We Have a Winner for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Books!
Wow! You all shared beautiful stories of spreading compassion, so it truly was a tough decision. We did the hard work though, and selected our winner, Kathie, who said that she’d keep Vegan’s Daily Companion and share The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. “I would not actually give the book away. I would rotate it around and let people borrow it and when they are done give it back to me so I could pass it on.” 
Kathie came up with this idea to share the book with many people because “some friends and some family think that vegan food cannot taste good and it would be too hard, yet all are to an extent, animal lovers (except eating them!).” Thanks, Kathie, we love your idea to pass around the compassionate wisdom.
We enjoyed reading all your sweet and inspirational stories of family and friends moving towards veganism with your help and support. Many of you seem to agree that the best way to nudge someone along their path to healthier eating is to share excellent vegan goodies.
In case you don’t have time or inclination to make your own vegan Valentine’s Day sweets, let us support you. Like many holidays, Valentine’s Day has a tendency to creep up on us. Believe it or not, the time is now to order vegan Valentine’s Day chocolate gifts for delivery in time for February 14th. We’re ready to help you grant all your sweethearts’ sweet desires!
Last Chance for Holiday Orders
I know that shopping for the holidays is not always easy. It’s hard to find time amidst all the other holiday business, plus, there are always those people who are especially difficult to buy for. 
But, if you’ve been holding off on your holiday shopping, maybe hoping for a time when you’re less busy, or waiting for inspiration on that perfect gift, the moment to stop procrastinating is now. It’s time to make those last-minute holiday purchases and then breathe a sigh of relief that your gift list is finished for one more year. And, here’s the good news: you don’t have to brave crowded stores and hoards of wild-eyed shoppers to complete your final purchases; in fact, you don’t even have to get up! Since you’re already here, all you have to do is click over to our vegan bakery and confectionary to find all the compassionate, decadent, fair-trade gifts you’re looking for in just a few clicks. With only a handful of days to spare, there’s no time like the present. 
Whether you choose one of our elegant chocolate gifts, a gourmet coffee gift basket, or a cookie of the month club, we guarantee that everyone on your list will love your gift.
Did you remember a sweet something for your Host or Hostess, Dog Sitter, Nanny, Driver, or Doorman? There are so many people in our lives who deserve our appreciation during the holidays and chocolate is a great way to show it. If you’re not sure which types of goodies a specific person prefers, choose one our instant gift certificates and allow them to enjoy their own dessert shopping. Whatever you decide, order now so you can get on with the rest of your festive plans like awesome vegan baking and giant family meals!
Happy Holidays from all of us at Allison’s Gourmet.
P.S. Join Allison (@AllisonsGourmet) tonight at 6pm PT for the @VegNews Twitter chat: http://veg.gy/3E5CM. She’ll be answering your vegan baking questions along with two other extraordinary women, Hannah Kaminsky @BitterSweet_ and Beverly Lynn Bennet (@veganchefbev)!
For the Love of Chocolate
You’ve waited patiently all summer while we tested and perfected our new line of vegan fair-trade chocolates. Well, your wait has finally come to an end. This week we’ll be unveiling our completely reformulated and even-more-gourmet vegan peanut butter cups, peppermint creme patties, luscious artisan truffles and caramels and peppermint bark just in time for the holidays! 
But why, you may ask, did we go to all this trouble reformulating chocolates that were already top of their class? The answer is perfection. Here at Allison’s we’re always striving for perfection and we knew that, as good as our chocolates were before, we could do better. As Allison put it a few days ago, “Our chocolates before were great, these are as close to perfection as I’ve ever taste (and I’ve tasted a LOT of chocolates)!” Amidst all the craziness of launching a new product line, I sat down with Allison last week to get the whole chocolate story from her. Here’s what she had to say:
I love chocolate, but until recently my love affair extended only to tasting and enjoying chocolate in its many forms. Over the past 15 years, as Allison’s Gourmet has grown from a simple vegan bakery to a complete confectionary and gift boutique, I have delighted in creating new decadent goodies to add to our repertoire. The only thing that seemed beyond my patience to master was chocolate. Although I am a supertaster and an accomplished chef and baker, when it came to the realm of the chocolatier, I was intimidated. It’s true.
