Contact: Robyn Rice-Foster at (888) 773-7870 or robyn@laparisianneduchocolat.com.

Tell us about your company, La Parisianne du Chocolat:

La Parisianne du Chocolat, is an online gourmet chocolate truffle business that focuses on quality and the art of chocolate. Our delicious chocolate selections include fine dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. I make all of my truffles fresh to order, by hand, piece by piece! Each piece is either hand-dipped or hand-molded. I only use fresh spices, fruit, purees, real cream, butter and pure vanilla, and the finest of European chocolate in making my chocolate truffles. Further, I do not use any gums, waxes or preservatives. My goal is to create sweet indulgences with love that will leave you with a layered and lingering sensual sensation!

Have you always had a passion for the culinary arts? What made you decide to make this shift in your professional life?

I have always had a passion for the culinary arts. It started at a very young age by watching and assisting my mother while she was baking. She made everything from scratch. As I became older, I started to find myself cooking and baking more for family and friends which lead to themed parties and eventually catering for companies. I decided to make a shift in my professional life in 2005 when I first went to Paris and fell in love with how the French were so passionate about chocolate, the art of chocolate, and the delicacy in how the Parisians would design their windows with chocolate and I instantly knew this was the place for me. I came back home and took classes and traveled to Paris for additional studies and in 2007, I graduated with Honors as Certified Professional Chocolatier. In 2012, I plan on returning to Switzerland to continue my studies and become a Certified Master Chocolatier and one day competing in World Chocolate Masters Competition during the Salon du Chocolat in Paris.

Where do you find inspiration for your creations?

My inspirations for my creations come from music whether it is Jazz, Soul, Rock and R&B, Rap, Country, or Gospel. The music is very instrumental in creating my chocolate truffles. My Christmas truffle flavors were inspired by mother and her homemade pies. Jazz artist, Corey Wilkes inspired the “Dark Chocolate Whiskey Pecan” made with Gentlemen Jack Daniels, whereas musicians Lenny Kravitz and Jimmi Hendrix were instrumental in the creation of “The Green Fairy” (Absinthe and Fennel), and Adele and Jonny Lang  inspired “Red Honey,” my newest creation!  

What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your profession?

The most rewarding aspect of my profession is being commissioned to create chocolate truffles for high-profile celebrities. This has opened many doors, such as having my chocolates at Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios, developing a white chocolate cookie for a Vera Wang promotion for Macy’s Flagship Store in Chicago, and creating truffles for a multi-Grammy Award Winner who has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson. Most importantly, I have used my love and passion for chocolate to help benefit numerous charity events in Chicago as well as to travel out of state to spread the love of chocolate to benefit worthy causes. The most challenging aspect of my profession is that I strongly believe “that chocolate is like a relationship, it cannot be rushed, it can be very unforgiving and quite temper-mental and oh so good for you and it can be quite bitter.” That is why when an order is placed for my decadent truffles, they are not shipped the same day. I like for my ganache and the spices, butter, creams, and chocolate to have time to “marry” before I start the enrobing process. It may take two to three days before a customer receives their order, but at the end, they can taste the love that I put into my chocolate truffles.

View La Parisianne du Chocolat’s Programme Privilèges page here.