Diane Holland of Harrison spent the better part of 2011 to 2013 traveling through Europe doing research for a new business. “I planned on opening a European-style chocolate shop in Westchester and I was tasting chocolate everywhere I could find it. Bruges was impressive but London was my favorite. There’s a chocolate shop on every other corner.”
Opened this past September, Holland’s Blue Tulip Chocolates (137 Purchase St, Rye 914-481-4840; bluetulipchocolates.com) is a small-batch shop using Belgian, French, and Venezuelan chocolate; sumptuous Irish and French butters; Vermont cream; and no preservatives. Offerings include truffles in flavors such as pistachio, espresso, and vanilla nut ($1.50 to $1.75); myriad shaped and artfully decorated chocolate ganaches like dark chocolate lips ($1.50); bars ($5.50 to $8), barks ($7 to $8.50), brownies, caramels, mini-cupcakes (in 24 custom flavors such as cotton candy, honey lavender, and toffee chunk), and house-made versions of Kit Kats, Snickers, and Nestlé Crunch. Holland, whose experience includes instruction at the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Belgium and a stint as interim pastry chef at La Panetière in Rye, also holds in-store chocolate-making workshops and offers dessert catering.
Looking at the selection of beautiful chocolates on the marble counters and within the glass display case, one might miss the small machine in the corner churning a dark brown liquid at 140° F. Don’t—it’s one of the better hot chocolates you’ll have.
The sign of good-quality chocolate, according to Holland, is its shine and nice snap when broken. Does she ever get tired of eating chocolate? “No! I was a chocoholic before the term was invented.”