I want to begin this introduction by thanking everyone here for their contributions to this site over the years. My Fiancee and I are starting a small chocolates business (molded and slabbed), and over the past few months we've turned to Chocolate Life again and again for direction and information. It really is a wonderful resource. Clay, you've done something important here.
We'll share more information soon, but for now, we're going to be a bit vague about location, etc. That's for professional reasons. We live in the north east (of the U.S) with around 20k other year 'round residents in the community. That number swells to 125k or so during the summer months, and a million or so visitors pass through each year. Although there are a few small competitors, nobody is offering...I won't say artisanal, because it is so overused, and I won't say craft because we aren't hipster enough...nobody is offering really good chocolates made from really good ingredients using really good recipes. We plan to start from our home kitchen and sell primarily to wholesale accounts.
I'll be posting here most often. My fiancee is the chef. She's a CIA grad (top of her class), spent years in French kitchens and was executive pastry chef for a well known Michelin starred restaurant. She's also done volume, as exec pastry chef for a very large hotel. She's creative, realistic, and also a really nice person. And she wants her own business. I'm far less interesting...just a guy with some finance skills and a desire to help her shine.
So, thanks again. I'm off to post my first question on the site.
M
updated by @elephant: 04/10/15 09:43:16