Vosges Haut-Chocolat

What motivated you to open a chocolate business?
I couldn’t find any quality, nor interesting, chocolate in the U.S. market. I had just traveled around the world studying food. Having been schooled at the traditional Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and mentored by the Adria brothers in Spain, I felt a tremor to create a collection of chocolates that provoked people to travel the world through chocolate and brought people into the "now." The idea of curry and chocolate was received with a bit if disgust on the face until they took a bite and, like magic, a scowl turned into a grin and their minds opened up to new ways of thinking about chocolate. Vosges Haut-Chocolat was born.

Did you have any formal training in chocolate making?
At Le Cordon Bleu we had some days on chocolate, that’s it. The rest was self-taught. I read books and worked with Albert Adria and Christophe Felder.

Where do you get your inspiration for the different flavors and textures you include in your chocolates?
Travel, music, architecture, artists, motorcycles, yoga, etc… I am inspired to fold in my new-found interests into a melding of chocolate and the inspiration. Chocolate becomes a medium to explore the world’s diversity. Yoga + Chocolate Retreats…. You need to try this!

If you had to describe your product line in a couple of sentences, what would that be?
Experiential. A chocolate company with the mission of bringing peace to the world through chocolate. The idea here is that, by exposing people to unusual pairings with chocolate that tell a story, it broadens their minds to new experiences out of this box of chocolate.

What is your personal favorite out of all the products you make and why?
t depends on my mood.

www.vosgeschocolate.com

LOCATIONS
Chicago: Downtown
520 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611

Chicago: Lincoln Park
951 W. Armitage
Chicago, IL 60614

New York: SoHo
60 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012

Chicago — O’hare International Airport
5600 North Mannheim Rd, IL 60666
Terminal 1, 3, 5