Besides Chocolate, What Else Can You Run on a Fondue Fountain?

Who says you an only run melted chocolate in your chocolate fountain? You can us it to serve fruit coulis or fruit purees, nacho cheese, caramel and your favorite dips. We will be sharing recipes on this blog so watch out for it. The key is to have the right consistency. Sephra, the most popular brand of chocolate fountain, comes with viscosity funnel pictured below.

To achieve the right consistency, fill the funnel with chocolate, dips or sauces and make sure the content empties within 8 to 10 seconds. If it takes longer you have to "thin" the liquid based on your recipe. Do not add milk or water to your chocolate. Cocoa butter is your best option. I do not recommend using vegetable oil as that will affect the taste or your chocolate.

My fountain has "holes"!

The chocolate is melted, the fountain sits nicely on your buffet table. You switched on the "run" button and to your dismay, your fountain does not "curtain" properly. The chocolate flows perfectly on one side but seem to drip on one side causing "holes". What do you do?

Many things affect the way a fountain curtains, including:

Improper fountain placement - If your fountain sits on uneven surface, the melted chocolate will not flow evenly, hence the "holes".

Sephra fountains have adjustable screws on the base of the fountain hidden behind its "legs". You can use those screws to adjust the way the fountain raises on four corners until you achieve a balance placement and perfect flow.

Thick consistency - Chocolate tends to 'thicken' when heated for a long period, clogging the auger and causing lumps that affect the flow of chocolate. To avoid this, make sure you regularly "scrape" the fountain basin using rubber spatula or you can switch of the unit for a few seconds before switching it on again. You can also add cocoa butter to thin the chocolate, putting one to two tablespoons of melted cocoa butter on the basin while it runs. You can also switch off the unit and add two or three tablespoons of unmelted cocoa butter onto the basin allowing it to melt for a few minutes before running th

Wind Factor - A chocolate fountain must not be placed outdoors as wind will not only affect the chocolate flow but can also blow chocolate out of the fountain and onto your table or your guests' clothes. Some chocolate fountain rental companies offer wind guards for outdoor fountain use. Wind guards are transparent flexiglass encasement to protect wind from blowing through the fountain. When using the fountain indoors be careful not to place the fountain directly above or across an airconditioning vent as it will also affect the chocolate flow.

What Dippings Do You Fancy?

One of the things customers ask us when inquiring about Fondueliscious fountains are dipping items. They want to serve a variety of dips but are not sure what will go well with chocolates. As rule, we do not suggest serving dips that are watery like watermelon, very ripe papaya or honeydew melon. Water is the number one enemy of chocolates so fruit juice will affect the consistency of the chocolate and it will not be a pretty sight. Here are some of the dips we suggest:

FRUITS: Strawberries, pineapple, apple slices, banana (frozen of fresh) pears, raspberies, blueberries, honeydew melon or cantaloupe, mango, star fruit, dragon fruit, fresh coconut chunks, dried fruits.

Non-Fruits: Mashmallows, cream puffs (puff pastry), mini muffins, donut holes, pretzels, wafer roll, pop cakes, rice cripies animal crackers, graham crackers, mini chocolate eclairs (frozen), potato chips, pork rinds, sesame sticks, caramel popcorn, biscotti, bagel chips, corn chips, brownies, eclairs, candy cane, ice cream balls, ice cream sandwiches.

A little history of Chocolate Fountain

Chocolate fountain sizes range from a little over a foot to over 40 inches. Well, not exactly. as the biggest fountain in the world is installed at The Belagio in Las Vegas (see below), a 27-feet tall glass-encased structure running more than 2,100 lbs of melted dark and white chocolates

Eight years ago, you would never have thought of buying a chocolate fountains. First of all, they were HEAVY! Transporting nearly 50 kg of stainless steel equipment may not be worth your cravings. Secondly they are EXPENSIVE! You may have the space to store bulky catering boxes, but is it worth shelling over a thousand dollars for something you use once or twice year? Thirdly they are HUGE, To run a 34" fountain, you need to melt 20 lbs of chocolates and if few guests turned up in your party, you will have several kilos of left over chocolate literally going down the drain. This was back in the days when chocolate fountains were used purely for commercial purposes.

Chocolate fountain machines is said to have been invented by Ben Brisman and popularized by a Canadian company called Design & Realization (Dri) which makes chocolate pastry and confectionery equipment. Dri catered to hotels and caterers with their Dri fountains. Market response has not been encouraging until companies such as US-based Buffet Enhancements and Sephra stepped into the marketplace and made the product more attractive to broader customer demographics.

As more and more people see fountains on catered events, they began enquiring models for home use. At the end of 2004, US-based the Hellmann Group began marketing the Nostalgia Chocolate Fountain which were small, lightweight, transportable and easy to maintain and affordable. Sephra followed close behind, introducing a line of high-end home chocolate fountains in 2005 integrating some of the innovative features of their commercial models to the home models.

Increased retail consumer awareness drove commercial chocolate fountain rental and sales and created an evolving value chain which includes fountain chocolate manufacturers as well as makers of sauces, food colorings and flavorings and oils. Today the chocolate fountain is used interchangeably with “fondue” as it is used to serve anything from cheese dips to barbecue sauces.

Chocolate fountain sizes range from a little over a foot to over 40 inches. Well, not exactly. as the biggest fountain in the world is installed at The Belagio in Las Vegas (see below), a 27-feet tall glass-encased structure running more than 2,100 lbs of melted dark and white chocolates

Why Fondueliscious?

Anything that has to do with chocolate preparation could be intimidating. Chocolate making conjures up an image of Swiss or French chocolatier in spotless coats and toques explaining the importance of tempering and how cocoa butter needs to 'bloom" in order to achieve that delectable sheen and snap.

On the other end of the value chain are artisans who create wonderful chocolate confections so they can share the their love for chocolated and all the good things that go with it. Picture the sensuous Juliette Binoche in the movie Chocolat warming up a town that had grown cold in tradition with servings of single source Guatemalan that ignites passion. I am neither of these, but it has been a great year-long journey of learning and discovery, of building connections with helpful souls who believe in the joy of serving chocolates.

Nine out of ten people love chocolates, and the one who claims he doesn't is a liar. I thought of building business around a product that caters to all demographics. Above all, I want a business that makes people happy!

My business venture Fondueliscious, a company that specializes in customized chocolate fountain, is growing. I got a huge debt of gratitude to friends who inspire me and help me every step of the way and customers allowed me to be part of their celebration of life, friendship and togetherness.