[Model D] Pete's Chocolate Company working towards wholesale expansion in 2014

Pete's Chocolate Company.

Pete Steffy got into chocolate-making as a hobby while living in the small city of San Cristobal de la Casas in Mexico, where he was teaching English. He enjoyed it so much that he began making chocolate for fun and playing with different recipes that he would give away to friends and family. Eventually a real demand grew, and Pete's Chocolate Company, Detroit's first small-batch artisan chocolate company, started selling at area markets and special events.

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[HOT LIST] Valentine's Day

Because it's never too early to start planning (and also and also and also FIRST), here is a preliminary list of events and other points of interest for celebrating (or actively anti-celebrating) this Valentine's Day.

#1 Clubhouse BFD V-Day B-Day, Feb. 14
Don't have it in you to face down yet another Valentine's Day alone? So don't. Join all of your beeriest of friends for a BIRTHDAY celebration at Clubhouse BFD ... a b-day that juuuuuuust so happens to fall on V-Day. But don't focus on that: instead, focus on how this place was just named by DRAFT Magazine as one of the 100 Best Beer Bars in the country. See? Don't you feel better already? Where there's beer, you're never alone.

#2 Single's Night at 8 Degrees Plato Beer Company, Feb. 14
Again: where there's beer, you're never alone. 8 Degrees is hosting a Valentine's Day Single Mingle Thursday, Feb 14th from 9:30 to 11pm. 15 single guys and 15 single ladies plus 6-8 beers to taste. Oh, and pizza. $15 per person. Reservations required please.

#3 The Dirty Show, Feb. 8-16
Early word on the Dirty Show this year is that there is a particular piece debuting that show producer/mastermind Jerry Vile has called "the most important thing the Dirty Show has ever done." (I've seen it, and it is truly a groundbreaking moment for the 14-year-old show. For naysayers that dismiss the Dirty Show as mere smut, this piece by Gregory de la Haba truly embodies that intersection of erotica and high art.) Also: boobs. The burlesque performances alone are worth the price of admission (even if you're a straight girl/gay boy who just likes the pretty costumes and is impressed by the caliber of performances). But the question REALLY is ... will Roxi be there???

#4 Detroit Passport to the Arts presents Detroit Loves Cinema, Feb. 14
A red carpet, a screening of Oscar-nominated shorts, and an afterparty at the newly-renovated Detroit Historical Museum. For couples looking to do something besides the usual dinner-and-a-movie, this is the ticket. You do not need to be a Passport holder to attend this event; click the link for ticket info.

#5 The Brunch Underground presents Dinner Theatre at Planet Ant, Feb. 16
The lovely folks of the Brunch Underground have partnered with Planet Ant for a dinner theatre combo, $30 individual/$55 couple which includes your theatre ticket, dinner AND drinks. And here is the menu: Parmesan risotto with braised short ribs, red wine reduction and a horseradish gremolata. An arugula radicchio salad with celeriac, apple and toasted walnut, in a creamy dressing. Individual pots de creme, with whipped cream. Herbed cheese popcorn for all! Also includes a champagne pomegranate punch and a pear rosemary cocktail.

#6 Anti-Valentine's Party at Whiskey in the Jar, Feb. 19
Who says Valentine's Day is for lovers? Haters unite! Elsewhere in Hamtramicka, the second-annual Anti-Valentine's Party will happen at Whiskey in the Jar. Bring a photo of your ex to throw darts at.

#7 Lobster Lovers Valentine's Day at Tom's Oyster Bar, Royal Oak, Feb. 14
Lobster specials and flaming Spanish coffees.

#8 Pete's Chocolates Company, Feb. 9-14
Ah yes, you also need a gift. Skip the mass-marketed over-priced chocolates and keep it local. Pete's Chocolate Company is a small-batch artisan chocolatier that specializes in hand-rolled truffles made with the finest ingredients. Pete will be at several events leading up to V-Day, so you can place your orders and pick-up at various locations in Ferndale and Detroit (check the schedule for where he'll be and when).

