I Love Chocolate

Do you ever think about the I Love Lucy episode when you see chocolates? How about being in a factory that has such a machine! It's called 5th Avenue Chocolatiere. Actually they were never located on Fifth Avenue, but on Madison Avenue. It was a small store and not one where you could "pick out the chocolates" as they were already boxed. Most of the items were novelties such as birthday cards, sports balls, etc. The factory was located in Queens, in Long Island City. I had the pleasure of going there several years ago. Joseph E. Whaley is the President, who took over his father's business. The store moved to 693 Third Avenue and the factory moved to 396 Rockaway Avenue in the Valley Stream section of Long Island.

In the past, I have requested large footballs with the New York Sharks insignia on it to auction off. They did such a great job that it was difficult for the winners to eat it. You can give them a photo, etc. and get it in a sort of chocolate bas relief, if you want. As for the chocolate itself, the big tease is their truffles...square and dipped in cocoa.

Joseph was at the most recent Chocolate Show in Manhattan and being interviewed by CNN.

I ventured to Valley Stream and expected to see a factory similar to the one in Long Island City. Wrong! Joseph bought a building which houses a few other stores. When you enter his store, you see a more typical chocolate shoppe with various items by the pound as well as a whole lot of novelties. Walk through and you see a room with tables set up for classes, parties, etc.

Then there is the factory area...huge! Along with various temper machines and one with a "hose" to transfer the milk chocolate into larger molds, there is that "I Love Lucy" machine. It goes slowly so that a pretzel, for instance, will first get coated with the warm chocolate and then allow for a worker to coat it with sprinkles or tiny m&ms. It then goes through a series of cooling before it ends its mission. If there isn't anyone at the end, it simply falls to the floor. I'm not sure how fast it goes yet, but I'll let you know when I go back after the holidays.

I tasted one of the flavored square truffles made with a green tea extract to be coated with a green tea powder. Now, how can you go wrong with the combo of anti-oxidants? And the chocolates are kosher as well!