As I sit here in my office on a VERY rainy Friday (an excellent day, by the way, for some hot drinking chocolate!) going through the notes, marketing material and, yes, remaining tid-bits of samples that I brought home with me from this year’s Fancy Food Show in D.C. (the best one in the last few years), I realize that the same challenge that I face in selecting jewelry for the store is now presenting itself with chocolate. There’s a lot of great jewelry in the world, but I can’t have it all for Max’s (but, I can have the best of the best! 🙂 ) Well, I spent 2 days tasting some really delicious chocolate (I know, I lead a rough life!), and now it’s decision time. More bars or truffles, or a bit of both? Do we need some more toffee (pistachio perhaps)? And just how much sea salt chocolate does one really need (rhetorical question — the answer is A LOT because it is sooooo delicious)? And what about the holidays? Do people really want chocolate in their candy canes (I suspect the answer is yes)?
As I shopped the show, I continued to be asked the question I have often been asked over the last 5 years — how and why did you ever come up with the idea of putting jewelry and chocolate under the same roof? I wish I had a really “punchy” answer to that question. The truth is just that I really, really, REALLY like chocolate and wanted to put it in my jewelry store! Not a very exciting answer, I know, but it’s the simple truth. But, while the answer may be simple, the fact is that the chocolate isn’t! There really is so much delicious chocolate out there and, in many cases, the selections are works of art both in terms of the combinations of flavors and appearance. I’m excited about so much of what I saw and tasted earlier this week and we’ll be introducing some of them to Max’s in the very near future. Some of what will make its way to Max’s is what you’ve asked for, so please stay tuned!