Sharing the namesake of our chef, Christopher Michael Artisan Chocolates was founded in 2006. What started years ago as an aspiration borne of curiosity, has become a venture built on vision. Our passion for chocolate and tantalizing flavor combinations is evident with every sweet taste of our hand-crafted chocolate creations. From our passion fruit caramels to our rich dark chocolate truffles, we stop at nothing to bring you the best.
Owner and Chef, Christopher has always contended that all products, especially his chocolates, are only as good as the quality ingredients and attention you put into them. He also believes in supporting local producers and growers in the culinary family whenever possible. In support of these ideals for example, Christopher procures only the finest ingredients-like single origin, fair-trade Venezuelan chocolate with flavor notes second to none; or sourcing fresh cream and butter from a local, certified organic dairy; down to his homegrown savory mint and rosemary, and juicy-ripe oranges and citrus picked from his family orchard. This means no preservatives and no artificial anything, just incredible tasting hand-made chocolates!!
The Chocolate...
As the premiere ingredient in our Artisan morsels, the chocolate has to be absolutely the best. That's why Christopher uses imported Venezuelan chocolate almost exclusively, among select others like Valrhona.
So why Venezuelan, you ask? Drawing parallels with the beliefs of the choosiest purveyors of fine wine, our chef's opinion is that chocolate should reflect the earthiness and flavor notes of the region it is grown in, and never blended with inferior cacao beans, this is what is meant by single origin. This selection of chocolate is also organically grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. In fact, Venezuela is one of the few places on earth that the cacao trees grow naturally without farming or transplanting. Less than 2% of the world's cacao however, comes from this region, making it very rare and highly sought after. Finally, our Venezuelan chocolate is fair-traded; so let your conscience be clear, these growers are being compensated at or above fair market and premium prices!
Taste the flavor and freshness.
We make no sacrifices on our quality ingredients either! Our cream and butter are sourced from a certified organic, California dairy, where the cows roam the open range and free graze in the lush, countryside pastures. The flavor is just delicious and amazing. The cream is so sweet and smooth, and the butter is made the old-fashioned way, nice and slow, and in small, controlled batches. By far, the best cream and butter we have come by!
When it comes to taste, Christopher stops at nothing to ensure the most divine complimentary flavors and ingredients, again, we try to support our local producers and growers whenever possible. We even grow some of our own herbs like rosemary and mint, just to name a few. We search high and low for the most superior products meeting our strict standards. And keep an eye out the next time you're at your community farmers' market. Chances are Christopher is among you!
