuring what they appropriately describe as "a nearly zombioid woman enjoying a piece of chocolate".

Ad found on Boing Boing.

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Are You a Red Or Black Licorice Person?

The folks at American Licorice are going to try and find out where you stand, and where most Licorice fans stand on the subject.  Me personally, I'm a red licorice guy, I find black licorice to be too bitter and sometimes I even find that it burns my mouth a little.  Having said that the red flavour must be just right, too sweet and you can ruin it.  I have also tried a few... very few... black licorice treats that I've liked.  But if given the choice I often find that red is the safer bet.

Click here to read about the poll.

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Good Conscience or Good Business

Below is an interesting article about Fair Trade chocolate and the business behind it.  The folks that certify Fair Trade products are trying to promote the idea that putting the label on your food is not just about doing the right thing as it is good business as well.  They say it's good business because the people of the world are better educated today and they feel that "Fair Trade" certification will actually sell more candy and food than not having the certification.

Click here to read more.

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Apparently Today Is National Chip and Dip Day

So go get something thin and crunch and be sure to dip it liberally with something creamy or chunky.

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Goodies!

Look what came in the mail! Review + photos coming along soon.

Gummy Bear Cicle

I love the way these gummy bears look under the fish eye lens.  It took about 3 lbs of gummy bears to make this photo work, but it was well worth it.

Click here to buy a print, poster, or greeting card.

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Easter Treats Might Get Pricey

As predicted by many annalists the increase in the price of cocoa and sugar over the last few months is starting to affect manufactures producing Easter candy .  The ingredients are more expensive and some speculate that the treats will become more expensive as well.  Although some candy manufactures are claiming that they're going to try to keep the cost for the consumer down, let's just hope that doesn't mean they're going to lower the quality.

Click here to read more.

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I Always Thought My Love Of Candy Made Me a Nerd

But as it turns out many "cool" people also love candy, and love it enough to make public appearances at candy stores.  It almost looks like it's becoming trendy to visit some candy stores.  Maybe I'm not a loser sitting at his computer writing about candy all day, maybe I'm a trend setter.

Click here to read about cool people buying candy.

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Greatest Rejection Letter Ever

A while back I posted about Green and Black's Chocolate looking for a new chocolate taster.  I gloated about the fact that I knew I was going to get it and I was going to be the worlds most famous chocolate tester ever... or something to that effect.  Well as it turns out I didn't make it.  I just got this letter in the mail.

Normally I'd be sad about not getting what might be one of the greatest jobs in the world, however they included a couple of bars of Green and Black's chocolate with the letter.  If I knew that all rejection letters would be this good I'd apply for jobs more often.

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1970's Snack Cakes Are Back!

Not only is Hostess bringing back some of their cool characters from the 70s, for a limited time.  But for this limited time they're going to go back to the original recipe for the Twinkie.  As you may or may not know, originally Twinkie's where filled with a banana cream.  So if you see a retro style Twinkie, pick it up and give it a try.  Unless it looks like it just might be a really old Twinkie, then I might suggesting staying away.

Click here to read more about the retro snack cakes.

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Snacks at Comic Convention

Reece was the first company I'd heard of doing this, but it appears the folks at Hi-Chews have started as well.  What I'm talking about is candy companies have started to appear at un-candy related trade shows.  Reece showed up at a big computer show in Vegas to release their new super mini cups, and now Hi-Chews will be at a Comic convention in Chicago.  I don't disagree with this, I guess, but it seems a little strange if you ask me.

Click here to read more about Hi-Chews appearance in Chicago.

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Portion Your Sweets

It appears that companies producing sweets (such as Dairy Queen, and Starbucks) are starting to produce smaller treats, and this is good news.  It's good news because that means that these companies are interested in selling you something that has less sugar and less calories, but they're also interested in selling you something that tastes great.  The other way companies like to sell you treats that have less sugar and less calories is those crazy low sugar diet treats, and they often taste bad and sometimes later prove to be even worse for you.

Click here to read more.

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Grocery Store Sign Fail

It's funny because I've seen many a failed grocery store sign in my days, sure nothing as silly as "Pop Tards", but still pretty funny.  Here's a fun list of a few that have been making the rounds on the internet lately.

Click here to check out the list.

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Strange Cyprus Treat

I just got back from Cyprus where I got to try something really unique.  At a local market in Larnaka I was introduced to something I'd never seen before.

I can't say that it looked appetizing, in fact I can't even say that it looked like food at all.

