Vendors
Thank you to our wonderful 2016 CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL VENDORS!
Ashby Confections
Ashby Confections creates exquisite confectionary experiences using single origin Swiss Grand Cru chocolate, fresh cream, real butter and many locally sourced organic fruits, herbs and other elements. No preservatives are used so everything is made in small batches. Before you even taste one, take it in with your eyes. Jennifer Ashby established this artisan confectionery in 2004. She is a graduate of Culinary Institute of America.
Burrell School Winery and Vineyard
Wine tastings at the Chocolate Festival:
2009 "Detention" Zinfandel- Vines in the Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra foothills have a rich heritage dating back two centuries. Here's Winemaker Dave's big, bold Zin from the Ryan Oaks Vineyards. It starts with a nose of plum, sweet tobacco and spice, leading up to bold plum and bramble berry flavors.
Barrel treatment: American oak, 50% new, 18 months
2007 Late Harvest Zinfandel "Probation"Late harvest Zinfandel from the Moniz Vineyard is here. Enjoy the jammy flavors of dark berries, smokey chocolate and a spicy after-taste. Sip by the fire on a cold winter evening.
Food pairings: chocolate mousse, biscotti, honey baked figs
Buttercup Cakes and Farm House Frosting
Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting is the original Downtown Santa Cruz Cupcake Shop located at 109 Locust Street. Long time cake decorator, Jan Wilson, offers a vast array of flavor choices including gluten free and vegan. Her recipes specialize in local, organic and seasonal ingredients. Come on by to find your new favorite sweet treat!Cacoco, Santa Cruz, CA
CACOCO is an all organic, vegan, superfood drinking chocolate. As good nutritionally for the body as it is good tasting, CACOCO sources the most masterfully grown cacao on the planet, sourced directly from Ecuadorian farmers using beyond organic practices. We use whole, raw cacao beans, low-glycemic, mineral-rich sweeteners like coconut nectar crystals and carob, and fresh warming spices like true cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground vanilla beanChocolate Visions
Hi! My name is Patti, and I just bought a chocolate shop! For the past 40 years I have been a baker and cake decorator. Chocolate was my favorite medium to work with. Designing desserts with a chocolate flair is what I did. After taking the Artisan Confections course in the Cabrillo Culinary Arts Program, I became addicted to making confections. I worked at Chocolate Visions for over 2 years before I bought it. Candy is my life! Now, it's chocolate everyday, all the time. Every now and then I miss the baking aspect. But, I get to make caramels and a variety of chocolate confections everyday. I love my job!
Cold Stone Creamery
For more than 12 years here in Santa Cruz, we’ve served up the finest, freshest ice cream, cakes, smoothies and shakes using only the highest quality ingredients, and of course, our signature process of preparing your custom ice cream creation on a frozen granite stone just for you.
Cowboy Toffee Company
Our toffee isn't common English toffee. It's infused with flavor and texture. Our toffee is Cowboy Toffee with down home flavors that'll take you back to the country.
Dove Chocolate Discoveries
DOVE CHOCOLATE DISCOVERIES™ launched in February 2007 as one of the latest ventures from Mars, Incorporated. Become a chocolatier or host a chocolate party in your own home!
Easy Artisan Cooking
Anne Baldzikowski will sign her book, Easy Artisan Cooking, and offer tastings of caco nib cookies.As one of the highest forms of art, cooking combines beauty, flavors, colors, and sounds. Artisan recipes can often take many hours if not days to produce. With Anne Baldzikowski's book you will be able to create artisan foods using simple techniques that many students have mastered in Anne's classes at Cabrillo College. Now you can create these tested professional recipes any time you wish by following Anne's uncomplicated instructions that simplify artisinal cooking. Let her guide your inner artisan as she has guided thousands of students in her culinary teaching career.
Endorfin Chocolat
We formulate each of our recipes from scratch using the highest quality cacao we can find, employing just the right amount of whole food sweeteners, spices, & essential oils to let the brilliance of the ingredients speak for themselves. We have chosen not to roast our cacao beans, which allows us to deliver the maximum range of flavor and antioxidants possible with every bar we make. We never adulterate or dilute our products with anything that would cheapen or minimize the vitality-promoting aspects inherent to our unique style of processing, hence the lack of any dairy, soy, or refined sugar in anything we create. In essence, our products unite our old school purist ethos with modern technology and craftsmanship, resulting in a timeless picture of indulgence that is intrinsically sustainable and nourishing to the soul.
Equinox Winery
Barry and Jennifer Jackson were born in Fresno County, surrounded by agriculture but fell in love with the rich historic Santa Cruz Mountain winegrowing region and the eclectic independent winemakers they met there.