#9 VLNTNSDYMRKT at Pot + Box, Corktown, Feb. 14
POP-UPS! Detroit loves a pop-up. Especially one with a theme. This pop-up is happening at the eventual home of Pot + Box in Corktown, and will feature a number of Detroit vendors (including Pete's Chocolate Co.) selling gifts and goodies ideal for V-Day.

#10 Valentine's Package at Weber's Inn, Ann Arbor, Feb. 15-17
Maybe a staycation is in order? Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor is offering a whole hotel package that includes the room, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and a long-stemmed rose. The recently-renovated rooms are quite nice, the facility rather modern, and there's a very popular indoor pool-slash-pseudo water park that is especially popular in the winter. Plus the food at the attached restaurant(s)/bar(s) is excellent.

Bonus round:
Gourmet Valentine's Day Dinner for Two at the Produce Station, Feb. 14
If you're lazy, and I am most certainly that, Chef Steven Grostick has what you need for a perfectly romantic Valentine's Dinner for just the two of you to enjoy at home ... with no mess to clean up afterwards! $60 includes a salad to share, two entrees, two desserts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, two long-stemmed roses, and an optional cheese board (for an extra $20). Let the professionals worry about the food; you worry about the rest.

[HOT LIST] Michigan chocolatiers

Patricia's Chocolates.

Is it any coincidence that the Superbowl and Valentine's Day happen in the same month? Fellas, as you stuff those last few pork products into your face while discussing the commercials the game at the office on Monday, you'd better be thinking about what to do for that special lady-friend of yours because as SOON as that last pigskin hits the astro turf, you're on her time. Now, Godiva is great and all (I mean, if you just want to phone it in), but this Valentine's Day show her you put at least a little thought into it. Or at least took the time to read a blog that guided you through exactly how to put some thought into it so you didn't have to. Et voila! If you want to say it with chocolate, say it with one of these Michigan chocolatiers.

#1 Patricia's Chocolate (Spring Lake)
Patricia Christopher learned how to make fine artisan ganache and caramel chocolates at the French Pastry School and Callebaut Institute in Chicago. She calls her chocolates "art that melts," but there is no way you can fully grasp what that means until you actually see it. Each exquisite hand-finished chocolate palet is made with the finest domestic and imported French couverture cocoas, fresh butter and cream in traditional and unusual flavors from exotic spices and locally-sourced ingredients such as raw Michigan honey, Traverse City maple syrup, and Black Star Farms apple brandy. She is also one of only a few chocolatiers in the world entrusted with Fortunate No. 4, an extremely rare and complex cacao previously thought to be extinct. (Order online.)

#2 Grocer's Daughter Chocolate (Empire)
Mimi Wheeler uses only sustainably-grown cacao beans from South America to make her all-natural handmade chocolates. She also uses fruits, edible flowers and herbs from her own home gardens and other organic, naturally-grown ingredients from the shores of Lake Michigan. Her commitment to sustainable practices is clear right down to the eco-friendly packaging. She makes a wide variety of chocolate products, the most popular being the luscious bars packed full of huge whole nuts and dried fruits. (Available in specialty markets or order online.)

#3 Mindo Chocolate Makers (Dexter)
Mindo Chocolate Makers are artisan bean-to-bar chocolate makers. In addition to sourcing all of their cacao beans from Mindo, Ecuador which they then roast, winnow and grind into real chocolate, Mindo also offers bean-to-bar chocolate-making classes and more refined classes (focusing on different items like ganache truffles, caramels and fudge). For a real treat, try their hot chocolate sticks. (Available in specialty markets or order online.)

Lindsay Truffler. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#4 Pete's Chocolate Company (Detroit)
What can I say about Pete and his chocolates that I haven't already said? Get them at Rust Belt Market or order online.

#5 Lindsay Truffler (Bay City)
Lindsay Truffler is an artisan chocolate boutique specializing in traditional glossy molded truffles--basically a made-in-Michigan answer to Godiva. These visually-stunning chocolates come in unique flavors like Tellicherry Pepper and Toasted Sesame Caramel and are available to order online.

Bubbling under Just Good Chocolate (Leelanau Peninsula), Gayle's Chocolates (Royal Oak), Kilwin's Chocolates (Birmingham), Champagne Chocolates (Mt. Clemens), Drizzled Cafe (Warren), Sugar Kisses Bakery (Berkley)

[EID Feature] Pete's Chocolate Company: Detroit's First Chocolatier

The Adventures of Pete and Pete's Chocolates. All photos by Nicole Rupersburg at Rust Belt Market.

