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Fresh Sheet: Celebrate chocolate, new wine gadget and candy-making class

By Adriana Janovich adrianaj@spokesman.com(509) 459-5446

Celebrate Chocolate

The first Decadence! Spokane Chocolate Festival features sweet and savory creations from chocolatiers, confectioners and chefs from Spokane and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Proceeds benefit Inland NW Baby, a local nonprofit that provides diapers, clothes and other supplies to children in need in the greater Spokane area.

General admission is $20. VIP tickets are $45. VIP ticket holders get to go to private reception for – and vote for winners in – a chocolate martini competition.

Both VIP and general admission attendees can add a 6 p.m. wine-and-chocolate or port-and-chocolate pairing class for $7.50. A limited number of afternoon-only $10 tickets are available for noon to 3 p.m. access. The event takes place from noon to 9 p.m. Friday at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive.

For more information, visit www.decadence festival.com.

Kickstarter for new wine gadget

A Spokane company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund its Sonic Decanter.

Dionysus Technology Concepts Inc. has been developing the patented technology for the small, electronic device for more than two years. The contraption aims to impart the benefits of aging wine within 20 minutes. It uses ultrasonic sound wave energy to release a wine’s dissolved gases and create new chemical bonds, mirroring the bottle-aging process.

Its suggested retail price is $249. But early-bird customers can get the gadget through Kickstarter for a reduced price. The goal is to raise $85,000 and make the first product shipments in May or June 2015.

On the Web: www.Dionysus technology.com. Or, visit the www.kickstarter.com page devoted to the effort.

Candy making class

Pastry chef Lynette Pflueger will be teaching home cooks the finer points of holiday candy making – and now’s the time to sign up.

On the menu: white chocolate fudge, peppermint marshmallows, pecan divinity and nut brittle.

Participants will receive informational packets detailing the stages of cooked sugar as well as additional recipes. The presentation-style class costs $39, has room for 16 people and starts at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave., Suite 416.

Pflueger was trained in the hospitality program at Washington State University. She also studied at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, as well as the Culinary Arts Program at the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles. She worked in Connecticut, Hawaii and Florida before returning to her hometown of Spokane, where she works at Santé Restaurant and Charcuterie.

Call (509) 328-3335. On the Web: www.thekitchenengine.com.