Chocolatiers and Chocolate Factories

In August 2000, I stumbled upon a fine Chocolatier in southern Wisconsin nestled among some fine brewery towns.  This has struck me to naming some of the finest chocolate I have had the privilege to eat.  For now, may I suggest:

Candinas Chocolatier, LLC, Proprietor: Markus Candinas
2435 Old PB
Verona, Wisconsin  53593-9985
1.800.845.1554

You won't find him in your local stores.  He only retails at his factory in Verona, WI and mail order.  The factory was just started around 1994.  Oh! but it is so good.  May I suggest the truffles with raspberry or orange centers.  Or the cordials filled with Champagne.  Don't be fooled - it is not cheap!  Swiss chocolate wrapped around his own recipes and flavors.  BTW, the chocolate will spoil.  This stuff is not meant to be kept (which is why you won't find it on your store shelves).  So eat it - feel it melt on your tongue - coat your mouth - the flavors dancing in your mouth.  This is a very delightful find.

In March 2003, Mary brought my attention to her company right here in the Twin Cities.  The Chocolat Céleste factory and retail outlet are located on University Avenue, just east of Hwy 280 in the "midway" area of town.  In March, Chocolat Céleste was featured in Chocolatier Magazine and she mentioned that her chocolates were served at a pre-Oscar luncheon for Meryl Streep.

Chocolat Céleste, Proprietor: Mary Leonard
2506 University Avenue West
St. Paul, Minnesota
665.644.3823

I stopped by and was very impressed by the selection and assortment of variety of truffles.   They even offer other chocolates from around the world and some gifts.  Alas, they did not offer any sample tastings, but I was told Mary hosts wine tastings (another joy of mine) where she matches foods with wines.  I did not sign up at the time, but I may be persuaded in the future.

In June 2003, I visited the farmer's market in Prior Lake and discovered the River Chocolate Company.  The kitchen is located in Menomonie, Wisconsin.  They take pride in their organically grown cocoa - but personnally I don't care.  What I do care is how good are the truffles and sauces.  They have already won two local awards - 2002 Best New Food Product at the Midwest Food and Wine Experience, and 2003 City Pages "Best of" for chocolate in the Twin Cities.

River Chocolate Company, Proprietors: Allen Whitney & Deirdre Davis
N6461 Country Road N
Beldenvill, Wisconsin
715.273.3731

They seem to be selling through the farmer's markets.  Besides in Prior Lake, they can be found at the St. Paul farmer's market.  This has especially significant sympathetic feelings because of my grandfathers long standing relationship with the the St. Paul Farmer's Market.  And to be honest, I like chocolate more than hot peppers.

In May 2004, I was visiting a local home brew store up on Grand Avenue to pick up ingredients for my root beer recipe and stumbled across a small factory/outlet for truffles in St. Paul.  They take great pride in having no preservatives in their products and remind you that they must be kept refrigerated.  As an unexpected stop, I only had time to quickly try one: so I chose a raspberry truffle.  At $2.75 each when bought seperately, I was astounded by the price.  The price for larger quantities was much more reasonable (4 for $4.50 if I remember correctly).  The truffle was pleasant to look at and generously large (I remember 3 bites) and had a very nice flavor.  The texture of the inside was a bit grainy, but this could be due to the natural raspberry.  In general, raspberry & chocolate is a personal favorite combination of flavors, so I was holding them up against a high standard.  It was a pleasant treat and I was quite happy to have enjoyed an unexpected pleasure.  I will need to stop by again (with a means to keep them cool) and plan on a larger (and more economical) box.

JusTruffles
13264 Grand Avenue,
St. Paul, Minnesota
1-877-977-9177 or locally 651.690.0075

In traveling in York, England I stumbled across this recipe for chocolate.  Chocolate made by large manufacturers today usually goes through a number of processes.
 

• Harvesting and Fermenting

Once the cocoa pods are harvested, they are split open by hand and the beans are removed.  The beans must then be fermented and dried - if this does not happen then the chocolate flavour will not develop.  Once this has been done the beans can then be shipped all over the world.

