Feb. 13, 2009 – My husband and I visited Asheville, N.C.,  a town we love to visit, the town where we honeymooned. On this particular day, as we ventured downtown, we happened into the Chocolate Fetish, a gourmet chocolate shop. It was clean, bright and adorned with eye-catching red Valentine colors that caught my eye from the sidewalk.

The store offers upper-end packaged gourmet chocolates and chocolate products. Gold-boxed packaging abounds. The display cases are crystal clear glass where the chocolates are on view like small works of art. The shelves are neat, orderly, dust-free. The truffles and other candies inside are lined neatly and beautifully together in small, white, ruffled cups. They are drizzled and dusted with shiny golds and reds.

The place is small, although the space is used very creatively. It has clean lines and is clutter free. All the shelves are neatly stocked with beautifully wrapped and packaged chocolate products, all with “The Chocolate Fetish” gold seal label. These shelves are facing windows and against the walls, out of the way but purposely visual. Two display cases end to end hold scrumptious confections. The staff was uniformed in brown chocolate derby style hats and aprons.

The chocolate truffles come in unique flavors such as French red wine, saffron, cayenne, Wasabi, sesame and Chai spices. The young man at work that day was very nice and informative. He gave us directions to go through a separate set of double doors at the side of the building that took us to the back of the facility.

There, we were able to peek through the windows at the chocolates being made. Two chocolatiers using small, ice cream scoop-looking utensils were dipping out of huge wells of chocolate being mixed with an automatic blending arm that turned inside the bowl. These huge bowls of swirling chocolate had attached temperature gauges to keep the chocolate at a certain temperature to keep it pliable to work with. The facility was clinically clean, and the two female workers wore white, doctor- looking coats, plastic gloves, chef hats and hairnets.

It was impossible to go to The Chocolate Fetish without trying some of its award-winning chocolate. In business since 1986, it was voted best in Western North Carolina for 11 consecutive years and rated in “America’s Best” by the  Los Angeles Times. We were given a truffle flavor key on our visit that told us of all the complex flavors that made these truffles so unique. It’s a chocolate experience sure to please even the truest chocolate aficionado!