You see, chocolate is complex and temperamental; it needs to be treated with great care and respect to allow for the fullness of its beauty to unfold. Perhaps that’s why women adore chocolate so–it’s our mirror! There are numerous subtleties involved in chocolates and one false move could land one in the dreaded territory of seized chocolate. The exactitude of the craft make it pretty much impossible to create quality vegan chocolates exclusively by trial and error, and in the past I wasn’t prepared to learn everything I needed to know to be a true chocolate expert. So, in 2005, when I decided to add chocolate gifts to our Allison’s Gourmet family of sweets, I turned to a professional chocolatier to create our products.
This worked well for some time, but as the years passed, I continued to dream about offering chocolates of my own creation with varied flavors and ingredients that matched my predilection. I have a well-developed palate and had eaten enough chocolate in my years of business that I could taste something and tell you what I liked about it and what I would change. I had even helped a friend perfect her chocolates, but still, I hadn’t experienced the art of making chocolates myself. So what’s a perfectionist to do in this scenario? Obey the nagging of my palate and take a Chocolatier course, delve into volumes of research, hours of practice, and weeks of recipe testing of course! And like a good palatal (of or relating to the palate) slave, that’s just what I did.
The chocolate course I embarked on proved immeasurably useful, and the sheer scope of information I learned about chocolate was astounding. It’s been months in the making and I’m pleased to announce my new line of vegan chocolates, lovingly handmade with only the highest-quality ingredients in the exact flavor profiles that delight my palate.
Throughout the last couple of years we’ve sampled a lot of vegan chocolates in our quest for chocolate greatness, and in my opinion, the truffles and caramels she’s created are by far the best I’ve ever had. If you loved our chocolates before (or even if you didn’t) you simply must try these new versions of our classic favorites and some exciting new flavors that we’ve had so much fun experimenting with. 
Our abundant 20-piece chocolate assortment includes eight alluring varieties. Four truffle flavors: Coconut Joy, Orange Blossom, Peppermint Snow, Raspberry Blush and four caramel flavors: Pure Vanilla, Salted Chocolate, Butterscotch Pecan, Mocha. We’d love to know what you think of our new formulas for luscious vegan peanut butter cups and peppermint creme patties, too.
Welcome to the AG Chocolate Revolution!
New Categories Make Shopping Even Easier!
We just past the second anniversary of the launch of our gorgeous new website. Although, at two years old, it’s not really “new” anymore, 
we’re always updating and improving our look as well as our premium selection of products, so there’s usually something new to see and drool over. Recently, we’ve added a few new categories including Gluten-Free, Business Gifts, Gifts By Price and Seasonal Gifts (including Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Holiday gifts). We hope that the added categories will make our website easier to navigate and make finding and ordering your favorite treats simple and quick.
Halloween is just around the corner, so there’s not time to loose if you want a taste of the four limited edition flavors of our new Hard Caramels Halloween Candy including Mocha made with our own premium, fair-trade coffee. Order before this Monday the 24th to ensure delivery in time for all those trick-or-treaters on the 31st. 
Other warming Autumnal favorites to match the change in the season include our Spice Lover’s Gift Set and Mexican Chocolate Brownies.
I know it seems early, but malls are already starting to play “Jingle Bells” and we’re already gearing up for the winter holidays. If you want to plan ahead and make shopping easy and stress-free this year, let us take care of all your holiday gifts online. 
We offer a delectable selection of classic and unique confections and baked goods as well as fair-trade tea, coffee, and chocolate gifts. Our elegant gourmet coffee gift baskets make excellent corporate holiday gifts that will create smiles all around at any office party and are sure to impress your co-workers. Shop around now so you know what you want to order later, or, if you really want to be ahead of the game, order your fair-trade gifts now using our delayed delivery date option to choose exactly when you want them delivered.
Summer’s Heat Can’t Beat These Chocolate Treats
You may have noticed that the chocolate sections of our website are a little less populated this summer than they have been at other times of the year. This is because summertime heat, especially in this record-breaking year, makes creating, storing and shipping chocolates problematic. 
As you probably know, we have extremely high standards for the taste, quality and presentation of all of our products. In the case of our fair-trade chocolates, they’re made by hand, in small batches, using only the very finest dairy-free, organic and fair-trade ingredients. After all the premium ingredients and loving preparation, it would be a shame to have them arrive as a chocolate puddle. So, to avoid that tragedy while the warm weather continues into Fall, here are a few wonderful chocolate gifts that will not melt in the heat.
Our chocolate, salted chocolate, and chocolate rose caramel flavors all have the chocolate-y goodness we all love while being impervious to heat. If they get a little soft in warmer temperatures, simply refrigerate them for a short time to re-harden. Classic and peppermint drinking chocolates are perfect for creating rich and decadent dairy-free chocolate milk or milkshakes on hot summer days. For some taste-test fun, try several different non-dairy milks and ice creams in your milkshakes, then pick your favorite.
