Welcome to Paradise


I have always enjoyed making a mess in the kitchen. Growing up in a family who liked to garden, cook and eat exposed me to fresh, quality food at a young age. I have always felt fortunate to grow up with people who enjoyed food and appreciated the social aspect of eating together. My mom has a sweet tooth, so I learned about sweets at a very young age from seeing all kinds of pies, cakes, cookies and the like. When I say seeing, I mean seeing --- as opposed to eating these....for my sweet, I always only wanted chocolate. If there wasn't a choice with chocolate, then I would just skip desert. (Fortunately there was often something chocolate brought to our big family meals.) My love for chocolate has been with me my whole life. I was introduced to pure chocolate during the time I was a graphic designer living and working in Raleigh, NC. The folks I worked for were generous enough to send our design group to inspiring seminars in cities all over the US. That was a wonderful creative time 'back in the nineties'. I ate a lot of chocolate! I have always loved the creamiest chocolate...one of my early favorites was 'Ice Cubes" back in the 70's. But for the most part, I had always had 'regular old grocery store chocolate'. I would use these brands to decorate chocolate cheese cakes and other deserts. There were a few shoppes who had truffles in the triangle area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill), and I also began to experiment with making my own. Having tried several batches, I began sharing them with family and friends. Their positive reactions encouraged me to continue my pursuit of making chocolates. When in 2000 I returned to live in the mountains, I continued working with chocolate and have taken formal instruction in the art of being a chocolatier. I wanted to be able to have delicious chocolates for my family and friends, and make them available to other chocolate lovers as well. I now work only with pure chocolate...never any wax, added oils or preservatives. I am continuing to develop recipes and try new techniques, as well as making lots of "old favorites" like milk chocolate truffles coated in organic cocoa powder. My family participates in business functions of making chocolates such as, marketing, sales, development and of course quality control (no problem finding tasters here!) We find creative inspiration in the beautiful old mountains we are blessed to call home. We work from a small commercial kitchen (inspected by the NC Department of Agriculture) in our original farm house. With nothing made here except chocolates, it gives me the freedom to explore chocolate as an art. Using high cocoa content chocolate, organic creams, butters, flavorings and other ingredients to create each batch of creamy, delicious truffles, I enjoy experimenting with flavors and combinations. About Us \| Contact \| Special Events \| Shoppe at Farmers Kitchen/Workshop/Pickup Center Interesting Choco Facts \| WebLinks Paradise Chocolatier © 2007

I have always enjoyed making a mess in the kitchen. Growing up in a family who liked to garden, cook and eat exposed me to fresh, quality food at a young age. I have always felt fortunate to grow up with people who enjoyed food and appreciated the social aspect of eating together. My mom has a sweet tooth, so I learned about sweets at a very young age from seeing all kinds of pies, cakes, cookies and the like. When I say seeing, I mean seeing --- as opposed to eating these....for my sweet, I always only wanted chocolate. If there wasn't a choice with chocolate, then I would just skip desert. (Fortunately there was often something chocolate brought to our big family meals.)

My love for chocolate has been with me my whole life. I was introduced to pure chocolate during the time I was a graphic designer living and working in Raleigh, NC. The folks I worked for were generous enough to send our design group to inspiring seminars in cities all over the US. That was a wonderful creative time 'back in the nineties'. I ate a lot of chocolate!

I have always loved the creamiest chocolate...one of my early favorites was 'Ice Cubes" back in the 70's. But for the most part, I had always had 'regular old grocery store chocolate'. I would use these brands to decorate chocolate cheese cakes and other deserts. There were a few shoppes who had truffles in the triangle area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill), and I also began to experiment with making my own. Having tried several batches, I began sharing them with family and friends. Their positive reactions encouraged me to continue my pursuit of making chocolates. When in 2000 I returned to live in the mountains, I continued working with chocolate and have taken formal instruction in the art of being a chocolatier. I wanted to be able to have delicious chocolates for my family and friends, and make them available to other chocolate lovers as well. I now work only with pure chocolate...never any wax, added oils or preservatives.

I am continuing to develop recipes and try new techniques, as well as making lots of "old favorites" like milk chocolate truffles coated in organic cocoa powder. My family participates in business functions of making chocolates such as, marketing, sales, development and of course quality control (no problem finding tasters here!) We find creative inspiration in the beautiful old mountains we are blessed to call home.

We work from a small commercial kitchen (inspected by the NC Department of Agriculture) in our original farm house. With nothing made here except chocolates, it gives me the freedom to explore chocolate as an art. Using high cocoa content chocolate, organic creams, butters, flavorings and other ingredients to create each batch of creamy, delicious truffles, I enjoy experimenting with flavors and combinations.

About Us | Contact | Special Events | Shoppe at Farmers
Kitchen/Workshop/Pickup Center
Interesting Choco Facts | WebLinks