Santa Fe is a town where food and art collide. So, its not surprising for a creative person to leave her hometown of Leonia, New Jersey, in 2007, to study art at the College of Santa Fe, and wind up heading home on a life path to make edible art. Chocolate is popular anytime of the year, but especially over the holidays. I am teaching a holiday cocktail class in Albuquerque, next week, in conjunction with YelpNM, and wanted to present something unique to the students using the liqueur I’m featuring in the lineup. And, who better to team with than this talented young lady, about whom I think we will hear much more, in years to come…How did you become interested in making chocolate? I had a mold-making assignment in sculpture class, and suddenly realized that I could be using food to make my art. Adding the aspect of taste opened up a whole new set of possibilities.At what point did you decide this was “it” for you? I worked for a local chocolatier and when I developed my first truffle, I stood in the kitchen and cried. I had never felt so proud of something I made, and I needed to make more.What makes being a chocolatier so exciting to you? The possibilities! With chocolate, you can showcase a single-origin cacao or make custom blends, confect delicately flavored white chocolate truffles or robust, spicy dark ones, and even sculpt and mould chocolate into edible works of art. At the end of the day, my favorite thing is really to be able to share all of this with others. To see someone's face light up when they bite into something makes me happier than just about anything else.What kinds of chocolates do you make? Do you have a favorite and, if so, why? I make chocolate truffles, caramels, marshmallows, peppermint patties, candied citrus peel, and whatever else you give me a recipe for. I love making dark chocolate truffles and caramels and hand-dipping and decorating them. I feel like each one I make is a tiny sculpture.Why do you think (just about) everyone loves chocolate so much? I think a big part of it is nostalgia. Chocolate is a quintessential childhood treat, and it is associated with so many holidays and memories. The chemical effects of chocolate on the brain also keep people coming back. Theobromine gives you a boost of energy, and eating chocolate actually activates the same areas of the brain as falling in love. Do you see artisanal chocolates as a growing trend, nationally? Absolutely. Craft chocolate makers who make chocolate from bean to bar are popping up like crazy. When you see people going back to the basics like that and intimately controlling every part of the process, you know the whole industry is on the rise. The interest in small batch, handmade, real fresh chocolates is booming right now. Instead of the big, heart-shaped box of preservative-filled candies from the drug store, people are opting for artisanally crafted truffles and bars. People are starting to realize how versatile chocolate is, even in savory dishes (besides mole!). If you know people who are struggling with any kind of addiction, you can go here.What are some tips for people attempting to make chocolate at home? Start off with a ganache and don't be intimidated! Ganache is the easiest and most versatile thing you can make at home. It is basically just an emulsion between melted chocolate and some kind of liquid, which is usually cream. You can infuse the cream with teas, spices, fresh herbs, etc. A basic dark chocolate truffle recipe is to chop 12oz of dark chocolate and put it in a heat-safe bowl. Scald 6oz of cream, pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Starting from the middle, stir with a rubber spatula in small circles until the chocolate starts to look shiny. Stir in larger circles until the emulsion has spread and the ganache looks smooth. Allow to set up at room temperature over night, and then scoop into balls and roll in dutch cocoa powder. You are making a special chocolate for my upcoming holiday cocktail class in Albuquerque. Would you explain a bit about how you created this confection, and share the recipe? Of course, I started off by tasting the Esprit de June Liqueur! You have to be familiar with your ingredients. June's delicate floral flavor would be lost in dark or milk chocolate, so I chose white. It is all about finding the balance between texture and flavor. When using a liqueur in ganache, you have to make sure that you maintain the proper chocolate-to-fat-to-liquid ratio or you may end up with a sticky or separated mess. I ended up with a 3:1 ratio of chocolate to liquid by weight, with my liquid part split evenly between cream and June. For example, 12oz of chocolate, 2oz cream and 2oz June. I melted the chocolate over a double boiler and then scalded the cream, allowed it to cool a little, and added the June. I then emulsified the liquid into the chocolate and allowed the ganache to set up over night. I finished these truffles with a dip in 54% dark chocolate, but if you don't care to try to temper chocolate, a roll in dutch cocoa powder would be just as delicious.What are your next goals in chocolatiering? I'm moving to New York in a few weeks and I really want to work for someone who can teach me a million different things. I want to take classes too. I'm into learning everything I can about chocolate right now. I ground my own cacao with a makeshift metate made from a wine bottle and a sheet pan once. I would love to do more experiments like that and get to know the chocolate really well.Where do you see yourself, and your chocolates, five years from now? In five years, I see myself making much more refined and varied chocolates, and working towards opening my own shop. I would like to go to Paris or Brussels to study, and visit the plantations where the cacao is grown for Amedei's Porcelana, Mast Brothers' smoked Papua New Guinea, and Felchlin's Bolivia Cru Sauvage 68%. I think I'm going to be busy!