Shop Local - Sappho Chocolates

In recent years, quality chocolate has occupied a growing niche in the market. Meanwhile, there are so many artisan brands of chocolate that it can make your head spin to research them. Chocolate is now treated with the same discernment as say wine, attributing all manner of flavor characteristics to various types of chocolate: floral, citrussy, deep berry, etc. These nuances come, of course, from the quality and purity of ingredients as well as the process through which the chocolate is created. 

It goes without saying that a great chocolate engages all the senses. It should look inviting, smell glorious, make an alluring sound when we snap it or bite into it, and feel luscious in the mouth. Very good chocolate is also going to cost more – a lot more – than for instance a Hershey bar. 

To make a great chocolate you must take the time to do every step of the process correctly, right from the very beginning. Not only must the chocolate maker select great cocoa beans, but they must work with farmers who ensure that the beans are optimally fermented and dried. Once this is achieved, the cocoa beans must be cleaned, roasted, winnowed, ground, blended, and refined with the highest quality ingredients. All this takes time and attention to detail coupled with a commitment to do what's best for the chocolate every step of the way.

In comes Sappho Chocolates! Right here in our Daytona Beach area, we have a chocolatier who takes chocolate making very seriously. Kathryn Neel, who studied at Ecole Chocolat, and her partners Charlotte Lambert and Darlene Duncan are committed to producing the best tasting and purest fine chocolates available to the public while following the most socially and ecologically responsible sourcing of our chocolate products.

The results are simply stunning. Their beautiful truffles come in incredibly delicious flavors, including Kona coffee, vanilla, caramel, vanilla, Earl Grey (!), and Chambord. However, Sappho Chocolates is always researching and experimenting with new flavor combinations and ideas. Their chocolates contain only the very highest quality ingredients, no fillers, no artificial flavors, nothing but the best – and you can taste it!

Moreover, Sappho Chocolates procures their cocoa beans from growers who do not use child labor and child slavery.  Certified Fair Trade chocolate growers can assure that these chocolates were not made on the backs of little children. Something also to consider when you buy those M&Ms, Twix, Snickers, etc. One of the reasons those type of chocolate products are so affordable is that large corporations get their beans at extremely low prices – beans that were grown with slave labor.

A fun facet of Sappho Chocolates products is their sci-fi shaped confections! You can get a chocolate Dalek (Dr. Who – for you non-geeks), D&D 20-sided dice and swords, as well as Star Trek and Firefly items. Moreover, with 3-D printing, Sappho Chocolates can make a mold for their exquisite chocolate out of just about anything. Planning a big party and want an impressive center piece? Get it made from chocolate and beautifully airbrushed with colored cocoa butter! Then serve it to your guests for dessert! 

Sappho Chocolates is already making a big splash in the Central Florida Area – most recently with their presence at Orlando’s Makers Faire. With their new kitchen now open, they are ready to explore different possibilities and expand their market.

Look them up! Indulge yourself and get some chocolate! With local pickup and delivery you don't even have shipping costs! Sappho's Facebook page

Daytona Beach Symphony - Society and Guild

The Daytona Beach Symphony Society  is about to start its 65th season! Though Daytona does not have its own symphony orchestra, the Symphony Guild and Symphony Society manage to wow, entertain, and delight Daytona Beach residents every year with world-class acts.

This season will kick off on November 11 with Siberian Virtuosi – an ensemble of 11 brilliant violinists bringing you a thrilling evening. Throughout the season you can also experience the Prague Philharmonia, The Vienna Boys’ Choir, Bamberg Symphony, Theatro Lyrica, and much more. Every last performance featured by the Daytona Beach Symphony Society is of outstanding and high-class nature. Truly fabulous cultural experiences! Get your tickets here .

Thanks to tireless efforts of the Symphony Guild, the greater Daytona Beach area can enjoy these incredible performances every year! The Guild’s work includes advocacy for the Symphony Society, and of course fundraising. In addition, the membership dues make a program possible for 2,500 school children to see the performances each year at no cost to them. Many of the 6 to 18 year-old students are at risk, and at least 40% percent live below the poverty line. Here they can experience top-notch musical performances, which would not be possible without the Guild’s program. 

In May of this year, the Symphony Guild elected a new president, Gerri Wright-Gibson, with whom the new guild season will kick off on Monday, October 3 at 10am at the St. James Episcopal Church in Ormond Beach.

