Vianne Chocolat: Local Decadence
“I have no desire to have a consistent menu, I’d rather embrace the ebbs and flows of New England’s seasonal flavors.”
Vianne Chocolat’s Valerie Conyngham makes handmade artisan chocolates with a local flair, keeping fresh, seasonal ingredients at the forefront whenever possible. I have had the opportunity to meet Valerie a couple of times and to taste her chocolates, which are truly decadent pieces of edible art. They are creative, fresh, and high quality; the small batch production and attention to detail are evident in each bite.
What impressed me as much as the chocolates was Valerie herself and the niche she has carved out for herself in Boston while creating lasting partnerships with other local businesses. Vianne Chocolat’s website states:
“Our cream and butter comes from family farms throughout New England, the jams we use in our chocolates are from small jam makers in New England, they’re pure and never use high fructose corn syrup, the spices come from small locally owned spice shops. And the drawing of vianne, pictured on our packaging, is the work of local artist Seth B. Minkin.”
This week I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions for the Boston Local Food Festival blog.
Has the local community been supportive of Vianne Chocolat?
Yes. I live in Back Bay and my neighbors have been extremely supportive, from buying chocolates to providing free services to help me get started; for example, I have one neighbor who has helped me by lending me her wonderful photography skills. It’s been a true community experience, which makes me even more thankful that I live in such a wonderful neighborhood. In addition, I’m fortunate to be making my chocolates out of Crop Circle Kitchen in Jamaica Plain. They’re a kitchen incubator of sorts that provides encouragement and business support to small specialty food start-ups. It’s a rare and welcome opportunity to be starting a food business with such a dedicated team behind you.
Do you sell mostly around Boston? If so, are your relationships more direct with customers or other business owners?
Right now the majority of my relationships are direct with customers and private businesses (i.e. corporate clients). This fall I’ll be looking to expand my reach more into the wholesale world, but it’s important to me that the majority of my business remains in direct relationships with consumers, as it allows me to provide the freshest chocolates available to my clients.
Are you using local ingredients in your creations? Which ingredients, and where do you source them from?
My chocolates are always evolving and changing depending on what’s available to me at the moment. I scour local farmers markets as well as local food stores that tend to carry products from small, local food producers in order to find new ingredients for my chocolates. Right now I’m using mint from my garden to make mint chocolates, rose hip jelly from a small store in Ogunquit, Maine for a limited batch of rose hip chocolates and lavender from Christina’s in Inman Square for my lavender chocolates.
Given that we live in New England and don’t always have access to fresh local fruit and other ingredients, how does this affect your chocolate throughout the year?
I have no desire to have a consistent menu, I’d rather embrace the ebbs and flows of New England’s seasonal flavors.
You can taste Valerie’s chocolate and learn more about her continuous efforts to develop partnerships with local sources of ingredients for her chocolates at the Boston Local Food Festival, Saturday October 2 at the Boston Waterfront Fort Point Channel.
Vianne Chocolat is a food vendor for the Boston Local Food Festival.
This article is written by Megan Malloy of traveleatlove.com, is a featured Blogger of Boston Local Food Festival.
Vianne Chocolat’s Valerie Conyngham makes handmade artisan chocolates with a local flair, keeping fresh, seasonal ingredients at the forefront whenever possible. I have had the opportunity to meet Valerie a couple of times and to taste her chocolates, which are truly decadent pieces of edible art. They are creative, fresh, and high quality; the small batch production and attention to detail are evident in each bite.
What impressed me as much as the chocolates was Valerie herself and the niche she has carved out for herself in Boston while creating lasting partnerships with other local businesses. Vianne Chocolat’s website states:
“Our cream and butter comes from family farms throughout New England, the jams we use in our chocolates are from small jam makers in New England, they’re pure and never use high fructose corn syrup, the spices come from small locally owned spice shops. And the drawing of vianne, pictured on our packaging, is the work of local artist Seth B. Minkin.”
This week I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions for the Boston Local Food Festival blog.
Has the local community been supportive of Vianne Chocolat?
Yes. I live in Back Bay and my neighbors have been extremely supportive, from buying chocolates to providing free services to help me get started; for example, I have one neighbor who has helped me by lending me her wonderful photography skills. It’s been a true community experience, which makes me even more thankful that I live in such a wonderful neighborhood. In addition, I’m fortunate to be making my chocolates out of Crop Circle Kitchen in Jamaica Plain. They’re a kitchen incubator of sorts that provides encouragement and business support to small specialty food start-ups. It’s a rare and welcome opportunity to be starting a food business with such a dedicated team behind you.
Do you sell mostly around Boston? If so, are your relationships more direct with customers or other business owners?
Right now the majority of my relationships are direct with customers and private businesses (i.e. corporate clients). This fall I’ll be looking to expand my reach more into the wholesale world, but it’s important to me that the majority of my business remains in direct relationships with consumers, as it allows me to provide the freshest chocolates available to my clients.
Are you using local ingredients in your creations? Which ingredients, and where do you source them from?
My chocolates are always evolving and changing depending on what’s available to me at the moment. I scour local farmers markets as well as local food stores that tend to carry products from small, local food producers in order to find new ingredients for my chocolates. Right now I’m using mint from my garden to make mint chocolates, rose hip jelly from a small store in Ogunquit, Maine for a limited batch of rose hip chocolates and lavender from Christina’s in Inman Square for my lavender chocolates.
Given that we live in New England and don’t always have access to fresh local fruit and other ingredients, how does this affect your chocolate throughout the year?
I have no desire to have a consistent menu, I’d rather embrace the ebbs and flows of New England’s seasonal flavors.
You can taste Valerie’s chocolate and learn more about her continuous efforts to develop partnerships with local sources of ingredients for her chocolates at the Boston Local Food Festival, Saturday October 2 at the Boston Waterfront Fort Point Channel.
Vianne Chocolat is a food vendor for the Boston Local Food Festival.
This article is written by Megan Malloy of traveleatlove.com, is a featured Blogger of Boston Local Food Festival.
