“Always fresh, always delicious and made with a love <strong>for</strong>the honest, pure taste of chocolate.” —Cortland Forrence and Joe Doughertyitems as T-shirts, gourmet spaghetti sauce,maple syrup, jams, jellies, preserves, dressings,locally-roasted coffee and much more,all made in the Adirondacks.Cortland said he is especially proudof the expanded kitchen in Wilmingtonand the large window that allows visitorsto view the entire candy-making process.Joe explained that they buy high qualitychocolate bricks in bulk and purchaseabout 40,000 pounds of raw ingredientsper year. They buy top quality almonds,cashews and other nuts in large quantities.His partner said, “We make all ourown jellies and creams from scratch <strong>for</strong>our candy and it’s always done in a big copperkettle.” Joe added, “Our fudge is alsocooked in the copper kettle that came tous with the store and we still use it overan open flame.”Watching the process of candy makingis fascinating. The chocolate bricksare melted. Then the liquid is tempered inlarge machines. Cortland explained, “Wehave a huge enrobing machine about fifteenfeet long. Enrobing simply means tocoat the product both on top and on thebottom. For example, we might load pretzelson a conveyor belt that travels into themachine. It goes through a wall of chocolateand what is called a bottomer that putschocolate underneath. Once the product iscoated, we might decorate it by hand withwhite chocolate. Then it goes into a coolingtunnel <strong>for</strong> a few minutes. When it comesout the other end, it’s ready to put on theshelf <strong>for</strong> sale.”Be<strong>for</strong>e investing in the new and muchlarger enrobing machine, the partners saidthey had to move the finished candy intoa special cooling room where it sat <strong>for</strong> upto 90-minutes be<strong>for</strong>e it could be boxed andput on the shelves.Wholesale is a growing part of theAdirondack Chocolates business. Currentlythey distribute to Boston, New York Cityand many metropolitan centers up anddown the East Coast. Joe emphasized,“We sell to gourmet shops in numerousareas, but only to a couple places inthe Adirondack region. Our items aresold at the General Trading Company inPlattsburgh and Apple Blossom Floristin Peru.”Production and sale of chocolatescontinued to be brisk during the recenteconomic downturn. Joe observed, “Peoplegive up lots of things when times get tough,but not their treats.” He joked, “I always say,alcohol and chocolates are recession proof.”Adirondack Chocolates does a lot of corporatebusiness in gift baskets as well asother gifts, especially at holiday time. Bothmen agreed that they expect the gift basketpart of their business to expand in thecoming year. As <strong>for</strong> their very busy <strong>In</strong>ternetbusiness, Joe explained they usually havethree people working just to fill ordersduring the holidays.Adirondack Chocolates areshipped all over the world.Corporate gifts make up a goodshare of the business. “A numberof local companies comein here and ship 100, onepoundboxes of chocolates.One local company sendsout hundreds and hundredsof our boxes of chocolateseach year,” Joe said, “Wehave a customer inNew Jersey whoorders up to22 <strong>Strictly</strong> <strong>Food</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Thought</strong> | February 2013
Local Producer625 boxes every Christmas. We want to seethat part of our business grow even more.All holidays are busy <strong>for</strong> AdirondackChocolates, but Valentine’s Day is one ofthe busiest of them all. Asked if they havea signature product the partners agreedthat almond bark is one of their biggestsellers. Other specialties are the handdippedpretzels, almond butter crunch,hand-dipped coconut or mint patties, turtles,cherry cordials, fudge, and nonpareils.They explained that since changing theirname to Adirondack Chocolates, they arenow coming up with regional names <strong>for</strong>many of their products.Cortland stressed the high quality ofall their candy products. “A lot of candystores don’t make their own chocolateslike we do. When you come to Wilmingtonand actually watch it happen, you can seethat we make it all fresh, with first rateingredients.”You might pose the age-old question:Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? Sufficeto say that, <strong>for</strong> Cortland Forrence and JoeDougherty, chocolate is their passion. Theirpromise? “Always fresh, always deliciousand made with a love <strong>for</strong> the honest, puretaste of fine chocolate.”...the new face of CandymanOur boxed assortments are a classic favorite.Order online in time <strong>for</strong> Valentine's Day!www.adirondackchocolates.comor visit our chocolate factory & retail shop.Retail Shop: 61 Main St., Lake Placid, NY1-800-232-4626Chocolate Factory and Retail Shop: 5680 NYS Rte 86, Wilmington, NYFebruary 2013 | strictlyfood<strong>for</strong>thought.com 23
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