Gourmet Chocolate Love

According to the culinary experts who served as “Trendspotters” at the 2011 Winter Fancy Food Show, the answer is a resounding “Yes, please!” The article that appears on Foodspring.com (http://foodspring.com/content/fancyfoodtrends/?gclid=CLu9qO7q_qoCFVAi2godymQJzg) lists “Chocolate for Breakfast” as one of the Top 5 Food Trends for 2011. The article doesn’t give too many specifics, but just imagine the possibilities….
The article does mention hot cocoa, and we suggest something better – Norman Love Confections BLACK™ Sipping Chocolate. This European-style beverage is far superior to any “hot cocoa” you’ve ever tasted.
Many of our new Gift Baskets now feature baked goods that could pass as breakfast foods – if you’re the trendy type or want to treat someone who is.
However, if you find yourself in Southwest Florida, you can hit the “Chocolate for Breakfast” jackpot at The Chocolate Salons in Fort Myers and Naples, which carry fresh gourmet pastries and delicious coffee, Monday through Saturday. You can also pre-order a breakfast platter and other gourmet baked goods for pick-up or delivery by calling 239-561-7215. Please join us for breakfast to try this trend on for size!
For a map, store hours and other information about The Chocolate Salons, visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/contact/.
Share your ideas – How will you enjoy chocolate for breakfast?

If you’re thinking of giving someone a box of chocolates, Norman Love Confections is the way to go. Our gourmet artisan chocolates are handcrafted with the finest ingredients, they are as beautiful as they are delicious, and even our gift boxes have a very special “wow” factor!

Outside of the box, Norman Love Confections offers a variety of Gift Baskets, and our Chocolate Specialties, such as our famous Peppermint Chocolate Christmas Bark and fresh Chocolate-Covered Candied Nuts and Fruits, stand alone as affordable gifts and delightful stocking stuffers.

Want to take it a step further… Here are some creative ideas to incorporate chocolate into your holiday celebration in surprising new ways:

• Present Toppers – Heighten the natural anticipation that comes with receiving a wrapped gift by also putting a beautifully packaged treat on top with the ribbon. Gift Boxes and Chocolate Specialties, as well as Gift Certificates, make excellent present toppers. Christmas morning can’t come soon enough!
• Membership Privileges – Give someone a gift that keeps giving all year long. Sign them up for one of our four Chocolate Clubs. Members enjoy 4 or 12 shipments of signature line or Norman Love Confections BLACK™ boxes of chocolate throughout the year!
• Hidden Gems – You may have heard of the “12 Gems of Christmas” giveaway, in which Norman Love Confections and Mark Loren designs are hiding 12 pieces of jewelry and 12 gift cards in Norman Love Confections gift boxes Dec. 1-25. Surprise someone you love by placing a small precious gift inside on of our gift boxes or baskets filled with chocolate gourmet goodies. A bonus… they’ll never guess there is jewelry inside!
• New Year, New Tradition – Brighten someone’s New Year’s Eve celebration with a gift of champagne and chocolate. White chocolate confections, such as our Candy Cane and Eggnog flavors, make an excellent pairing with champagne. Best of all, you may start a new tradition of toasting with chocolate! Click here for additional wine and chocolate pairings to consider for your holiday preparations.
• Travel Friendly Gifts – This may not be all that surprising, but we thought we’d include it as a friendly reminder. If you or your gift recipient is traveling this holiday season, Gift Certificates and Norman Love Confections BLACK™ sipping chocolate make very travel friendly gifts. These gifts won’t melt on the journey and aren’t as likely to be confiscated at airport security if you take the appropriate precautions. Gift Certificates are also affordable to ship so you can give more!

Inspired? Please share new outside-the-box holiday gift ideas with the Norman Love community here!

The artisan chefs of Norman Love Confections are pleased to announce the introduction of 10 new gourmet confection flavors. Each premium confection is handcrafted using the finest ingredients including quality Swiss chocolate, decadent California honey and fresh fruits and nuts. There’s nothing like new LOVE!

1. California Honey – Simplicity sings in this beautiful golden California honey ganache dipped in Swiss milk chocolate.

2. Hazelnut Praline Truffle – Pure and delicious Hazelnut praline is better than ever in this luscious milk chocolate truffle.

3. Hot Dark Chocolate – This intense dark chocolate confection is infused with jalapeno pepper for a delightfully spicy sweet combination.

