Never Get Off the Bus: Talking Toffee

To get in the English mood for the Royal Wedding this weekend of Prince William and Kate Middleton, try out some award-winning, locally-made English toffee from Toffee Talk. You might want to munch it with champagne, or a spot of tea, when the festivities begin at 1 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday morning.  

In her spare time, Ellin Purdom, who commutes on the Golden Gate Transit 24 bus every day from her home in San Anselmo to the city for her job as Director of Client Services for Ashfield Capital Partners Investments, is the self-appointed “Director of Social Networking” for her cousin’s new business, Toffee Talk. 

Cousin Catherine (CJ) Hughes grew up in Piedmont in the East Bay. In 2009, she left a twenty-eight year career in commercial real estate, took a two-month breather, and decided to make English toffee. The recipe, which she tweaked only a little, originated with her godmother Suzi Soper who made it for family holidays.

The whole toffee venture all started at the Marin County Fair. “We submitted the toffee and walked away. It won ‘Best of Show’ out of 600-plus confections, but we didn’t realize it immediately. In fact, we walked right by the space where the prize was displayed,” Purdom recounted.      

“Catherine gave me an iPad as a thank-you for all my volunteer hours,” Purdom continued. “I have 45 minutes each morning and evening to work on Toffee Talk while riding the bus. I am following Google analytics and went to social networking boot camp, but for the most part I am just figuring it out on my own.  

“I am able to follow the food trends via Twitter. I discovered  Patch through social networking. On the bus one morning, I saw that a San Francisco publication [7X7 Magazine] was doing a chocolate tasting that very day. I immediately called Catherine, who jumped in her car and brought them some of our toffee. We were in the top three,” said Purdom proudly. 

“In watching various people try the toffee, we realized that once they tasted it, they started talking about it. So we named it Toffee Talk and then added ‘little pieces of conversation’ as the tag line. ” 

The cousins are trying to keep their venture as local as possible. The commercial kitchen is in San Rafael. Graphic designer, Amy Knapp, lives in San Anselmo (her kids go to Drake High School). Purdom’s husband also went to Drake, as did their son Charlie. “He took many of our website photos and even used some of them in his portfolio to get into the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan,” boasted proud mom Purdom.  

The toffee is sold at and in San Anselmo, and is also available online. In honor of the Royal Wedding this weekend, Purdom will deliver to your Fairfax or San Anselmo address Thursday evening through the weekend (if she’s not on the bus), so call her directly if you need a toffee fix. It is English toffee after all.

Toffee Talk was featured on Daily Grommet, a site which introduces a new product every day. They have also been working with event planners and brides to use the confection as a party favor. 

A week ago, they won the 2011 Gold Medal at San Francisco’s International Chocolate Salon for best toffee. In Marin, Toffee Talk is involved with charity events like Marin Adopt-a-Family, Marin Catholic High School March Fashion Show and Safe and Sober Grad Night, and Marin Charities Spring Fling. 

For now, there are four flavors to enjoy: peanut, pecan, almond and red walnut. Even the walnuts are local, they come from a friend’s farm in Gustine. Another product, Crumble Mumble, is meant to be a topping for ice cream or yogurt -- though one of their facebook followers loves it on oatmeal. 

Purdom carries cello bags of the toffee everywhere. In fact, she’s looking for a larger briefcase. You just never know how many “little pieces of conversation” can tell the whole story. "Every day is fun," she said.     

And how does the Director of Social Networking get all the director-ing done on the busy? It makes perfect sense for any multi-tasker. Using technology and social media, Toffee Talk can instantly get their message across to the media and to the public, while she travels to her other full-time job. Purdom can also find out what is going on within the food community and see where there might be a fit or find an opportunity for product placement. Besides, she meets a lot of good contacts  who also ride the bus. 

What happens at the end of the bus ride? Only time (and toffee) will tell. Follow Toffee Talk on their facebook and twitter pages to keep up.

Toffee Talk

(415) 929-7852

cjstoffeetalk.com

Facebook: Toffee Talk page 

Twitter: @cjstoffee 

To contact Ellin Purdom, Director of Social Marketing and one time delivery person  - to San Anselmo and Fairfax residents - for Royal Wedding Weekend:  (415) 987-5260