Pete Steffy of Pete's Chocolate Company says he has always been "really into food and cooking," but it was when he was living in the small city of San Cristóbal de las Casas teaching English in Mexico that he got into chocolate.

"There was this really cool chocolate shop there run by this guy who studied chocolate-making in Mexico City," Pete says. "I had this friend who's just one of those guys who makes friends with everyone and everyone loves him [one of those really dynamic types], and he somehow was able to convince this guy to do a chocolate class with us. I think he charged us, like, $50 each, and there was four of us there for a week."

And so Pete learned the craft of chocolate confectionery from chocolatier Iván Arce in the indigenous home of the cacao tree.

"I really enjoyed doing it and began experimenting with it," Pete continues. "I was doing really small batches and giving them away--not that it's hard to give away chocolate! Then a lot of those people wanted to buy chocolate to give to other people, and it sort of grew organically from there."

If you ever visited the phenomenal (now unfortunately closed) Burton Theatre in Detroit, you may have seen some of Pete's chocolates. The Burton was the first place where his products were available to purchase. Pete is friends with the guys who ran the Burton and cites them as a real inspiration to him. "If these guys can open a theater, [you] can do anything [in Detroit]!" he jokes. (Then immediately tells me he's kidding and very sincerely says their efforts were truly inspiring to him...Pete just seems like the kind of affable guy that won't even rag on his buddies in jest.) Much as they sought to offer an eclectic movie mix in their theatre, they also wanted to have some unique items in their concession stand. Pete's chocolate was perfect. "It was a good start to get my name out there."

Pete makes mostly hand-rolled truffles, which are a little different than what you usually see in chocolate shops like Godiva. These are fresh truffles; there's no hard shell but instead they are a consistent soft, fudgey texture. They are hand-crafted using fine bittersweet (60% cocoa), milk (31% cocoa) and white chocolate from the world's largest chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut in Belgium, then blended with European butter, fresh cream from Southeast Michigan’s own Calder Dairy and the highest quality spices, nuts, dried or preserved fruits and flavorings available. Pete has about a dozen standard flavors he always carries (like cinnamon cayenne and peanut butter) plus some "oddball" flavors he switches up, like rosemary sea salt and white chocolate orange cranberry.

In addition to molded and dipped truffles Pete just recently started experimenting with chocolate bars. He also makes different kinds of hot chocolate, which includes a vegan French-style hot chocolate made with coconut milk and flavored with exotic spices like chai and garam masala. (You seriously would NEVER be able to tell that it's vegan; this hot chocolate is thicker, richer and more decadent than most other places that use whole milk.)

Last Christmas, business for Pete and his eponymous chocolate exploded, and on the heels of the new cottage industry food laws allowing for small, independent artisan food producers to work out of their kitchens (instead of requiring a commercial kitchen, as it was required previously), Pete set up his LLC and made his hobby an official business.

Pete's Chocolate can now be found at select special events around town, like the upcoming 2nd Annual Detroit Holiday Food Bazaar next Friday (Dec. 9, 5-11 p.m.), but you'll primarily be able to find him at the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale on weekends (Saturdays and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays 6-10 p.m. through the holidays). You can order online for pick-up or delivery, and Pete also caters special events.

Because demand has grown so quickly, Pete isn't totally sure what to do with it next (it was just a "hobby," after all). But what started as a hobby has now evolved into Detroit's first and only maker of artisan chocolates, and Pete is now considering his options: maybe opening a storefront, or spending next summer interning at chocolate shops in Europe, or even importing cacao beans and making chocolate straight from the bean itself. "What better place than Detorit to do that?" he says.  "It’s funny that in some ways Detroit can be a hard place to start a luxury food item business, but also there’s no chocolate in Detroit right now." It's a bagel desert; it's a chocolate desert ... but thanks to Detroit's DIY bakers and chocolate-makers, the times they are a-changin', and the Paris of the Midwest finally has its own chocolatier.

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.