A few months ago, I was driving over to Cafe Rio to grab some lunch and a new sign in the Traverse Mountain parking lot caught my eye: “Coming Soon: Just Add Chocolate.” The banner noted that the shop would have chocolate classes and parties. How cool is that? As a lifelong chocolaholic, this idea definitely piqued my interest.

I looked it up and found out that the store wouldn’t just sell chocolate, they would teach you how to make gourmet chocolates that you get to take home with you after the class! I excitedly texted my sisters, and we made plans to attend a chocolate class as soon as the store opened.  

Last Saturday, Tara, MaLee, and Makayla had the opportunity to attend one of the classes at Just Add Chocolate.

BEST. EXPERIENCE. EVER!

We were greeted the moment we walked in the door by Foster, the owner and head chocolatier. As he finished prepping our chocolate stations, we took a look around the front of the shop. There is a candy counter with the most delicious looking gourmet chocolates, some made in-house and others brought in to sell, all very cleverly named. There are also darling chocolate lover t-shirts that would make great gifts for the chocolate lovers in your life! I plan to stop back in to pick up some chocolates and t-shirts for myself in the near future.

 

After we had a chance to look around the front area, Foster led us to our very own chocolate making station. Each seat had a box containing a hat and an apron, along with several tools to use when making the chocolates. We all got to decorate our hats, which was a fun way to start! We donned our chocolatier accessories, feeling as though we belonged next to Lucy and Ethel in their famous chocolate factory debacle. Then we sat as Foster walked us through each of the different ways to make chocolates at their store.

It was really fun to watch. Foster is so funny and so kind. He completely made the experience for us! His presentation was interesting and upbeat and kept us engaged the entire time. He explained how to make chocolates using their molds, how to use the chocolate conveyor belt (coolest machine ever!), how to make truffles and fruit/nut filled chocolates, and how to make the most of of your experience there.

Then they turn you loose to use the rest of your time to make chocolates yourself! Each type of event comes with a certain amount of chocolate you get to take home at the end (and it’s a lot of chocolate!). You have free reign of all of the sweet goodness at your table and the shelves around you. Foster, Emma, and Sarai were there to help with whatever we needed, but were very unobtrusive so we felt like we were creating our chocolate masterpieces on our own.

Tara, MaLee, and Makayla all tried out each of the various chocolate making methods and were enthusiastic about all of the results. First, they looked through the shelves and shelves of filling options for the chocolate cup molds. There are candies, nuts, dried fruits, sprinkles, and more that you can mix into cups of white, dark, or milk chocolate bases.

There are also bags of the most incredible truffle filling flavors, such as cheesecake, chili, mint, and of course, the standard chocolate filling. There are all kinds of standard cream fillings, like strawberry, coconut, etc. They had tasting spoons available so you can try the filling before you put it in your chocolates! Although, this isn’t strictly necessary since all of the truffle fillings and creams are amazing!

One shelf contained many trays of things to put through the chocolate conveyor belt, such as Twinkies, Oreos, Pretzels, and more. There were even pre-made chocolate shells you could fill shaped like large cups, squares, and even hearts!

In the back of the store, there was a rack containing all kinds of chocolate molds for many different interests and occasions. We had a blast picking out molds to make for Tara’s kids and our boyfriends. They were easy to use and fun to try out!

The whole process was indescribably fun! We shared our ideas as we made the chocolates and LOVED the sample platter they brought out for us. Not only are the chocolates fun to make, but they taste absolutely amazing! There was music playing while we made chocolates, so we got to dance around. We drank sodas from the soda machine as we worked and felt like the time flew by while we were there.

It was such a great experience that we spent a lot of our time there planning when we could come back! Tara talked about doing one of the kid’s birthday parties, Makayla planned a group date night, and MaLee was excited for the corporate training class option! There are options for everyone, and they have been honed to perfection.

This is not Foster’s first chocolate party endeavor. He is the owner of the store Farris and Foster’s down in Florida, where they have gotten the chocolate partying down to a science! After running that highly rated and successful business for several years, Foster decided to bring this idea to Utah, where the world’s best chocolate lovers reside. I have no doubt that Utah’s Just Add Chocolate is going to be even more successful than its Florida counterpart.

On our 5 star rating scale, this place is a shoo-in 5! It’s clean, bright, and has a great vibe. Foster and his staff are very friendly, helpful and just awesome all around. The whole class is such a great experience! We all thoroughly enjoyed the demonstration and making the chocolates. We also loved getting to take the chocolates we made home!

I felt like a proud little kid coming home to show their mom something from art class. Every time I reached into the box of chocolates to grab another tasty treat, I felt an extra satisfaction knowing that I made them myself. The chocolates tasted AMAZING and I tried (and largely failed) to ration out my chocolates after the class so I could make them last because they were sooo good. The minute I ate the last chocolate from my box, I told my boyfriend we had to go do a date night class so we could get more chocolates.

You HAVE to go try out an event at Just Add Chocolate! Whether you do a date night, a kids’ party, a girls night out, or a corporate event-you will have an incredible time! The prices are so reasonable for the combination of the experience and the chocolates you get to take home with you. Tell all your friends and get to Just Add Chocolate asap! You will absolutely love it.    

Tips for when you go:

1: Call ahead to schedule your event. I would recommend doing this for now no matter which type of class/party you are wanting to book.

2: There is a scale near the front counter. You can weigh your box of chocolates at any time to see how much you have already made!

3: There is a rack with molds for the chocolates in the back of the store. At first, we thought each shelf had the same molds so we only looked at the molds in the front. But we later realized that each hanger held different molds! I found the cutest love emojis at the back of one rack, so make sure to look through all of them!

4: There are a lot of nuts, so if you have a severe nut allergy, you may want to call and talk to the owners before booking an event for yourself or anyone with a severe nut allergy.

Overall Rating: 5+/5

Click here to visit their facebook page! 

Contact them: (385) 484-6150

Location: 1873 W Traverse Pkwy, Lehi, UT 84043

 

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