4. Mango – Ripe sweet mango provides a taste of paradise, which we enrobe in delicate white chocolate.

 5. Peaches and Cream – Nothing says “summer” like tart fresh peaches drenched in heavy cream and coated in white chocolate.

 6. Peanut Brittle Truffle - The buttery toffee and roasted peanuts that make peanut brittle such an all-time favorite are blended into a creamy milk chocolate truffle.

 7. Peanut Butter Banana – Back by popular demand, this confection is new again, honoring a classic flavor combination with a blend of creamy peanut butter and fresh banana covered in milk chocolate.

 8. Rum Cake – Indulge in a rich buttery dark rum-soaked cake, which we’ve blended into white chocolate ganache and covered with dark chocolate.

 9. Sweet Tea – Fresh brewed black tea and a splash of lemonade covered in white chocolate is a refreshing change from the ordinary.

 10. Tiramisu – Ciao down on creamy vanilla mascarpone and rich espresso ganache enrobed in a dark chocolate shell.

Norman Love Confections offers a total of 36 flavors year-round. In addition to the new flavors described above, the following delectable tastes are making a comeback this year:  66% Venezuelan Dark (formerly known as 70% Complexite), Almond Marzipan, Caramel Apple, Cherry Cordial Truffle, Cinnamon Roll, Coconut Truffle, Cookies ‘N’ Cream, Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle, Espresso Truffle, Florida Orange, Key Lime Shell, Milk Chocolate Truffle, Mint Chocolate Chip, New York Cheesecake, Passion Fruit, Passion Panna-Cotta, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Pistachio Cherry, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tahitian Caramel, Vanilla Cupcake, White Chocolate Raspberry and White Vanilla Truffle.

For more information on these 36 flavors, special collections such as BLACK and S’more Love, Specialty Chocolates and more, visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/.

We often talk about how we use “only the finest, freshest ingredients” in our marketing, but did you know we actually handcraft each element in the recipe?

When you bite into a Peanut-Butter-and-Jelly confection, you taste peanut butter and strawberry jelly that were made fresh in the Norman Love Confections kitchen by our very own artisans. Yes, we even bake our own New York-style cheesecakes to create the New York Cheesecake confection and Key Lime pies for Key Lime confections.

One of our newest lines, S’more Love, is a perfect example. We take this traditional campsite treat to the next level by preparing our own crunchy, freshly baked graham cracker, light and fluffy homemade marshmallows and salted bourbon vanilla caramel. These ingredients are then enrobed in dark chocolate. By producing each ingredient in every piece of S’more Love step-by-step, we can ensure our customers enjoy the freshest, highest quality gourmet ingredients possible!

If you haven’t yet tried S’more Love, Tuesday, Aug. 10 would be a great day to try it. It’s National S’more Day!

Do you remember your first taste of S’more? Was it a family camping trip, a Boy Scout adventure or a backyard BBQ? We’d love to swap stories with you so leave a comment!

Whether your dad is a serious chocolate connoisseur or simply loves sweets…

…a gift from Norman Love Confections is a great way to say “I LOVE you” this Father’s Day.

Our signature gift boxes provide an assortment of dark, milk and white gourmet chocolate confections in quantities of 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 pieces.

Read the rest of this entry »

N Love is our exclusive line of gourmet chocolate…

…wedding cakes, favors, desserts and novelties.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now here’s a fun and interesting use of our Gourmet Chocolate!

Maura, our Production Manager, worked with Jennifer Hicks (and her staff) of the North Carolina Museum of Art to create a gourmet chocolate version of the Kirchner’s Panama Dancers painting!

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re extremely proud to present our 2010 Mother’s Day…

Gourmet Chocolate Collection!

Our Mother’s Day Gifts feature 8 Special Heart Shaped Flavors:

Read the rest of this entry »

Mark Loren (of Mark Loren Designs) and I are extremely proud to announce our Mother’s Day Contest –

Be sure to watch the video above to see our segment with WinkNews, where Mark and I describe the contest, and how you can get involved by nominating your mother, or a mother you may know.

Please note: This contest is open to residents of Florida only.

Read the rest of this entry »

About a week ago, a family came into our Our Salon…

…and brought their 10 month old daughter in for her very first taste of chocolate.

Read the rest of this entry »