Chocolate World 2011 Trip Report
August 3, 2011
After the trolley ride, it was time to experience what I'd have to say is the one thing you simply must do at Chocolate World (that is, right after Hershey gets Fair Trade-Certified...): Create Your Own Candy Bar.
You need to reserve a time to start (takes about half an hour, maybe a bit longer, to do), and it's roughly $16.00 per person. But you end up with your very own custom-created and freshly-made bar, a really big one, in a keepsake tin WITH a sleeve label that you design. And you literally walk down the line and watch it all happen, step by step. Brilliant, really.
Whether or not all the protective outerwear and hair nets and such is really necessary, they do make you feel like you're in a bona fide food-producing factory. And they insist we wear them. (Here we are outfitted with just the aprons.)
Our first step is to get properly oriented. A "pre-show" video explains the procedure and it basically goes like so: pick a "base" (milk, white or dark chocolate), pick your ingredients (up to three of six available) and choose whether or not you want sprinkles on top. The list of inner goodies changes daily; we got raspberry fruit, butter toffee crunch, chocolate crackle bits, semi-sweet chocolate chips, pretzel bits, and almonds.
I went with a dark chocolate base, with the raspberry and semi-sweet chocolate chips, and no sprinkles on mine, thank you.
After inputting your candy bar data, it's time to head to "the line," which is all computer-controlled with scanners and "Vibratory Feeders" and other high-techery.
Here comes a base out of the "De-Stacker." This is a milk chocolate base, not mine.
Here's mine! Mmmmm, look at that rich, dark brown color... You know what, computer; I'll just eat the base, as is, right now... ("I'm sorry, Robert... I'm afraid I can't do that...").
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