Photo credit: Rylan Capper
About Queer Chocolatier
My wife, Cheri, and I have been married since 2015. With her love and support, I launched Queer Chocolatier in 2017 to serve as a marketplace for my chocolate truffles. In 2018, we opened a brick & mortar space in Muncie, IN right off the edge of Ball State University’s campus thereby creating a safe and sober space for the community. Soon, I expanded our chocolate-centric menu offerings as well as provided books and resources on various topics ranging from chocolate, food production, LGBTQIA, gender, and politics.
Cheri and I are committed to the belief that the personal is always political. That holds true for Queer Chocolatier. As queer women, we cannot and will not separate our identity from business.
Our mission is deliciously radical: We strive to provide high-quality handmade chocolate confections while also standing in solidarity with queer and trans* individuals.
At Queer Chocolatier, we are unapologetic in who we love. We find beauty in diversity. We provide indulgence for all.
About Our Chocolate
Our beginnings consisted of high-quality chocolate truffles. From there, we have expanded our offerings and honed our craft. As an emerging bean-to-bar-to-truffle maker, I also incorporate our house-made chocolate into much of our menu ranging from pain au chocolate to sippable drinking chocolates. I purchase sacks of beans from Uncommon Cacao and Meridian Cacao Co., both are direct trade vendors, in order to create single-origin chocolate.
The bean-to-bar-to-truffle making process is lengthy and it is as much science as it is art. Sourcing beans for their unique qualities, roasting to highlight those qualities, cracking and winnowing the beans into nibs, grinding and refining beans until liquified and mixed with sugar and cocoa butter, resting and tempering chocolate, then using in making ganache for truffles or molding into bars, this whole process takes days and patience!
Our truffles are made vegan using our freshly-made chocolate and dairy-free creams such as coconut cream, pecan cream, or hazelnut cream. The chocolate shines through and additional flavors and spices will complement the chocolate; the creams are there to provide the much-needed fat to create a smooth ganache base.