I was told by a local that it's a special Cyprus traditional candy.

They told me what it was called, but I can't remember, if you know I'd appreciate a little help.  I've written a review for it here if you want to get a few more details of this strange, strange treat.

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New Drinks At KFC?

I saw this sign at a KFC in Larnaka Cyprus that appears to be advertising fancy booze drinks.  Now maybe they're alcohol free, but still, I don't think KFC is going to be my pina colada drink choice.

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Great Feature of a Candy Store

I just read the article linked below about a new candy store that opened up in New Jersey.  One feature of this new store caught my eye, and I think it's a great feature for any new candy store.  At Jack's Candy Shack the candy bins are smaller in order to guarantee that candy doesn't sit around as long.  This is brilliant, so many times have I walked into a candy store with massive bins of candy, only to find out that most of their stocks is super stale.

Click here to read more about Jack's.

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Sweet 16 Chocolate Bar Tournament

With all of this NCAA basketball craziness going on right now, the folks at Cocoa-Heaven have decided to create a tournament all their own.  They call it the "Sweet 16", and the idea is to crown the greatest chocolate bar ever.  Of the choices given, I'm going to cheer on the Oh Henry, but I have to say I'm a little disappointed that Kit Kat didn't even make the qualifying rounds.

Click here to read more about the tournament.

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So According To Vending Machine Makers...

If you shake the machine it will not, I repeat not, dispense free treats.  I'm glad they made that clear.  Now what I want to know is, are there people in this world that believe if you shake the crap out of a large vending machine it will just give up and give you a free chocolate bar?

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Do People Give Up Candy For Lent?

According to statistics not enough people actually give up candy for lent to make any difference at all.  The fact that one of the biggest candy holidays takes place as soon as lent is over also helps cushion any downfall that there might be anyways.

Click here to read more.

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A Truck In Knoxville Crashed

Not that it has to be any more tragic, but this truck in Knoxville was full of Easter treats.

Click here to read more.

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New Review Is a Mystery

This weeks review is all about mystery... Or it could be about lazy chip companies, I'm not really sure.  All I can tell you is that I most certainly cannot tell you exactly what flavour these chips I'm reviewing are supposed to be.  Some day this information might come out and we can all breath a sigh of relief.

Click here to read this mysterious review.

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Gummy Review Week It Continues, Again Yet Another Day Still

It has been a really strange and weird day for me today, I don't want to get into much detail, but I blame the fact that tonights full moon is supposed to be giant.  I also blame the fact that today is national caramel chocolate day,  again I don't want to get into details.  I guess I should also mention that today is the second last day of Gummy Review Week.  It's kind of sad that it's over, although my jaw is thankful.

Click here to read today's gummy review.

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How To Make Your Own Poprocks

I'm kind of lazy, so I'm not sure if I'll actually ever get around to making my own Pop Rocks.  I figure since they're not that expensive it might be easier just to go out and buy my own.  However if I decided that it was worth the effort, Boing Boing posted a quick how to make your own Pop Rocks guide.

Click here to check it out.

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Kate Middleton Likes Candy

The, soon to be, new addition to the royal family is apparently a bit of a candy fan.  So much so that the owner of her favorite candy store is apparently invited to the wedding.  If the future royal also felt that a candy expert should be at her event I'm more than happy to make the journey.

Click here to read more about the royal candy fan.

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New Arthur Movie Shot At Dylan's

According to the folks at Dylan's Candy Bar in New York:

"Dylan’s Candy Bar makes it debut on the big screen this April in the new Warner Brother’s film Arthur Movie (2011) starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Nick Nolte, Luis Guzmán and an all star cast."

You can see the store a few times in the trailer as well as a giant gummy bear costume, so it's all good.

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Go Team Lollipops

The link below goes to an interesting article about a simple idea that seems to be taking off.  Mark Lenhart had the idea of creating lollipops in the shape of college mascots.  With a bit of leg work and licencing negotiations it appears that this idea is starting to really work out for him.  After all what could be more fun than sucking on a George Town Bulldog?

Click here to read more.

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Slam Dunk With a Monocle

Planters has decided that Mr Peanut would make an excellent basketball player.  They're doing a huge promotion with the NCAA putting Mr Peanut in all kinds of slick basketball situations. I'm glad that they've appeared to keep his monocle on throughout the campaign, but sad that they decided to lose the top hat.

Click here to read more.

