Chocolatier finds spot for sweets in Door County Feb. 16, 2009 Business News By Donna Marie Pocius Kathy McCarthy felt she had unfinished business in her life after she lost a parent. So, she created her own business shortly after her mother passed away in 1996. She reflected on making chocolate candy with her mom on a mink ranch west of Oshkosh, where she grew up. And the idea of becoming a chocolatier came to her. "I asked myself, 'What is it I really want to do?' I had made candy for many years. My mom and I would make it at Christmas and other times. I really enjoyed it, and I wanted to see what I can do with it as a business," she said. McCarthy founded Kathy's Gourmet Chocolates in Scottsdale in 2001. Now, she splits her time between Arizona and the Door Peninsula, where she offers her chocolates at the Savory Spoon Marketplace, affiliated with the Savory Spoon Cooking School, Ellison Bay. Over the past two years, she taught truffle and holiday candy-making classes there, as well. She connected to Savory Spoon in 2006 after enrolling in, of all things, a chocolate class, then led by Janice Thomas, chef and school owner. McCarthy shared with Thomas her experience in Arizona, where she won first place awards in the caramel and toffee categories in the 2000 Arizona State Fair. "And Janice said, 'I would love to have gourmet chocolate at the Marketplace, and I said 'I would love to do it,'" recalled McCarthy, who is a self-taught chocolatier. "It had been a dream of mine to have my own candy business," she said.
Her candy is now sold under the name "Sweet Spot at Savory Spoon." Featured are caramel turtles, Sweet Spot artesian truffles and almond toffee. New offerings are the biker bar and peanut butter delight. The former was inspired by bike riders, who stopped at the Savory Spoon Marketplace seeking a portable and healthy food to take along on the roads or trails. McCarthy created a bar that presents chocolate, Door County cherries as well as dried cranberries, blueberries, coconut, flax seed and more. "It's a healthy bar. I use dark chocolate, which is really good for you," McCarthy said. After her late father asked her to make something like a Butterfinger bar, the peanut butter delight evolved. Combining peanut butter wafers and Belgian chocolate, it has a delicate crunch. "It is kind of like a Butterfinger, but so much better. I try to draw inspiration from chocolate I like, but I do it my own way. And it is really decadent," McCarthy said. Another unique recipe is the drunken Door County turtle. It infuses Door County cherry wine with caramel. "People really seem to like the turtles and anything with caramel, and they like the novelty of something with liquor," McCarthy said. Her almond toffee is rich and crunchy with sliced almonds enrobed in Belgian chocolate. The ingredients — high quality of cocoa, butter and cream — help to set Sweet Spot chocolate apart, according to McCarthy. Another hallmark of her chocolate is its freshness. She makes chocolate each week. In addition to the Sweet Spot, custom chocolate orders for events and gifts are available by contacting McCarthy at 920/854-6600. "If someone is having a party or ordering from me, I will have the candy fresh. It's the care we put into them. They are not mass produced," she said. Indeed, there are many chocolate brands on the market. So, what advice does McCarthy have for discerning good chocolate? First, she advises people to take a look at the ingredients and to purchase chocolate with pure contents — cocoa, butter and sugar. Avoid preservatives, she added. "Once you see preservatives, you will not have a good experience. And after you have had the better kind of chocolate, it makes a difference and you won't want to go back," McCarthy said. Also, quality chocolate melts in a person's mouth, and other kinds stick to the roof of the mouth, according to the chocolatier. McCarthy is currently organizing, for culinary travelers, a chocolate tour in Europe. She also intends to keep her chocolate business small and maintain its focus on unique chocolate products and personalization. She recalled customizing a truffle tree as part of an engagement dinner, created by chef Thomas for a male client. "I made truffles, and he put the ring under the one on top," McCarthy said. "That was really sweet. And I was able to use my creativity."
Savory Spoon Cooking School, All Rights Reserved 12042 Highway 42 • Ellison Bay, WI 54210 • Phone: (920) 854-6600 Email: savoryspoon@aol.com
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