Last but certainly not least, our baked goods offer a variety of chocolate flavors that don’t mind the heat. Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies and several flavors of brownies are currently available including Toasted Coconut and Pecan. These artisan baked goods make excellent corporate food gifts for compassionate and eco-conscious companies. A dozen cookies or a tray of brownies cut into bite-sized pieces can easily be shared around an office or conference room. Don’t let the heat get in the way of your chocolate cravings…
Act now!
Healthy Dad!
It’s June 1st and there are only two weeks left to order for Father’s Day! Do you know a special Dad who deserves a treat but is trying to stay healthy or get fit? You can support healthy Dad and show him that healthy eating does not have to mean complete deprivation. 
Our vegan baked goods, confections and chocolate gifts contain zero cholesterol and use all organic, superior-quality, real-food ingredients; no animal products, preservatives or artificial anything. Tickle his taste buds with decadent organic brownies, a perfectly picante Spice Lover’s Gift Set, or elegant chocolate caramels. Treats should, of course, be consumed in moderation and a healthy lifestyle should also include several servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as regular exercise. 
For a little of everything, treat Dad to a complete vegan gift basket with plenty of goodies share!
If Dad’s really not eating treats at all, there’s always our elegant fair-trade coffee or tea samplers that ensure guilt-free gift giving for every lifestyle.
Celebrating Vegan Easter
Spring is springing around here (finally) and we’re all looking forward to more time outdoors, working in the garden and, of course, Easter. 
Mostly we celebrate Easter by being outside in the springtime weather. Amidst the wildflowers we hide and hunt for plastic eggs filled with treats (Solid Chocolate Eggs work great for this), and our 4-year-old Olivia loves to decorate wooden eggs as well. Although Olivia doesn’t eat much sugar, she loves getting vegan eggs filled with stickers, nuts, and other treats. Older children and adults will enjoy a gift basket brimming with fresh fruit, beautiful Truffle and Caramel Filled Eggs, and adorable Chocolate Bunnies, too.
This year I think we’ll do brunch outside (weather permitting) highlighted by a seasonal version of my Frittata using local, organic asparagus and vegan cheese. Versatile and delicious, it enjoys almost any accompaniment. Continuing the Springtime theme, we’ll also be enjoying strength-building greens and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Summer will be here before we know it!
Wishing you could share Easter with loved ones far away? Our elegant Easter-themed chocolate gifts will spread springtime joy wherever they go.
How will you be celebrating Easter this year?
Send a Chocolate “I Love You”
Most people agree that nothing says “I love you” like chocolate, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give the same kind of chocolate every Valentine’s Day. 
After all, there are so many ways to enjoy chocolate! For lovers of chocolate candy we offer chocolate-covered vegan toffee, and peanut brittle beautifully united with chocolate caramels in our Chocolate Lover’s Gift Set. 
For those more inclined towards baked goods we have myriad vegan brownie flavors and Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies as well as rich, creamy Drinking Chocolate to go with them. And, of course, for truly decadent chocolate gifts there’s always vegan fudge in flavors like Chocolate Orange, Java Crunch and Chipotle Cinnamon.
Order now and choose a delayed delivery date of February 10th for shipment in perfect time for Valentine’s Day!
Order Now in Time for Christmas!
It’s not too late to order your chocolate gifts for Christmas! All orders placed this weekend, before 9am Tuesday morning, will be shipped for delivery by Friday, Dec. 24th. Orders placed later than Tuesday will need 2-day air or Overnight shipping in order to arrive before Christmas.
Gift-Boxed Chocolates, Gift Baskets, and Gift Sets all make decadent and delectable chocolate gifts for friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Include a hand-written gift card message and seasonal gift wrap for a more personalized touch.
Order now, and you may even be lucky enough to get something in return!
Our New Packaging Struts Its Stuff
If you’ve received orders from us recently, you’ve probably noticed that our bakery boxes and chocolate gifts are looking different these days. 
Over the past few months we’ve been slowly transitioning to all new packaging, and now that the transition is finally complete, we can’t wait to share our new look with the world! We want you to be the first to watch our beautiful chocolate gifts show off their new attire. Check out the elegant new colors for our lovely gift baskets and the embossed logo on our new purple chocolate boxes. 
Also included in this makeover were our gift certificates, gift boxes, and all our products’ labels. We hope you enjoy our new look as much as we do.
