Local couple tastes success with chocolatiering venture

• Making truffles

Darcy and John Peck say the day after Thanksgiving right through the New Year is the busiest time of the year for their business Chihuahua Chocolates, which the Woodbury couple founded almost two years ago. Staff photo by Hank Long.
• Melting the chocolate

Darcy Peck uses a temperer to keep chocolate at the perfect liquid temperature for molding. She uses molds to create the shell for truffles and then infuses the shell with one of her almost two dozen flavored fillings. Staff photo by Hank Long.

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Tis the season for chocolate?

It certainly is in Darcy Peck’s world.

The Woodbury resident is heading into her second holiday season at Chihuahua Chocolates, a business she and husband John started in February 2008 and have found to be a near 7-days-a-week, round-the-clock venture at this point in the calendar.

“The day after Thanksgiving through the end of December will be non-stop,” said Peck, who filled an order on a recent Thursday morning for 700 truffles for a fundraiser event at Totino-Grace High School.

The Pecks said they receive a healthy balance of large and small orders over the phone and online and have seen an increase in walk-in customers over the last several months, despite the relative isolated location of their kitchen and storefront in the rear of the Crossroads Commerce Center (just west of Sam’s Club).

“It would be tough for anyone to find us by accident,” John Peck said. “So we’re thankful for the word-of-mouth business we’ve been able to generate.”

Chihuahua Chocolates (named after the couple’s two tiny dogs) focuses on a variety of chocolate-based confections including truffles, toffee, turtles and tortes.

John, who has a full-time job outside of the business, helps with sales up front during his time off, while Darcy is busy perfecting truffle recipes (like lime basil or whiskey and gun smoke) in the commercial kitchen.

Long hours of hand-made production, including weekends, are not uncommon this time of the year, Darcy Peck said. In preparation for Valentine’s Day earlier this year Peck said she made upwards of 3,000 truffles during her busiest days. But the hard work that comes with the ebb and flow of the chocolatiering business is something the life-long cook with a science degree said she enjoys.

“It’s a very artistic process, but it’s a very scientific process,” said Peck, who owned a landscaping business for a time before she delved into the world of chocolatiering. “The hours are long, but that just means we are doing a good job.”

More on this story is available in the Wednesday, Dec. 2 print edition of the Woodbury Bulletin.

Tags: chihuahua chocolates, business, woodbury, holidays, truffles, daily updates