Have You Used a Chocolate Fondue Fountain Before?

Im thinking about renting a chocolate fondue fountain for my wedding. Im not too sure about how the set up, clean up, chocolate running out...etc.,

Has anyone ever rented one before? Are they easy to set up? Would you recommend it? Please share your detail. -Thanks.Have You Used a Chocolate Fondue Fountain Before?
Chocolate fountains are great, and may seem a lot simpler than just having cake, but there are a few pitfalls to having them at a large party such as a reception. Set-up is generally pretty easy, but clean-up is really messy. Speaking of messy, guests can easily drip chocolate on themselves or on the linens, which can definitely be a problem. Also, there is also a potential for people to drop pieces into the chocolate, which can jam up the machine. Also, if you are having a reception outdoors, do not use this fountain; imagine chocolate blowing all over everything with the wind!



At my grandfather's second wedding, they actually had a person that was specifically there to man the fountain the whole reception to ensure that the fountain ran smoothly, but I have also been to receptions without a person there.



If you are dead set on having one, you will need to make sure you have about 8-10 pieces for each person if it is the only dessert you are serving. About 20 pounds of chocolate is recommended for 200 guests, so you can adjust accordingly. Get a chocolate that has a high fat ratio, like a Belgian dark chocolate, because you can melt it easily and it will flow really well. Milk chocolates and chocolate chips that are melted tend to require cocoa butter or oil added to make them flow more easily. The chocolate fountain will not melt the chocolate; it will just keep it warm. You must make sure to melt it at the time and not pre-melt it; otherwise, your chocolate won't taste the same. You can use a double boiler or a microwave. Just make sure if you do burn some of the chocolate that you discard all of it.



Make sure you don't use things that are crumbly, as crumbs don't look good in a chocolate fountain! Make things bite size so that no one double-dips also. Some good things you can use for dipping are:



Fruits: strawberries, mandarin oranges, kiwis, grapes, cherries (not maraschino), raspberries, blackberries, melon chunks

Don't use bananas because they look disgusting after sitting out for a while.



Oreos, biscottis, mini brownies or rice krispy treats, lady fingers, angel food cake, pound cake, any kind of cookie, marshmallows, caramels, pretzel sticks, nut clusters or peanut brittle, or macaroons all work great.



Also, make sure you use long skewers like bamboo skewers and not toothpicks. They are too short and lead people to drop them more easily! You can also have a ladle so that people can just scoop chocolate from the bottom. If you choose to do that, you can use a softer cake or something like small hardened ice cream balls or cheesecake bites.



I hope this helped!
Do not do a do it your self, rent it from a place that advertises their chocolate fountains because most places have an attendant that comes with it. I had one for my wedding, and my brother in turn had one for his right after. They can be messy but if there is an attendant, they ensure that the station remains attractive for the entire time. I would highly recommend it. Make certain to have a variety of dippers. I know at my wedding the rice krispie treats and the strawberries were the biggest hit, at my brother it was lady fingers. Be certain that in your reception that you have plenty of room for this station, as people like to partake and watch. I had a great experience with it, and the family still talks about it, even though they have become very popular.Have You Used a Chocolate Fondue Fountain Before?
I have, I used to be a server for a catering company. We did a Christmas party with a large chocolate fountain. It looks pretty and looks delicious, but it was a huge PIA. Setting it up took like four of us to figure it out, getting the chocolate right, even dipping the fruit and stuff in it was a mess. And the clean up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh! Unless you find someone who is an expert at it, and you don't have to mess with it yourself, I would never use one again. It was really messy to eat from too.
Like the first poster said, if you're going to do it, do it with someone else who's not someone who will get distracted by the other festivities handling it. AKA hire someone with the fountain. Setup is a pain, the amount of chocolate to get it to work properly is much more than you'd expect, and people just seem to lose common sense completely when they can play in running chocolate.Have You Used a Chocolate Fondue Fountain Before?
My cousin rented one for her wedding, and it was a huge hit! The only thing is, be very, very careful with chocolate near that wedding gown!