Sugar is literally in my veins. Growing up I was exposed to candy, almost from birth. My mother kept a baby book which I received shortly before her passing that had notes cards & mementos, even a tiny alphabet bracelet with “poole” strung for a tiny wrist…..in the notes from the Dr., he prescribed sweetened condensed milk as I didn’t seem to be gaining weight…sweetness is literally in my blood!!
My fascination with confectionery goes back to a childhood where I couldn’t wait for fall every year, two things would happen; with the arrival of the the leaves turning their beautiful colors the family would head to the department store for winter clothes-and every year my grandparents would take me up to the candy counter (yes, large department stores used to have walk around candy counters, filled with colorful treats behind window framed fronts) they always would let me pick out a quarter pound each of two items- “whatever you wanted.” So many chocolate and foil wrapped items, nonpareils, glossy panned and cellophane wrapped candies, it was so hard to choose. Instead of eating them right away, I would study them, seeing how they were put together, savoring the taste of caramelized sugars, glossy and nubby textures, how chocolate candies melted my the mouth.
The second thing I looked forward to each fall was Halloween. Aside from the costumes, it was going out in the crisp autumn air with my older brothers to collect pillowcases full of candy-scattering it all across the kitchen table and grouping them, always fascinated by the colors and wrapping and taste of each type.
A huge influence on me was my grandfather. While I’m still learning about his artistic background, I always knew he had been baking when the familiar aromas of cinnamon rolls and poppy seed kolache would permeate their tiny north Omaha kitchen, those distinct flavor combinations are still with me today.
Probably the biggest influence was my father’s mother, who worked for a chocolate factory in the Bronx, she had so many stories that rivaled that famous I Love Lucy factory line scene!
Becoming a chocolatier is destiny because I’ve found a medium that tells my story- bridging a fascination of sweets history and chocolate through shapes, flavors and textures. Chocolate is an incredible base that can be eaten by itself-and good, thoughtfully sourced and ethically farmed chocolate is not only wonderful, but can be enhanced with spices, and made beautiful by the technique of tempering into shapes that you can feel and see.