Chocolatier Finds Sweet Spot at Savory Spoon "More and more people are coming over to the dark side because life is better over here," says Kathy McCarthy,of Sister Bay. The dark side McCarthy refers to is dark chocolate. According to the chocolatier, dark chocolate is "true" chocolate, meaning it has an appreciably higher content of cacao (also known as cocoa) beans than milk chocolate. McCarthy can be found extolling the virtues of dark chocolate during her "Sweet Saturdays with Kathy," a series of four candy-making classes now under way at the Savory Spoon in Ellison Bay. During the classes, McCarthy introduces students of all ages to candy making. The one and one-half hour classes include taste tests of various chocolates, an overview of the history of chocolate, and the demonstration and hands-on experience of making truffles, caramels (including turtles), pralines and toffees. McCarthy traces her love of making candy to her girlhood, growing up on a mink ranch 20 minutes west of Oshkosh. It was 30 years ago that she and her mother began the tradition of making candy together, delighting in discovering recipes to satisfy the sweet tooth for special family events. "We literally jumped up and down when we discovered a recipe for fairy food," she says.

The caramel recipe she uses today brings back the memories of those mother-daughter cooking sessions. Although McCarthy had always dreamed of owning a chocolate business, it wasn't until she had several years of experience in the information systems end of the hospitality industry that she opened one in her then home state of Arizona. Testing her skills, the primarily self-taught chocolatier entered the 2000 Arizona State Fair. Winning first place in the caramels and toffee categories, McCarthy rented a commercial kitchen and opened Kathy's Gourmet Chocolates in Scottsdale, Arizona the following year. Selling to farmers' markets and taking special orders, the business proved to be a success. Then a move to Door County followed and a return to her former profession with the Marriott Corporation. McCarthy met chef Janice Thomas, who owns the Savory Spoon Cooking School with her husband, Michael, at Thomas' "Chocolate Dreams" class last year. Today, McCarthy not only teaches candy-making classes at the cooking school, but offers her handmade chocolate treats through the school's Marketplace retail store using pure Belgian Couverture Chocolate. Whether one of her students, or just one who enjoys chocolate, McCarthy has some words of advice. "If you're going to eat chocolate, eat the good stuff and make it worth your while," she says. "The difference is whether it sticks to the roof or your mouth or melts in it." Students may enter one or multiple of the candy-making "Sweet Saturdays with Kathy" classes in the series. The Savory Spoon Cooking School and Marketplace, owned and operated by classically-trained chef Janice Thomas and her husband, Michael, is located at 12042 Highway 42 in Ellison Bay and is open daily from 10am-5pm. A complete listing of events and classes is listed on savoryspoon.com. For further information, call Betsy Titterington at 920-854-6600 or 920-854-6100.