Throughout the 70’s Barry married and worked his way through college at Fresno State University. Out of curiosity he enrolled in a number of oenology classes, and to his pleasure and surprise, it focused and lit his imagination on fire.
Following graduation, he worked for large valley wineries including the Paul Masson facility in Madera. He eventually transferred to their corporate headquarters in Saratoga but after the dismantling of Paul Masson by corporate raiders, Barry and Jennifer decided it was time to make a commitment to join the winemaking community in their ongoing stewardship of its future. Equinox sparkling wine was born in 1989, with the sister label Bartolo forming in 2006 for the still wine. Equinox will celebrate their 10th anniversary on the westside of Santa Cruz on the Equinox this March. The new tasting room is located in the Swift Street Courtyard, 334 C Ingalls Street. Come by for some bubbles and meet the Equinox family; the tasting room is open Wednesday-Friday 3-6 pm and Saturday-Sunday 1-6 pm. Cheers!
Goose's Goodies
Marci Prolo, also known as “Goose” to her friends and family, is confectioner and owner of Goose’s Goodies. She started with traditional toffee recipes and added an avant flare. The end result is 15 unique varieties. She pairs these up with wines and family stories. Her signature toffees are milk chocolate with almond, white chocolate with macadamia nut, dark chocolate with cashew and sea salt, and mexican chocolate with chile and pepitas. Come and try this delicious treat! It will become your family's go to after dinner sweet treat!
Hey Hey Gourmet
We started by making herb and spice blends to be made into dips, toppings and spreads, expanded into cooking herbs, and are now adding dessert blends. Our Chocolate Chile is our first venture into this area. We grown our own herbs and are a Certified California Grower.Highway 1 Brewing Company
At Highway 1 Brewing Company, we believe strongly in serving the highest quality delicious food with the lowest possible impact on our environment. All our food is grown within 15 miles of the building using sustainable farming techniques. All our meat is free range, grass fed, and has no hormones nor antibiotics. And, all the food waste from this building is fed to our pigs and chickens we are raising.
But don’t take our word for it. In June of 2015, we received awards from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the California State Assembly, and the U.S. Congress for our farm-to-table ethos. So feel good about the food you’re about to order, because we do!
Highway 1 Brewing Company believes brewing beer is an art form and a joy to drink. Therefore, we endeavor to make the best beer possible. We're developing our yeast strains in house with the help of outside labs. Due to our location in this remote area of the beautiful coastline, we're focusing on lower ABV beers. Our goal is big beer flavors with lower ABV consequences. So enjoy a pint or two, and enjoy the coast!Holy Smokes Country BBQ and Catering
My name is Janis Cota. I am a retired professional and business owner of “Holy Smokes Country BBQ and Catering” here in Santa Cruz CA. Holy Smokes Country BBQ was born in Sebastopol, CA in 1998 as a small family business with a single Mom, daughter and son serving fantastic smoked BBQ at the Sebastopol Farmers Market for over 5 years, using all the best and fresh ingredients available.
Through the years Holy Smokes Country BBQ has grown into a bustling, full service family catering company and made a giant move to Santa Cruz CA in October 2010! Santa Cruz has welcomed us, our good eats and our Smoker BBQ with open arms. Currently, we have our catering service available for your enjoyment and no physical restaurant location at present, but hope to in the near future. We are very grateful to be living and working in Santa Cruz, the coolest town in CA!
India Joze
World traveler, Jozseph Schultz is a local favorite, known for his catering, culinary arts instruction, creativity and generosity.
Kindred Cooks
We are the Kindred Cooks. Like-minded moms that got together to satisfy our need to be available for our kids as well as lead a satisfying professional life. We've taken the best family soft caramel recipe we know and produced a delicious treat that we sell at farmers' markets and select local businesses. We also provide our bites of yumminess to corporations looking to reward employees or keep them awake during never-ending meetings. Our caramels are handmade and gourmet, made fresh from the best ingredients. All it takes is just one bite and you'll be hooked.
MÄKSĒ Gourmet Rice Crisp Bars
MÄKSĒ uses only the finest and freshest ingredients to create gourmet rice crisp bars that will fill your belly and warm your heart. Try one today and your taste buds will thank you!
Mission City Creamery
Mission City Creamery was founded in 2013 in Santa Clara, CA and is family owned and operated. 100% of our ice cream is made on-site daily in small batches, using organic dairy products from Strauss Farms. The owner, Chris Leahy, made ice cream as a hobby for 20 years and opened Mission City Creamery with the vision that it would be a unique neighborhood place where gourmet ice cream is served.
