Artist and Chocolatier at The Chocolate Fetish
Jessica Lied has been sharing her artistic talents with customers of The Chocolate Fetish since 2009.
Using colored chocolates, her creative designs grace products ranging from Chocolate High Heel Shoes and Cowboy Boots to hand decorated chocolate hearts, leaves, and Easter Eggs. Having received her Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the prestigious Pratt Institute, Jessica relocated to Asheville seeking a change of pace from the busy urban environment in New York City. She quickly found her niche working at The Chocolate Fetish where she is in charge of making all of their hand decorated novelty chocolates.
We recently caught up with Jessica as she was busy creating Valentine’s Day inspired High Heel Shoes, here is what she had to say about art, chocolate, and life in Asheville.
Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little bit about the process of creating these beautiful hand decorated chocolates.
Jessica Lied: The first step is to have perfectly tempered chocolate. The high quality chocolate we work with requires a process called tempering which includes raising and lowering the temperature of the chocolate over a period of time in order to obtain the proper crystalline structure.
The colored chocolates are then applied to the molds so that when I add the dark or milk chocolate, the color adheres to the chocolate creating the finished piece. I pay a lot of attention to the colors in terms of how they relate to each other, the season, current trends, and creating an appetizing finished product.
RRM: What’s the most challenging thing about working with chocolate?
JL: The most challenging thing about creating art with chocolate is balancing my creative desires with the realities of creating a food product. For example once a chocolate is in temper it takes constant attention to maintain the temper. I would like to decorate the High Heel Shoes with numerous colors but I have to limit myself to what I can keep in temper.
RRM: What’s your favorite thing to make at The Chocolate Fetish?
JL: My favorite thing is to create new color palettes and new designs. I like the challenge that comes with working out a new pattern to decorate chocolates with. There are a lot of things to consider when making a new pattern for a chocolate product; the finished item has to not only be beautiful but also appetizing. I also have to be able to execute it in a timely manner since I am working in a production focused environment.
RRM: How is creating art in Asheville different than creating art in New York City?
JL: In New York City there is a lot of pressure and lots of expectations. I like the laid back attitude of Asheville but also appreciate how much the critical atmosphere of New York City pushed me as an artist.
RRM: When you aren’t using your creative talents to create chocolate what kind of art do you like to create?
JL: I think of myself as a mixed media artist; chocolate is just another medium I am trying to master. My degree focused on fine art painting and most recently I am interested in printmaking and bookbinding.
RRM: Where can people see more of your non-chocolate art?
JL: I hope to put together a show of my work within the next year. I’m not sure where it will be yet but I know The Chocolate Fetish will let all their Facebook fans know when it happens!
The Chocolate Fetish
36 Haywood Street
Downtown Asheville
(828) 258-2353
www.chocolatefetish.com