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Gummy Review Week Continues Again Yet Another Day Still

Today's review I got when Allison flew... somewhere, and they gave her a bag of gummies.  I think this is a brilliant idea on the part of airlines.  I mean, the "bag of peanuts" thing is way too old, it's time we had some variety in our airline snacks.  Frankly I would even choose my airline based on the quality or type of snacks offered.

Click here to read today's gummy review.

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Suri Cruise Can Eat What She Wants

I'm not sure if this is really "news", but apparently Suri Cruise (Tom and Katies daughter) accidentally picked up a questionable box of gummies and was seen doing this.  Now I'm sure she didn't pick out this questionable box of gummies on purpose, she probably just saw that is was candy and wanted it.  But the press needs fodder, so here's the story.

Click here to read the story.

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It's Maple Syrup Season!

Maple syrup season is one of my favorite times of the year.  If you've never tried good quality fresh maple syrup then frankly you haven't lived.  Although I prefer the stuff from Quebec or Eastern Ontario, the US has some pretty good stuff as well.

Click here to read about some US maple syrup.

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Swiss Chalet Has It's Own Channel?

My friend Randi turned me on to the latest and greatest reason anybody in Canada should get cable.  It's the Swiss Chalet (a very famous chicken restaurant in Canada) rotisserie chicken channel.  Apparently people with Rogers cable actually have this as a choice.  Since I'm not in Canada now I have to settle for the web version, and I also can't use the discount coupons that appear regularly.

Click here to check it out online.

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Gummy Review Week Continues Yet Another Day Still

Wow, I was so busy today doing all kinds of stuff that I almost forgot to post todays gummy review.  That would be a shame too because if I had forgotten to publish it today I would have had to publish it tomorrow and pretended that I published it today.  I mean you might not have noticed, but I would have had to live with the guilt of lying, and that's not cool.

Click here to read the gummy review.

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Free Chips For 20 Years

The folks at Ruffles are introducing a new flavour and they want you to help out.  Best of all, if you help them out then you have a chance at winning 20 years of free potato chips.

Click here to read more.

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Gandhi Gum

I love it when people make art out of candy.

Found on Copyranter.

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Mars Is Going Green

First Cadbury started to go with more socially responsible chocolate, now it appears Mars is doing the same.  This is good news for the environment, and the kind of news I can get behind.  This is assuming that they don't lower the quality of their chocolate because they now have to pay more for the cocoa.

Click here to read more.

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Get a Chocolate Education

I just read an interesting article about a couple of people that decided to open the first ever Chocolate University.  It's a pretty clever idea and the folks that created the coarse seem to have the right credentials to teach on the subject.  I'm slightly tempted to give it a try myself.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to check out Choco-U

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Gangs Might Have Sweet Teeth

According to an interesting study that examines gangs in the Los Angeles area and compares their turf to the location of places selling cupcakes.  It's a strange mash-up of information that will delight and surprise you I'm sure.

Click here to read more.

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Apollo Chocolate

As the horrible situation in Japan is unfolding, all I can think about is the great people I met last year while spending three months in Japan last summer.  Fortunately all of them seem to be safe and are coping with the situation.  For the next while, portions of the profits from Beware the Cheese photography will go towards helping out the people of Japan.

Click here to check out these prints and many others.

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Younger Audiences Don't Want Free Candy

According to a study young folks are not interested in samples anymore when it come to new foods.  Instead, apparently, they're more interested in learning about the company and in having personal engagement with the company.  All I can say about this is "What the heck!"  Seriously free samples, that means you get stuff... free.  What's wrong with this new generation, I wish they'd just wake up and see the world in some kind of reality, and I wish they'd get off my lawn!

Click here to read more about young folks.

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Old School Treats

It appears that the folks at Pepsi and Frito-Lay have decided to bring back some classic packages on their products.  This bag of Doritos looks so cool, and the case of  Mountain Dew also looks great.

Click here to read more about it and check out the gallery.

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Gummy Review Week Continues Another Day Still

The great thing about gummies is the fact that it can be made into just about any shape you can imagine.  This allows for such a huge amount of creativitiy.  Sure a few of the ideas don't really work, but for the most part they do.  This review is one of the few examples of it not really working.

Click here to read the review.

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"Candy Deal Gone Bad"

The article below doesn't really describe why this particular "candy deal went bad", but apparently arrests where made and candy was unlawfully exchanged.

Click here to read more.

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Beer and Chocolate Together

Just in time for St Patrick's Day a small chocolate maker in New York has combined beer into their selection of chocolates.  The chocolatier claims that the flavour of beer actually improves the the chocolate more than simply adding a flavour to it.  I'm convinced this could be true, but I guess I'll have to try it to be sure.