Meetings are every first Monday of the month, October through May. Being a member comes with some terrific benefits! You get to meet and socialize with interesting and fun people. As a guild member, you can receive a 35% discount on season tickets to the Symphony Society performances. And you receive invitations to the Daytona Beach Symphony Guild’s cultural excursions and outings, unique parties, dinners, luncheons, and a newsletter. You can be on one of 13 committees! Most importantly, you can be an advocate for Daytona Beach’s premier source of music, dance, and performance: The Daytona Beach Symphony Society.

If you would like to join, the annual fee is $40. You can email Joan Fenton, who is in charge of memberships, and she will advise you how to proceed. Email Joan

Creative Florida Living

Janet Sells 

Food Trucks on the Fun Coast

Food trucks have been enjoying great popularity in the United States, even having their own show on Food Network. The food truck movement has finally made its way to the Fun Coast. In the Greater Daytona Beach Area, we can now enjoy individual food trucks as well as food truck ‘rallies’ from Ormond to New Smyrna Beach. 

A Little Food Truck History

The Texas chuck wagon is a precursor to the American food truck Food consisted of dried beans, coffee, cornmeal, greasy cloth-wrapped bacon, salt pork, beef, usually dried or salted or smoked, and other easy to preserve food stuffs. Yum!

Then there was the lunch wagon in the late 1800’s selling sandwiches, pies, and coffee business employees in the city. Later versions of the food truck were mobile canteens, which were created in the late 1950s. These mobile canteens operated on stateside army bases.

Finally, mobile food trucks, nicknamed "roach coaches" have been around for years, serving construction sites, factories, and other blue-collar locations. 

 

The Gourmet Food Truck movement started in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. It spread throughout the United States, and now can be found in the suburbs and small towns. Characteristic of food trucks is a small, specialized menu, gourmet food items (often a twist on old favorites), and a tiny crew that cooks and serves in various locales.

In our area, you will find food trucks more often than not in the parking lot of local brew pubs, such as Tomoka Brewery Co. Going to a food truck rally is all kinds of fun! You can pick from a variety of very reasonably priced food items from different trucks. There is usually music and a lot of people. A happy atmosphere accompanies these events!

The next food truck rally will be in Ormond Beach on July 21 – check it out here. The best way to be informed about various food truck appearances and rallies is to “like” their Facebook Pages. Here are a few:

The Good Food Truck 

The Big Hot Box 

Cousin’s Maine Lobster 

 Creative Florida Living

Janet Sells 

Port Orange Has It All!

Most everyone has heard of the famous Daytona Beach. A destination for bikers, spring breakers, race fans, and beach lovers. But if you say you live in Port Orange, you are most often met with blank stares.
  

Port Orange is, of course, part of the greater Daytona Beach Area, and is a nice-sized city in its own right. Moreover, Port Orange has some claims to fame – so read on to find out more!

Port Orange is considered to be a principal city in the Fun Coast region of the state of Florida. The city's estimated population in 2013 was 57,203.

Port Orange was settled by John Milton Hawks who brought freed blacks to work at his sawmill after the U.S. Civil War. Esther Hawks established an integrated school in the area. The colony struggled soon after its creation and most colonists left. The area that became known as Freemanville is a legacy of the settlers that held on in the area.

Over the last 30 years, Port Orange has grown in leaps and bounds. It now features a broad spectrum of retail and entertainment establishments, fine restaurants, YMCA, library, and parks. Notably, Palmer Chiropractic college, which draws a younger-than-Florida-average population to Port Orange, is located in Port Orange.

Spruce Creek High School regularly makes the top 100 high schools in the US, and it boasts an International Baccalaureate program as well as an international award winning Jazz Band.

Among the top 10 things to do in Port Orange are the beautiful Sugar Mill Gardens and Cracker Creek . Trip Advisor has a comprehensive list. 

Port Orange is the 7^th safest city in Florida and the second safest city of its size (over 45,000 population). The police have a big presence, and it is generally known that you better not drink and drive – ever – but especially not in Port Orange! City council is very active in planning and expansion. If you want to get involved – and involvement is welcomed – the City of Port Orange makes it easy.The city has a Facebook page and so does the Port Orange Police! 

Whether you already live on the Fun Coast, or are considering a relocation to this area, Port Orange is worth your consideration! In addition to being a small city that has everything, it in perfect proximity to all other cities along the fun coast – Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, Flagler Beach to the north; Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater to the south. And of course it's a hop, skip, and a jump to Orlando!

Housing options include the gated golf communities, as well as many neighborhoods with moss draped oaks and water views along creeks, bays, and the beautiful Halifax River (Intracoastal Waterway).

Come to Port Orange 

and see what you’ve been missing!

  Referrals are how we build our business, and it is an honor to help your friends and family with their real estate needs.

Creative Florida Living 

Janet Sells