The instructions say that this chocolate fondue fountain makes any occasion an event. And why not? It's flowing chocolate! This fountain is very easy to use. For my first experience with it, we used plain old Hershey bars. The chocolate must be melted and thinned with vegetable oil before it goes into the fountain which I did easily in the microwave. Since just our immediate family was going to be eating it on this occasion, I was trying to use the least amount of chocolate possible. I found that I needed to used 1 1/4 pounds to get the nice waterfall effect in which the chocolate cascaded in a sheet down the sides like the picture on the box. Any lesser amount and the chocolate would still flow, but it merely drizzled over the sides and wasn't as nice looking. It was very fun to use and my children now ask almost every night if we are going to "do chocolate."
The second time I used this was for a party. I found a good deal on some Ghirardelli candy making bars and used these. I used around 3 pounds which seemed to be close to the maximum that the fountain would hold. Since this was not regular chocolate, the consistancy was not correct for the fountain even with the added vegetable oil. The chocolate flowed but just drizzled over the sides even though I was using a sufficient quantity. I was disapointed, but my guests still loved it. Next time I will use normal chocolate. Perhaps I will try chocolate chips which is one of the options listed in the instructions.
This exact same chocolate fountain sells in Target for $49.00 and to be honest, I don't think that it is worth that. I purchased it clearanced through Amazon for $12.49 plus shipping which was a GREAT deal. Overall, I am definitely glad I made this purchase.