Delysia Chocolatier’s award winning wasabi raspberry chocolate truffle. Photo courtesy of Delysia Chocolatiers.
In Austin, we take pride in supporting our neighbors in crisis. We extol the virtues of buying local, and keeping dollars in our city. We pitch in to help out when needed. And we are needed, by a local chocolatier. I first met Nicole Patel the year she started Delysia Chocolatier. She had stopped chasing her dream and was building it, a local business dedicated to making and selling fine chocolates. And boy, are her chocolates fine!
The Prestige Truffle collection includes champagne, chocolate mousse and cigar flavors. Photo courtesy of Delysia Chocolatiers.
Nicole’s creations are among the best chocolates I’ve tasted, and as a chocolate addict, that is saying a lot. Her flavors are amazing, whether you choose classic chocolate truffle flavors, or go with exotic ones, like cigar, or tiramisu. At BlogathonATX this year, Delysia Chocolatier livened up the conference with a tasting, and her chocolate bark flavored with the Salt Lick Bar-Be-Q’s Dry Rub was a runaway hit.
She recently started a Kickstarter to help fund the building of a production kitchen and education space, and to become one of the rare chocolatiers in the U.S. to offer a complete line of ethically-harvested and sustainably-sourced chocolate. Expansion is always stressful, but Nicole has really been wrung through the ringer on this project. In addition to the expected irksome and taxing issues, she walked into a nightmare one day, visiting her space-in-progress to discover her general contractor had walked off the job, stealing materials and tools, and leaving subcontractors unpaid. Reading about it in her blog was heartbreaking, but uplifting, as Nicole makes a deliberate choice to remain grateful for how far she has come with her business, and for family, friends and clients who have supported her.
-
- Corporate gifts your clients are sure to savor!
-
- Your logo, here, then eaten. Yum!
-
- Edible menus at your holiday dinner guarantees the guests will be talking about the soiree of the season for a long, long time.
Photos courtesy of Delysia Chocolatiers.
I implore you, please help Nicole raise money to finish the build out, and enable her to continue to create decadent chocolate treats. If you are in a decision-making position at your company where holiday gifts are concerned, you cannot go wrong with Delysia Chocolatier’s personalized chocolates (above). Her truffle collections make excellent gifts, as well. You can order online, or visit any of these local businesses to purchase Delysia Chocolatier goods:
