Chocolate For Fountain

How much chocolate for fountain?  This question often plagues first time chocolate fountain party planners.

You want to be sure to have the right amount of fondue chocolate for several reasons.  First of all, you want to be sure the fountain works correctly.

There IS both a minimum and maximum amount of chocolate required to ensure that the machine you've purchased or rented functions as it is designed. 

You know that lovely flowing curtain of chocolate that you associate with a chocolate fountain?  You won't get that look if you don't use enough chocolate.

Instead, you'll end up with gaps in the chocolate which isn't nearly as pretty and tempting.  :) 

Secondly, of course, you want to be sure you have enough chocolate to accommodate the number of guests you're expecting without having way too much left over - though I LOVE leftover chocolate!  :)

Yes, the leftover chocolate can be used again in the fountain or for making other delicious chocolate treats, but some people may not want to do that for health and safety reasons.  Others may just not have the budget to overbuy if they can avoid it.

How Much Chocolate For Fountain Needed?

I recently received the following question from one of our visitors.  I decided to answer it here because I know that Denise isn't the only one who is trying to figure out the amount of chocolate for fountains they may be using for their next party.

Here's Denise's question...

It's going to be difficult for me to give an exact answer to Denise (or YOU) regarding the amount of chocolate needed, primarily because each fountain is different in the minimum amount of chocolate needed to get that flowing look that I mentioned earlier.

Since Denise didn't give me the name brand of her mini chocolate fountain, I'll have to just give you all some basic guidelines to follow and you can apply it to your particular chocolate fountain.

Interestingly enough, small chocolate fountains often require more chocolate per guest than commercial chocolate fountains. 

What you'll need to do is find the instructions for your particular chocolate fountain model, if possible.  If you don't have them, type in the make and model into Google along with the word "instructions" and see if you can locate them.

Another option is to find your particular model listed for sale online (maybe at Amazon) and see if the instructions are included somewhere in the listing (or at least the basics - how much minimum chocolate needed for use).

Once you know the minimum needed to get the fountain flowing properly, you can then add the amount you'll need for your desired number of guests.

A good rule of thumb is to allow 1 pound of chocolate for every 10 guests if the fountain is going to be the main dessert at the party or event.  If you are going to have other sweets, cake, pastry, etc., your chocolate will go a lot further.  You can probably plan for 20 guests per pound of chocolate.

There will always be variables - the type and size of foods used for dipping, the type of event, the number of chocoholics in your crowd, etc.

For example, some people may not eat any of the chocolate, while others (like me) will eat more than their fair share.   To be on the safe side, purchase a couple of extra pounds more than you think you'll need so that you can add them to the fountain if needed as the event progresses. 

Sorry I can't tell you exactly how much dipping food and chocolate you'd need for 80 guests, but I'd go with at least 5-6 pounds of chocolate and 5-6 pieces of dipping food per person. That's my best guess!  :)

Don't forget that you'll need skewers, too, at least one for each guest, but preferably plenty of extra for those who don't like to double dip with their skewer or happen to throw away their first one.  

Well, Denise, I sure hope that helps a bit.  I'd love to have you take some photos of your chocolate fountain event and tell us all about how it went, what your guests thought, etc.  :)  You can add it using the form at the bottom of this page.  (That's an open invitation to the rest of you, too!).

Have fun!

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