The Chocolate Maker
Hello! Yes, that’s me, David Mason. I’m the founder of Black Mountain Chocolate and I consider myself a ‘Chocolate Maker’. I claimed that title back in 2007 when we first started the business. For this, the first post to my blog, I intend to start out by telling you what I’ve been up to for the past 2 years or so, and where we “plan” on going. Yes, those quotes are intentional because planning to me was an obsession, mostly an addiction, that I’m working to overcome. I’ll get into that later on I’m sure. For now, just about chocolate and where we are heading.
I said I claimed the title of ‘Chocolate Maker’ in 2007, although in reality, I didn’t make my first batch of chocolate outside of my home kitchen until around April of 2008. It was then that we completed the up-fit of an old building in Swannanoa, NC, that used to house the original post office to the area. It was quite a task. In order to produce chocolate for you, we must first pass inspection by the FDA. I received a tip from the owner of another food business to contact the local inspector early on in the process. It went rather smoothly thanks to that. I do take serious the fact that I’m producing a food for people, and didn’t cut any corners.
So, on this day, I’m about to embark on molding my first bar of chocolate. Sure, I’ve done it before, but mostly just playing around. This time, it’s for real. If you are not familiar with my chocolate, up to this point, I’ve only sold in drop form. I’ll spare you the boring details, but there was a method to my madness. Mainly, they were an experiment, a test of sorts, and they taught me quite a lot. It drove the connoisseurs crazy though. How could you be a bean-to-bar chocolate maker without a bar? I guess I was just bean-to-drop. Either way, I was making chocolate and that was all that mattered to me. But back to the bar. If you “like” us on Facebook you’ve probably already seen a sneak peak of the mold. You will notice that it is no ordinary bar. It was envisioned, or better, inspired by an evening with a glass of wine, good chocolate (mine, of course), and a warm fire. Here’s a shot of it to give you the full effect…well sort of.
This bar, to me, will represent how I feel about chocolate. It delivers as much a feeling, as it does a flavor. It satisfies a craving that just isn’t about hunger. It’s difficult to put into words, but you’ll know what I mean when you experience it. I enourage you to look at chocolate in a different way. It is what you make of it. Make it memorable.