When I was growing up, gourmet food was a luxury we simply could not afford. My mom's idea of gourmet was tuna casserole once a month. We did not have the money to live high on the hog. My parents tried to feed us in a healthy manner, and we grew up strong and fit, but I couldn't help but feel like I had missed out a little bit. That is why I decided to go to culinary school. Now that I had the chance to make my own way in life, I wanted to know everything I could about gourmet food. I didn't know it at the time, but gourmet candies would become my specialty. They would soon be at the center of my life.

At the time I entered chef school, I had no idea that there were such a thing as gourmet chocolate candies. When I thought of gourmet, I immediately pictured steaks and French cuisine. Gourmet candy was beyond the scope of my limited world. After all, what could be better than a Hershey's chocolate bar? Quite a bit, it turns out!

During an apprenticeship to a chocolatier following my culinary education, I became enamored of gourmet chocolate candy. Every day, I would spend morning till night making gourmet candies. It was a lot of work, and it would have burned some people out, but I was loving every moment of it. Although the hours were long and the job did not pay very well, I didn't mind. I was learning a valuable skill, and I got to eat all the gourmet candies I could possibly want. It wasn't until later, however, when I discovered my true love.

Don't get me wrong, gourmet chocolates are good. Gourmet hard candy, however, is even better. I was hired by a toffee maker, and was exposed to tastes that completely blew my mind. The gourmet candies we made were like nothing I had ever imagined. Soon, I was coming up with my own recipe ideas and they were selling like hotcakes. After a while, an idea occurred to me. Although I liked my job, it didn't make sense to stay on and work for the candy maker when I could use my own recipes in my own shop. I quit as soon as I could scrape some funds together, and started a gourmet candy store of my own. It has done very well.

Yahoo! News Search Results for Gourmet Candies
Yahoo! News Search Results for Gourmet Candies

From Disneyland to Ducasse (San Diego Reader)
As my posse and I settled down and looked at the latest menu at Blanca, I sang out happily, ?Thank God, it?s not the same old food again!? There?s a new gunfighter in town; he?s not as mellow with his sharpshooting talents as Colorado (Rick Nelson) in the classic Rio Bravo , but he is as fiery as Billy the Kid. Chef Jason Neroni, aged 33, arrived at Blanca last October after receiving a ?Rising ...
Reed's Inc. and Jones Soda Co. Enter Into Letter of Intent Regarding Potentia...
LOS ANGELES, CA and SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - March 9, 2010) - Reed's, Inc. ( NASDAQ : REED ), maker of top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, and Jones Soda, Inc. ( NASDAQ : JSDA ), a leader in the premium soda category and known for its unique branding and innovative marketing, announced today that the two companies have entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) regarding a merger ...
Reed's Inc. and Jones Soda Co. Enter Into Letter of Intent Regarding Potentia...
LOS ANGELES & SEATTLE----Reed's, Inc. , maker of top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, and Jones Soda Co. , a leader in the premium soda category and known for its unique branding and innovative marketing, announced today that the two companies have entered into a Letter of Intent regarding a merger, with Reed?s as the surviving company.
Reed's Inc. and Jones Soda Co. Enter Into Letter of Intent Regarding Potentia...
LOS ANGELES, CA and SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - 03/09/10) - Reed's, Inc. (NASDAQ: REED - News ), maker of top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, and Jones Soda, Inc. (NASDAQ: JSDA - News ), a leader in the premium soda category and known for its unique branding and innovative marketing, announced today that the two companies have entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) regarding a ...
NexCen Brands Announces Development Agreement to Further Expand Its Franchise...
NEW YORK----NexCen Brands, Inc. today announced that the Company has signed an agreement with existing master developer, DRH Group Inc. BVI, for the development of four Marble Slab Creamery stores in Egypt, a new market for NexCen?s franchised brands, over a five-year term.
Venturing out on their own (Southwest Journal)
The Southwest Journal will be tracking 10 business startups throughout the year. For this first report in the ongoing series, Journal reporters have checked in with the entrepreneurs to get their economic outlook for 2010. (Note: We?ve included startups that have launched within the past year.)
Reed's, Inc. Establishes New Relationship With Associated Wholesale Grocers (...
Six Reed's SKUs and Six Virgil's SKUs Now Available to Over 2500 Retail Outlets in the AWG Network
Reed's, Inc. Establishes New Relationship With Associated Wholesale Grocers (...
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - 03/04/10) - Reed's, Inc. (NASDAQ: REED - News ), maker of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, announced today that it has established a new retail relationship with Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG). AWG has authorized six SKUs for the Reed's Ginger Brew line and six SKUs for Virgil's Soda line. The 12 SKUs include: Reed's Extra, Premium ...
This week and the Farmers' Market (The Sierra Vista Herald)
Grower Marlene Radcliff of Tombstone?s Desert Blossom shows off a giant mustard leaf to Pete Sockness of Hereford at last Thursday?s Sierra Vista Farmers Market. Marlene will be back this week with a selection of cool weather plant starts for the home garden including specialty kale, cabbage, Asian greens, radicchio, mustard, peppermint, parsley and chervil as well as lettuce picking pots to ...
Editors' choice: spring break (The Oracle)
By: It doesn?t always have to be Miami or transcontinental to be a spring break vacation spot. Sometimes it?s nice to stay close to home and relax. If you?re trying to avoid the crowds and clichés next week, the editors of The Oracle ...