DEAR COCO, RACHELLE FERNEAU One of the best things about owning your own company is being able to tailor your products toward things you’re passionate about, says Rachelle Ferneau, whose specifications call for handcrafted chocolates that are vegan-friendly, gluten-free and kosher, contain certified organic and non-GMO ingredients, and come in recyclable packaging. “We eat cleanly and avoid artificial ingredients at home,” says Ferneau, a Potomac resident who worked in human resources administration in her native California before relocating to the Washington, D.C., area in 1999. A self-taught pastry chef, Ferneau was making kosher, dairy-free baked goods, but switched to chocolate in 2012, enamored with its versatility and eager to make it accessible to people with food allergies and other dietary needs. Available at Williams-Sonoma and Balducci’s stores, as well as other shops nationwide, and online at dearcoco.com.
As the one-woman show behind The Chocolatier’s Palette, Jill Sandler of North Bethesda gets to enjoy making fudge while being the creative director, as well. That’s resulted in more than 80 unique flavor combinations and seasonal specialties, including blueberry lavender, pistachio cardamom rosewater, strawberry balsamic, tomato basil, spiced mango and more. After years of giving the treats to friends and family, Sandler—who used to moonlight as a singer with a band, and currently works part time for the federal government—created her company in 2014. It was a good move. “I could talk about my fudge all day…so I must be in the right career,” she says. Available at Central Farm Markets (Bethesda, Pike and Mosaic), at the NIH Community Market and online at thechocolatierspalette.com.
ZIVAARA, PUJA SATIANI In making the shift from law to confections, attorney Puja Satiani studied like she was taking the (chocolate) bar exam. The Silver Spring resident enrolled in the pastry program at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg and trained at L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat in southeastern France and the Chocolate Academy in Chicago. She visited cacao production in the Dominican Republic, and stayed at a cacao farm in the jungles of Belize. And now as a chocolatier, she’s spreading the word. “The focus [of Zivaara] is to help people understand what cacao is and what it can be used for,” she says. That means chocolates with unusual sweet and savory combinations, products such as cacao nib rub and cacao nib brittle, and even skin care items such as cocoa butter lip balm and chocolate orange body oil. Available at select stores in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Potomac, and online at zivaara.com.
Contributing Editor Carole Sugarman lives in Chevy Chase and is a member of the Montgomery County Food Council, an independent nonprofit organization that works to improve the environmental, economic, social and nutritional health of the county's food system.
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CHOCOLATIER’S PALETTE PHOTO BY LAURA CHASE MCGEHEE; DEAR COCO AND ZIVAARA COURTESY
THE CHOCOLATIER’S PALETTE, JILL SANDLER