My Mom's Mole
Cesario Ruiz is the founder of My Mom’s Mole. The company strives to enhance the community with its commitment to sourcing quality ingredients, keeping it local, and participating in educating people about how to create and celebrate their food.
Network Chiropractic Wellness Center
At the festival the center will offer free spinal/posture screenings as well as information regarding our services, yoga classes and spinal health. Gift certificates will be available for purchase. They'll also offer samples of raw cacao truffles created by a local food artisan.
Nut Kreations
Nut Kreations is a family owned and operated specialty Nut, Fruit and Chocolate store in downtown Santa Cruz. We offer over 125 items and get the majority of these within 100 miles of our store. Because we offer so many options, we can help you find exactly what you're craving in a single item, help you create the wildest mix you can think of, or design a blow-your-socks-off gift.
Pajaro Valley Quilt Association
PVQA Guild will display a lovely quilt which will be offered in an opportunity drawing at their Quilt Show, February 21-22, 2016, at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 10 am - 5 pm .Philosopher's Stoneground
The Philosopher’s Stoneground is a mission-driven stone ground nut butter company based in Santa Cruz, California. We currently make four types of sprouted almond butter, Ostara Stone Ground Coconut Butter, and Ostara Stone Ground Cocotella (chocolate coconut butter). We exist to create the best nut butters possible, on all levels, for all beings! Our mission is to regenerate people and planet with delicious food that nourishes Life through its cultivation, manufacturing, and consumption. We are a big-picture company focused on enabling the flourishing of Life on Earth. Intelligent Nourishment for Life!Pure Heart Chocolate
Pure Heart Chocolate is an organic chocolate company based out of Santa Cruz, CA. The one-woman business is run by Becky Potter, who believes in sourcing cacao and other ingredients from farmers who share a vision of sustainability and creating a healthier food system for us all. Pure Heart Chocolate uses organic, raw, seasonal ingredients whenever possible and is dairy, gluten, and preservative free. As such, the chocolate is best enjoyed fresh, in its purest, most decadent form. Pure Heart Chocolate is available in the bakery section of New Leaf Markets and by custom order.Rita's of Scotts Valley
Rita's of Scotts Valley opened in April of 2015. We are located in the Nob Hill shopping center right next to Erik's Deli. Rita's is a 30 year old brand that started on the East Coast and is making its way West.
Santa Cruz Derby Girls
The Santa Cruz Derby Girls (SCDG) is 501(c)3 amateur roller derby league in Santa Cruz, California. SCDG promotes the sport of women’s roller derby by fostering local, state, national and international amateur sports competition. SCDG provides the skills training necessary for participation in local, state, national and interleague competition. SCDG is also committed to promoting the sport of recreational junior roller derby for youths (under the age of 18). SCDG is operated by the women who skate, a wonderful support staff of non-skaters, and a group of women and men who make up the Track Pack (our ref crew). Behind-the-scenes, skaters officially practice three to four times a week, along with outdoor skating and off-skates cross-training.
Silver Mountain Vineyards
From the top of the Mountain, we've been producing premium wines in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 37 years. We are a leader in organic and sustainable practices. Varieties focus on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Alloy, a Bordeaux style blend.Snake and Butterfly
Snake & Butterfly refines a premier selection of organic, fair trade cocoa beans in small batches. Since 2007, they have hand-roasted and hand-poured a wide variety of award-winning bars and confections.
Sones Cellars
Michael and Lois Sones run this small family winery in Santa Cruz, California. Their goal is to produce small lots of fine quality, distinctively Californian wines from grape varieties that flourish in California.Toffee by the Sea
Laura Brunton started Toffee by the Sea in 1997 at the urging of her family and friends. After each Christmas they always wanted more and suggested that she start a business. So as she is entering her 18th year, she is enjoying sharing her Toffee more than ever with many people. Laura was the winner of blind tasting competition for toffee at last year's chocolate festival. Contact Laura at toffeebythesea@yahoo.com
Woodworm Party Store
Woodworm Party Store is a family-owned and operated business on the Central Coast of California. located in Capitola. Woodworm prides itself in contributing to the community. Woodworm has a goal of being a community leader and serving non-profits throughout Santa Cruz County. Since opening its doors in 1973, Woodworm has donated to multiple non-profits and local schools.
Xoçaí Healthy Chocolate
Xoçaí's cacao is obtained from small, family-owned and operated farms in the Ivory Coast. This is important because cacao beans from this region of the world are significantly higher in antioxidants.
2016 Chocolate Festival Vendors:
