TAM3 Chocolate Challenge

[Chaos]

Those of you who attended TAM2 will still remember the most delicious part of the meeting, the TAM2 Chocolate Challenge [shameless self-adulation] - which, as I may, without any undue humility (;)), remind you, was my idea. [/shameless self-adulation]

I hope, though, that you do not remember how clearly German chocolate lost that challenge. If you remember that Belgian chocolate lost, that´s okay with me. :)

Anyway, although it is not yet 100% certain that I can attend, I hereby renew the challenge for the next Amazing Meeting.

Chocolates of the world - hear my call! ;)

This time, though, to avoid more allegations of unfair competition as have been made by certain European competitors, the Challenge will either be limited to either milk or dark chocolate, or there will be separate categories for both.

Also, I am working on an improved testing procedure. Input from experts on testing paranormal claims is welcome ;)

Wanted:
Co-Competitors
Judges
1 Over-worked and Under-chocolated Organizer

[exarch]

The role of co-competitor appeals to me. Consider the Chocolate Challenge™ accepted. Again.

Also Wanted:
Very important, a bigger table to display all the chocolate.
In fact, why not make it a slightly more official event, with a designated location, so we don't mess up the hotel lobby with chocolate crumbs and stains like we did this year :o

And let's have proper means of cutting the chocolate up into bitesize pieces, so we don't have to run to the restaurant at the last minute begging for a knife.

Side-note:
Ever since TAM2, Cote d'Or's dark chocolate with orange will forever remind me of Moe having a chocolate orgasm in the pink Beetle driving down the strip. Oh yeah ... :D

[The Bad Astronomer]

I'll note that Scharffenberger, which won last year, also has a milk chocolate bar.

I wonder if it would be possible to make sure the chocolate is warmed slightly this year. That makes it slightly less brittle, and smoother.

[Tanja]

I don't think I will be coming to TAM, but I do know where to buy the BEST chocolate in the world...in a small exclusive tobacco (!!!) shop called De Graaff in The Hague in the Netherlands.
For dark chocolate lovers, it is pure pleasure at over 80% cocoa. There milk chocolate is even more heavenly. Unfortunately, it is horrendously expensive (about 12 Euros for a 250 gram pack. Worth every penny or cent of it).
Exarch, can you pop over to the Hague and buy some? It is a sure winner (can you send me some to London as well? Thank you. ;) )

[Luciana]

May I suggest bottles of water? At the Tuscany the barman gave us free water, otherwise we'd have to get water maybe at a considerable distance. And chocolate needs water, imho.

[SkepticScott]

I'll bring Van Otis "bark" again, both milk and dark.

[exarch]

Originally posted by Tanja
Exarch, can you pop over to the Hague and buy some?
Why? It's probably Belgian chocolate anyway.

Originally posted by Tanja
It is a sure winner (can you send me some to London as well? Thank you. ;) )
Why don't I bring you some superior Belgian chocolate instead (depending on how much a trip to London (Skeptics in the Pub?) would cost) :D

[deBergerac]

Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer
I'll note that Scharffenberger, which won last year, also has a milk chocolate bar.

I wonder if it would be possible to make sure the chocolate is warmed slightly this year. That makes it slightly less brittle, and smoother.

Actually it gives better taste as well. At least according to the experts the molecules that carry the taste are easier to absorb if the chocolate is slightly warm.

[tim]

I just got back from a few days away in Lincolnshire (erm...that's in England?) where I met a chocolatiere in a small village. I'll bring a half kilo of his 70% bitter chocolate!

[Eos of the Eons]

:D Volunteering for judge duty. Will help organize if needed. Canadian chocolate sucks, so will be unable to donate. Unless you want to try some Smarties. I can see if I can smuggle some of them in. They are far superior to M&Ms.

[exarch]

I must warn people that Eos has already been introduced to Belgian chocolate (although mostly milk chocolate). Still, she may be very critical :D

[Kiless]

I hereby nominate the chocolate of my state, from the Margaret River Chocolate factory. I'll have to pack it tightly sealed, so it survives the plane trip over unscathed. Sign me up! :)

[Chaos]

*bump*

[TriangleMan]

I would like to volunteer as a judge. I'm a real chocoholic, but only for quality chocolate.

Alas no one in Bermuda makes chocolate so I can't bring any for the Challenge.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
:D Volunteering for judge duty. Will help organize if needed. Canadian chocolate sucks, so will be unable to donate. Unless you want to try some Smarties. I can see if I can smuggle some of them in. They are far superior to M&Ms.

You're kidding, right? Someone gave me three boxes of Smarties recently. I ate about 4 pieces, and had to throw the remaining 2.95 boxes away. They were horrible!

[Chaos]

Originally posted by TriangleMan
I would like to volunteer as a judge. I'm a real chocoholic, but only for quality chocolate.

Alas no one in Bermuda makes chocolate so I can't bring any for the Challenge.

Traditionally (i.e. we did it that way last time) only skepchicks (i.e. female skeptics aged 12-99) can be judges. The only exceptions were Jami Ian Swiss (who was hired to safeguard against the use of magic tricks by competitors) and The Bad Astronomer (who managed to sneak in somehow).
On second thought...to hell with tradition. You´re in.


A note to both judges and competitors: demanding or offering bribes is strictly discouraged. Once one person starts it, others will do it, too, and bribe price levels will immediately skyrocket.
(If you don´t believe me, ask shanek about details on free market price dynamics)

Right we have...

Judges:
The Bad Astronomer (volunteered implicitly - and it would be useless to try and keep him away from it)
Luciana Nery (volunteered implicitly)
deBergerac (neither skepchick nor volunteer, but we need his newly PhD´ed expertise)
Renata (volunteered via another channel)
Eos of the Eons (volunteered)
Kiless (volunteered implicitly)
TriangleMan (not a skepchick but still a volunteer)
the first magician I meet that doesn´t run away in time (again, for expertise)

Competitors:
Chaos - Germany
Exarch - Belgium
Tim - Great Britian
Kiless - Australia
Skeptic Scott - (whereever...)

[Eos of the Eons]

Woohooo!!!


Originally posted by The Central Scrutinizer
You're kidding, right? Someone gave me three boxes of Smarties recently. I ate about 4 pieces, and had to throw the remaining 2.95 boxes away. They were horrible!

Recently? From where? Were they nestle or some imitation?
They are so much better than m&ms :p

Oh, and you eat the red ones last.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Chaos
Traditionally (i.e. we did it that way last time) only skepchicks (i.e. female skeptics aged 12-99) can be judges. The only exceptions were Jami Ian Swiss (who was hired to safeguard against the use of magic tricks by competitors) and The Bad Astronomer (who managed to sneak in somehow).
On second thought...to hell with tradition. You´re in.
Hmph. I was the very first judge signed on last year. I have the blindfold to prove it.

I am willing to judge again this year, or to feed chocolate to a blindfolded skepchick judge or two... or three... or six...

[Luciana]

Hmmm... chocolate!

Before:
http://forums.randi.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1870282592


After:
http://www.badastronomy.com/pix/tamii/chocolate_web.jpg

[Loon]

I understand that this is strictly about chocolate and not chocolate candies such as truffles, fondants, fudges, caramels or other other things you might find at ethel m.

If this is the case, I offer to judge because I know a fair bit about working with chocolate and have much experience. If this is not the case, I cannot judge because I will have at least one entry in the competition.

Please let me know soon so I know whether I will be handing people their butts on a paper plate at the chocolate challenge.

[Kiless]

Me again!

And yes to the "volunteered implicitly" but it'll have to be explicit with a proviso.... :(

I may not be there... as it clashes with the big dinner on Thursday, I believe?

BUT!

My chocolate from Western Australia and hopefully (since I'll be stopping off in NZ on the way to LV) New Zealand will be entered.

