We have now done three markets at the South End Farmers Market, and what a thrilling experience it has been!  My platform is really online, but the few farmers markets I have lined up give us such a great opportunity to share our chocolates with market visitors. They come from all over the world, showing what a vibrant destination Boston is, particularly at this time of year when the temperatures are crisp and the air perfect. My darling mother is visiting from Toulouse, France and has been a fantastic helper, participating in every market as the sample giver.  See the...

Starting this Sunday, and until the end of October, I will be spending the day  introducing Chocolats Passion to the visitors of the South End Farmers Market at SOWA.  My darling mother is visiting from France and will be the chief sample giver.  We will have little hearts in various flavors for you to try out.    We will have a different box on special every week, in addition to our Love Flowers, 9 Domes and 16 Bites gift boxes. So please stop by, we look forward to spoiling you!

Using great ingredients is at the core of making good chocolates.  While organic cream and organic butter are easy to find locally, it took me a while to find organic Rio Star pink Grapefruits (Fruit Share in FL, see link below). But my longest search was for a supplier of organic Meyer Lemons.  I now get them, 10 lbs at a time, from Fairview Orchards in Ojai, CA. Their lemons are exquisitely plump, with beautiful thin skins perfect for candying, and the juice is very sweet.  How to candy?  I do it the old fashioned French way, which takes at...

I had to put together three party trays in the last few days.  There is nothing I love more, because each is different and reflects the desires of the party giver.  All three this time had a generous representation of Critters, an absolute necessity when kids will be guests!  All the Critters are milk chocolate filled with salted caramel, so will please everyone.  I don't compromise on my favored intense dark caramel flavor when making them, I have found kids have great palates and don't appreciate dumbed-down sweets.  Another chocolate making a big showing on the trays are my Tiny...

Now that Mother's Day is over, we are officially in the chocolate off-season.  It is a good thing, because higher temperatures and humidity are the enemies of chocolate making.  New England chocolatiers are so fortunate that our winters, with cool and bone dry houses, are perfect for creating chocolates with a beautiful shine.  Chocolate High Season coincides perfectly with high production season! But it doesn't mean I will be just tending my little vegetable garden, drinking Kirs while lazing on the terrace, and doing nothing chocolate-wise.  Quite the contrary.  This is creative time, when I plan to come up with...

Our four-layer Petite box has proven to be the most popular choice for a "serious" gift. At $46 plus $8 shipping, it won't break the bank, but conveys highly thoughtful and personalized gifting. We have four permutations of the box, each adapted to its occasion:  the Petite Passion, the Valentine Petite, the Spring Critters Petite and now the Mother's Day Petite.  The two Winter boxes are bronze with a red or silver ribbon, the two Spring ones pearl with a soft green ribbon.  We hear from our customers that they recycle the boxes, which are beautifully made inside and out....