Click here to read more.

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No Candy For Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle, the now famous singer, has decided to give up chocolate and treats for lent.  Better still she's donating all of the money she's saved to charity.  Makes me wonder how much candy she eats if it's enough to make a donation to a charity.

Click here to read more.

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Kit Kat Store

I love it when a store commits to one particular chocolate bar.  It shows that they have an opinion and are willing to stand by it.

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What's Better Than Free Skittles

How about an entire vending machine full of Skittles.  Apparently Skittles has been giving away free vending machines full of Skittles to fans and friends all over the Internets.  I wonder if you still have to pay for the Skittles out of your own machine?

Click here to read more.

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Gummy Review Week Continues Still

Today's review, for the Candy Critic Gummy Review Week, is a really strange idea.  It's basically taking a popular snack and making it into a gummy.  I'm not sure why, or how, someone would come up with this, but who am I to complain... wait a minute, all I do is complain about candy.

Click here to read the review.

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Small Spreads

Nothing makes me happier than tiny packages of spreads.

I like them because to me nothing is better than the first dip into a freshly opened spread, be it jam, peanut butter, or in this case Nutella.

I also like them because they're often the best opportunity to try something new.  Take this package of Marmite for example.  I'd never tried Marmite, and I probably wouldn't have bought a whole jar.  Now that I've tasted it, I know that I will continue to never buy a jar of this stuff... yuck!

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Necco Is Not For Sale

There was speculation that Necco, famous maker of Necco wafers and Conversation Hearts was going to close down their US factory.  The speculation was that the company was going up for sale and that it would probably re-locate somewhere outside of the US.  Well it's officially not going to happen, for now, so 500 jobs are saved, and the quality that is Necco is safe.  But for how long.

Click here to read more.

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Two Quick News Stories

This first story is probably the strangest news story I've ever read about candy in my entire life.  Apparently an Iowa who like to try and lure kids to his van is not a problem, in fact, he just wants to give kids free candy.  He's either a really strange person, or trying very hard to break down stereotypes.

Click here to read about him.

The other story is about a baker that has been charged with selling treats on the Internet laced with drugs.  Now I'm sure this wasn't that hard a connection for police to make.  Once you see cookies on sale for 20 dollars each, you can pretty much assume that it's not just cookies.

Click here to read about the drug bust.

New Stores and a Birthday For Godiva

I just found out two interesting pieces of information about Godiva.  First of all they're going to be re-designing they're chain of stores.  Secondly, and more importantly, Godiva is celebrating their 85th anniversary this year.  Congratulations folks at Godiva, keep up the good work!

Click here to read more.

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Gummy Review Week Continues

It's not easy reviewing gummies, in fact I consider them to be some of the hardest reviews I ever have to write.  This particular review talks a bit about the problems with reviewing gummies and the challenge that keeps coming up.

Click here to read the review.

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Happy Potato Chip Day

It's national Potato Chip Day.  I've eaten half a bag already, how about you?

Click here to check out a chocolaty way to eat your chips today from the folks at Dove.

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Another Company Stops Production In the Ivory Coast

It seems that until things settle down a bit the chocolate industry in the Ivory Coast is going to be rather slow.  I just hope the people working in the industry in the affected areas are not going to suffer too much from the loss of business.

Click here to read about ADM's choice to stop cocoa production.

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Candy Stores In California

Found a great little list of places to get your sugar fix in California.

Click here to check out the list.

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Harrods Candy

For those unfamiliar with Harrods it can best be defined as the ultimate in departments stores.  It's huge, it's very classy, and it sells just about anything one can dream of.

I regularly dream about candy, and yes Harrods has me covered.  The food court section of the store is a spectacular collection of the best quality foods from every corner of the globe.  They have a deli counter with Spanish hams, Russian caviars, and French wines.  They also have a huge candy section filled with all kinds of treats.

Fortunately I was visiting just as they got their Easter stuff out for display.  These fancy eggs look absolutely beautiful.

They even have a giant egg that I'm sure would be very hard to hide.

So I guess your wondering what I thought of the treats?  Well I decided to pick up a chocolate (it wasn't cheap I assure you) and give it a sample.  I have to say that I was both disappointed and satisfied.  The quality was OK, and the selection was good, it's just that it wasn't the best I've ever had.  With the prices they charge I was expecting to be blown away, and frankly I've had better or similar for much less.

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