WAIALUA, HI – Pastry Chef Stanton Ho, creator of Waialua Chocolate's exclusive truffles, recently featured the delicious dessert ingredient on the Chefs Du Jour 2007 menu. His creation, appropriately titled "Waialua," was a fusion of praline macadamia crunch, Waialua 70% dark chocolate truffle ganache and mousse, and a caramel-vanilla butterscotch and milk chocolate mousse. To compliment the confectionary creation, he also served Dragon Fruit from Kona Dragon Fruit.

As part of a demonstration earlier in the week, Ho cut open a cacao pod before guests, sampled chocolate in its raw form and in prepared desserts. In addition, Chef Ho also participated in a tour of the 20-acre farm with visiting chefs. A former island resident that now works as corporate pastry chef for Chocolates a la Carte in Valencia, California, Chef Ho taught a master class for Kapiolani Community College culinary students in the fine art of making ganache and chocolate mousse.

Even before sampling Chef Ho's dessert, Oprah Winfrey's Personal Chef Art Smith was smitten with Waialua Chocolate. During Chef Smith's free cooking demonstration at Macy's on August 10, he talked about Hawaii cacao and praised its flavor and high quality. In addition to working with Winfrey, Chef Smith is also the owner of the new restaurant Table 52 in Chicago and a cookbook author.

Jin Caldwell, chocolatier and pastry chef for Ethel M Chocolates in Las Vegas, also expressed interest in using and selling Waialua Chocolate. She got an up-close look at the cacao farming operations during the orchard tour.

Chefs Du Jour is an annual fundraising event for Easter Seals Hawaii hosted by Chef Alan Wong and features Hawaii and mainland culinary stars. Each chef creates a special dish using locally grown produce and products. Live music, a silent auction, and special wine and spirits tasting complete the evening.

Grown on the North Shore of Oahu, Waialua Chocolate consists of 70% cacao and is Dole's newest gourmet gift to the world. It is available at Dole Plantation in Wahiawa or by shopping online at the plantation’s web site www.doleplantation.com