• Cleaning, Winnowing and Roasting

When they arrive at the chocolate factory the beans are sorted and cleaned.  They are then roasted.  This is also vital for the flavour of the chocolate.  The roasted beans are then broken into small pieces and the shells are blown away leavint the central heart of the cocoa bean - call the nib.

• Making Cocoa Mass and Cocoa Butter

The nibs are ground in mills until the heat and friction of the machines reduces them to liquid known as cocoa mass.  About half of the cocoa mass is made up of cocoa butter.  The cocoa butter is then extracted and a solid block of cocoa is left.  This is then pulverised into a powder.

• Making Milk Chocolate and Plain

To make milk chocolate evaporated milk and sugar are added to the mass and then it is dried to create 'crumb'.  The crumb is pulverised and mixed with cocoa butter and vegetable fat and any other flavorings.  Plain chocolate leaves out the milk.  White chocolate contains no cocoa mass at all - just cocoa butter, vegetable fat and sugar.

• Conching and Tempering

The chocolate is then mixed and beaten in a special conching machine which makes it extremely smooth and also gives flavour.  It is also tempered to mix and cool the chocolate to produce exactly the look and crispness of the chocolate required.

• Chocolate!

The tempered chocolate can then be poured into bar shaped moulds to produce, for example, Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate.  Alternatively, it can become a liquid curtain of chocolate poured over the centres - a process called 'enrobing'.  This is done to produce chocolate bars like Kit Kat or Milky Ways.  Chocolate assortments can be enrobed or put into shells of chocolate which are then sealed.  Panning is used to coat biscuits and raisins in chocolate by circulating them in a revolving drum.

Minnesota
Chocolatiers

Name	Rating	Location & Contact Info
Abdallahs		Burnsville, Minnesota Phone: 952-378-8877
B.T. McElrath Chocolatier		wholesale only Phone: 612-331-8800
Chocolat Céleste		2506 University Avenue W. St. Paul, MN 55114 Phone: 651-644-3823 E-mail: mary@chocolatceleste.com
JusTruffles Proprietors: Kathleen & Roger		13264 Grand Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Phone: 651-690-0075 or toll free at 1-877-977-9177 Fax: 651-690-2052 E-mail: justtruffles@cs.com
Legacy Chocolates		St. Paul, MN
Truffle Hill		24320 Smithtown Road Excelsior, Minnesota Phone: 952-470-1996

Wisconsin
Chocolatiers

Name	Rating	Location & Contact Info
Candinas Chocolatier, LLC Proprietor: Markus Candinas		2435 Old PB (exit 92 off 151, southwest of Madison) Verona, Wisconsin  53593-9985 Phone: 1-800-845-1554 E-mail: info@candinas.com Consumer Reports rated Excellent in 2002
Seroogy's Chocolates		144 N Wisconsin St De Pere, WI (just south of Green Bay) Phone: (920) 336-1383
River Chocolate Company,  Proprietors: Allen Whitney & Deirdre Davis		N6461 Country Road N Beldenvill, Wisconsin Phone 715-273-3731 E-mail: chocolate@redwing.net

Outside the Region
Chocolatiers

Name	Rating	Location & Contact Info
Brandt Weinbrand Bohnen		Schokoladen GMBH+CO.KG 58123 Hagen Got to try the Brandy Beans.
Bridgewater Chocolates		559 Federal Road Brookfield, CT, USA 800-888-8742 203-775-2286 A favoite of  Jane & Michael Stern
Cadbury		England
The Chocolate Garden		Coloma, Michigan, USA (269) 468-9866,
Ethel M Chocolates		2 Cactus Drive, Henderson, Nevada, USA Now part of Mars Retail Group, so I hope I can find it outside of Vegas.
Feodora		Bremen, Germany
Godiva
Hotel Chocolat, Ltd		Mint House Royston, Herts, SG8 SHL, UK Got to try the liquor truffles
Neuhaus chocolatier		Belgian Chocolates made in Brussels since 1857
Varda Chocolatier		New Jersey, USA
Wilbur Chocolate		Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA, a Moravian-based town and home of the Wilbur Bud Wilbur sponsors a annual choclolate walk.  Oh, Yummy!!
Martine’s Chocolates		Manhattan, New York, USA Consumer Reports rated Excellent in 2002
La Maison du Chocolat		France Consumer Reports rated Excellent in 2002