Lake Champlain Chocolates Feeds the Curious Appetite
Burlington, VT (PRWEB) February 25, 2014 -- Savor a pressed sandwich or tartine, piled high with seasonal flavors. Watch chocolate being made from scratch. Enjoy an ice cream cone, churned just steps away from the counter. Join a chocolate and beer tasting workshop led by local experts.
Welcome to the South End Kitchen at Lake Champlain Chocolates.
Located at 716 Pine Street, right next door to Lake Champlain Chocolates’ (LCC) company headquarters, the South End Kitchen is a place to gather, eat and learn.
“For thirty years Lake Champlain Chocolates has used fresh, local ingredients coupled with a commitment to education, transparency and innovation,” says Jim Lampman, founder and president of LCC. “The South End Kitchen is a continuation of this commitment—a way for us to further engage with our customers for the next thirty years.”
The new space at 716 Pine Street will integrate three unique experiences.
South End Kitchen
The South End Kitchen is a sweet and savory café that is open for breakfast and lunch. It leverages LCC’s knowledge of chocolate and extends the culinary experience for customers. Led by Executive Chef Sarah Langan, the café entices with simple, seasonal dishes. “We want to nourish the community and create a place where people feel energized and truly connected,” says Langan. In addition to mouth-watering breakfast and lunch options, her menu showcases a tempting selection of pastries and desserts.
LCC’s ice cream production and Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker have also moved to the South End Kitchen. Café customers have a through-the-window view of the entire bean to chocolate bar process and can see small batch ice cream churning in the kitchen. And for those devoted fans of “America’s Best Hot Chocolate”, the South End Kitchen’s baristas serve LCC hot chocolates, specialty coffee drinks, and pour-over coffees.
Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker
Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker is a fresh approach to making chocolate at LCC established by Eric Lampman in 2012. Founded on the principles of transparency and integrity, Blue Bandana has brought to life a new vision for sourcing cacao. Exploring how direct trade can impact the lives of farmers at origin, Eric’s work involves forging new relationships with farmers, reinvesting in communities via training and education, and sustaining a high level of quality from producers.
“We’re embracing the craft process of making chocolate from carefully sourced specialty cacao beans and revealing the journey as we deepen relationships with specific farmers. Using fine flavor cacao helps showcase a remarkable spectrum of flavor profiles capable in chocolate. All the while, my engagement with these farmers is focused on improving the quality of post-harvest practices, identifying fine flavor, and supporting sustainable crop management,” says Eric Lampman.
Culture & Classes
Adjacent to the café is an education kitchen dedicated to food discovery. Chef Sarah Langan is partnering with chocolate experts, local chefs, farmers, and producers to bring an abundance of experiences to the table. The winter semester includes hands-on classes including tastings, pairings, a “make your own chocolate bar” class, as well as cooking classes and programs highlighting complementary local food producers such as wine, cheese and beer.
“After 22 years in education with the New England Culinary Institute, I am thrilled to be able to bring my food and teaching to the public. The South End Kitchen at Lake Champlain Chocolates is a perfect forum for what I have to share,” says Langan.
The foundation of this expanded LCC experience is based upon the same key values that have been in place at the company since the beginning. Jim Lampman explains further, “By sharing our love of the culinary arts, we hope this will be a place where a vibrant exchange of knowledge and discovery can happen, where people connect with others over great food.”
The South End Kitchen and Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker is ready to feed the curious appetite in Burlington and is open to the public serving breakfast, lunch and desserts Monday- Friday 7:30am-5pm, Saturday 8am-5pm and Sunday 8am-3pm.
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About Lake Champlain Chocolates
A pioneer in the American chocolate movement, Lake Champlain Chocolates is a family-owned company located in Burlington, Vermont. In 1983, Jim Lampman declared he would create upscale American chocolates that would “rival the Belgians.” Almost 30 years later, the Lampman family has done just that, by introducing European flavors and tastes using local, Vermont ingredients and by taking a craftsman’s approach to chocolate: creativity, patience and mastery. This level of care and craft leads to chocolates that win high praise, year after year, from customers and industry experts alike. Lake Champlain Chocolates are hand made by people who are passionate about their work; products include chocolate bars, as well as the best-selling Five Star Bars, truffles, caramels, gift assortments and gourmet hot chocolate and are available online, nationwide at specialty food and gift stores, such as Whole Foods Market, upscale hotels and inns, and at their three company-owned stores in Vermont.
Brittany Southwick, PMG PR, +1 (802) 863-3929 Ext: 107, [email protected]
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