Discerning chocolate lovers have been enjoying quality, award winning, handmade chocolates from The Chocolate Fetish since 1986. They use only the finest ingredients and all their signature products are made in small batches to assure you receive maximum freshness. They do not add chemical preservatives or vegetable oils.

Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little about the Chocolate Fetish and how it has grown over the past twenty-six years.

Elizabeth Foley: The Chocolate Fetish has always been an independent family business dedicated to handcrafting fine artisan chocolate truffles. After Bill and Sue bought the shop in 2002 following a business career that had them living in three countries and seven states, they wanted to take the business to a whole new level and share their culinary experiences and knowledge with others through chocolate.

The Chocolate Fetish has grown from a one employee shop to over 20 employees in peak season and now offers many more chocolate delicacies in a much bigger European style retail shop and ships to loyal customers nationwide.

RRM: Were you formally trained to work in the art of chocolate making?

EF: Those of us responsible for the art of creating new flavors and products have had formal training in America and Europe, ranging from the prestigious French Pastry school at the University of Chicago and Le Cordon Blue to special advanced classes conducted by some of the world’s top chocolatiers, including chef Jean-Pierrie Wybaugh, plus many years of experience with chocolate.

RRM: You have just introduced a new line of truffles. Tell us a little about them.

EF: We’ve been developing new flavors for two years, which has coalesced into our newest line of truffles, Ecstasy Elite™. Our concept was to build on a 25-year reputation of making superb truffles and take it to the next level. These flavors incorporate layers of textures and our custom combinations of chocolates that make them more involved and sophisticated. The new Ecstasy Elite™ line has eight flavors and incorporates our seasonal truffle offerings.

Two of my current favorites are the African Queen Truffle™ and the Jewel of India Truffle™. The African Queen begins with a crispy hazelnut wafer covered in a creamy smooth caramel flavored chocolate ganache, then enrobed in one of our exclusive dark chocolate blends and topped with a leopard print pattern.

The Jewel of India is a milk chocolate truffle flavored with a sweet mild Indian curry and a subtle hint of coconut. When some people first hear about curry and chocolate together their reaction is varied. Actually the two complement each other very well. There are a plethora of different curries out there ranging from sweet to spicy. We choose a sweet blend that complements the chocolate very well.

RRM: What are the other flavors in the line?

EF: After Midnight™ is our blend of four high cocoa content dark chocolates. Diamond Griottine™ is our artisan take on a cherry cordial with a special French brandied cherry and a white chocolate ganache in a dark chocolate shell. Mountain Sunrise™is a blended dark chocolate flavored with fresh citrus.

Peanut Panache™ is a handmade crispy peanut wafer topped with a peanut flavored chocolate ganache enrobed in milk chocolate. Chai Moon™ is a milk chocolate ganache dipped in high cocoa butter content white chocolate flavored with our freshly brewed Chai Tea, and Midsummer’s Dream™ is a white chocolate ganache flavored with fresh lavender and a hint of lemon and local mountain honey.

RRM: What goes into creating your unique flavors.

EF: A lot goes into creating new truffle flavors. First you start with the chocolate. Chocolate is a lot like wine grapes in that, depending on how and where the cacao tree grows and how the bean is processed, there can be many subtle flavors. We are unique from other chocolatiers in that we blend different chocolates to produce a flavor profile that will work with the item we are creating.

For example, for a fruity flavored chocolate like Pomegranate Pink Peppercorn, we began with a blend of chocolates that had a special fruity flavor then proceeded to develop a desired flavor. The next step is to do many test batches to determine how and with what you are going to develop your final flavor.

Infusions, juices, purees, zests, and liquors can all lend different flavors and textures. Which one or combination is going to work best for your desired results and what is readily available must be decided. Then there is the fun part, lots and lots of tasting.

RRM: How do you know if a new flavor is ready to sell?

EF: A good indicator is when you have a tray of examples in the kitchen and even though you’ve asked people not to eat them all, by the end of the day they’re gone. Sometimes things are just too hard to resist.

We also do a lot of sample research and customer opinion surveys locally and confer with experienced chocolatier colleagues in other parts of the country and sometimes send taste samples to our European contacts.

While we were developing the Ecstasy Elite™ line we gave samples to Asheville customers and asked them to fill out feedback forms. The forms included lots of questions about the flavors as well as an opportunity for customers to suggest names. Names like “African Queen” and “Peanut Panache” were both customer suggestions.

RRM: Talk a little about “The Chocolate Fetish’s” concept of flavors.

EF: Fine chocolate is always our primary focus. Other flavors add interest and sophistication but shouldn’t overpower the chocolate experience. After all, chocolate is why our customers come to The Chocolate Fetish. A chocolate truffle is the finest example of the chocolatier’s art and it should provide a multi-dimensional experience that is savored, enjoyed and provides a lasting finish.

For example, the Dragon’s Sigh Truffle™ begins with a burst of dark chocolate flavor that provides the full mouth flavor that only fine chocolate provides. As the initial flavor wanes you experience the taste of sesame then after about a five second delay a light taste of our Wasabe dances on your tongue, disappears, and the lingering finish of a slightly different dark chocolate consummates the experience.

For a further taste sensation take a sip of your favorite red wine as the Wasabe disappears and experience a renewed burst of the initial favors. Many equate our fine chocolate experience with the world’s fine wines.

RRM: Where do you come up with ideas for new flavors?

EF: We are always on the lookout for new flavor ideas. Sometimes they come from customer requests and suggestions, sometimes they come from attending classes with world renowned chefs, sometimes they come from enjoying a meal at a local restaurant or one far away that includes an interesting flavor combination that may work well with chocolate.

RRM: What specials will you be offering this Valentine’s Day?

EF: This Valentine’s Day we will be offering our Pomegranate Pink Peppercorn Truffle and new for this year our Dark Desire Truffle. Our Dark Desire Truffle is a dark chocolate shell filled with a dark chocolate ganache. The top of the piece is accented with a beautiful rose pattern.

As we do every year we will be offering chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day. We specially source the big stem berries and dip them fresh multiple time a day in our special dark chocolate blend to assure the freshest possible product to our customers. If a person says they are going to come pick up their berries at 3:00 we won’t dip their strawberries until 2 p.m.

This year we are also offering local delivery for the first time. We are really excited about being able to offer this special service to our customers. We pride ourselves on offering exceptional customer service and feel this is another opportunity for us to be able to go above and beyond.

The Chocolate Fetish Inc.
36 Haywood St, Asheville
(828) 258-2353
www.chocolatefetish.com