I just need someone willing to fake the accent and possibly wear a hat with a bash in it to fill in for me on the night and be trusted not to eat the chocolate from the Southern Hemisphere..... :)

[Loon]

Originally posted by Loon
I understand that this is strictly about chocolate and not chocolate candies such as truffles, fondants, fudges, caramels or other other things you might find at ethel m.

If this is the case, I offer to judge because I know a fair bit about working with chocolate and have much experience. If this is not the case, I cannot judge because I will have at least one entry in the competition.

Please let me know soon so I know whether I will be handing people their butts on a paper plate at the chocolate challenge.

While the opening post says light and dark categories, Luciana's picture shows Tim Tams and other chocolate based delights.

[Chaos]

Last year we didn´t really have any rules for the challenge, so we had all kinds of chocolate and chocolatoid (wow, I made up a new word!) stuff.

This year, it will be two categories: milk chocolate and dark chocolate. No other stuff.


Don´t worry, Kiless, you will at least be there in spirit - and you can still eat some of the leftovers after dinner or on the next morning.
And I´m sure there will be other Australians there who will fill in for you and defend you continent´s honor. :)

[TriangleMan]

Originally posted by Chaos
Traditionally (i.e. we did it that way last time) only skepchicks (i.e. female skeptics aged 12-99) can be judges. The only exceptions were Jami Ian Swiss (who was hired to safeguard against the use of magic tricks by competitors) and The Bad Astronomer (who managed to sneak in somehow).
On second thought...to hell with tradition. You´re in.
Gee. Thanks! :D

A note to both judges and competitors: demanding or offering bribes is strictly discouraged. Once one person starts it, others will do it, too, and bribe price levels will immediately skyrocket.
(If you don´t believe me, ask shanek about details on free market price dynamics)
So I get to be a judge but cannot bathe in corruption and hedonistic excess? Damn!

[Loon]

Excellent. Then I volunteer to judge. I can be pretentious if necessary.

[Chaos]

Originally posted by TriangleMan
Gee. Thanks! :D

My pleasure. :)

So I get to be a judge but cannot bathe in corruption and hedonistic excess? Damn!

Chocolate is by definition hedonistics excess. And corruption... who needs corruption when there is chocolate... ;)

[TriangleMan]

Originally posted by Chaos
Chocolate is by definition hedonistics excess. And corruption... who needs corruption when there is chocolate... ;)
So then why are you concerned about bribes? :p

How about seduction, are skepchicks allowed to use seduction on judges to influence their vote? Pleeeeeeeeze? ;)

[exarch]

Originally posted by TriangleMan
So then why are you concerned about bribes? :p

How about seduction, are skepchicks allowed to use seduction on judges to influence their vote? Pleeeeeeeeze? ;)It wouldn't do you any good though:

Competitors:
Chaos - Germany
Exarch - Belgium
Tim - Great Britian
Kiless - Australia
Skeptic Scott - (whereever...)

And since Kiless will be replaced by an as of yet unknown Aussie, the list of competitors doesn't have any other skepchicks to influence male judges. Of course, female judges could be the target of various male competitors' attention though ...

By the way, Chaos, the two categories are an excellent idea, although I would separate them with some time inbetween for a drink or something, to give the second category a fair tasting after the first chocolate indulgence. (And milk chocolate tastes really bad after just having eaten dark chocolate, so make sure milk goes first).

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I volunteer to be an unblinded judge again.

~~ Paul

[TriangleMan]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
May I suggest bottles of water? At the Tuscany the barman gave us free water, otherwise we'd have to get water maybe at a considerable distance. And chocolate needs water, imho.

Or I could bring a bottle of Bermudian dark rum to cleanse the palate, it goes with everything. :D

[renata]

So, is the chocolate challenge Saturday night? What time? And where? Who is organizing it this year? :)


I remind all the competitors that I am a highly bribably judge.