Features Openings Westport Chocolate Dessert The Chocolatieree Opens in Westport with Hand Crafted Chocolates (via Westport Journal) CTbites Team May 21, 2022 Standing in front of the Chocolatieree kitchen’s tempering machine, owner Laureen Haynes explains the process of making chocolate. / Photo by Gretchen Webster At a small shop on Church Lane where chocolates are both made and sold, a Westporter who worked in the health industry during the chaos of the pandemic is finally realizing her sweet dream.“We just need a little bite of happiness,” chocolatier Laureen Haynes said of the deluxe chocolates she makes herself. “That’s what I’m bringing to the community.”The Chocolatieree — the shop’s name is a combination of chocolatier, or someone who makes chocolate, and “Ree,” the owner’s nickname — is located in a small building at 66 Church Lane, which previously housed a dog groomer, then a jewelry store. The front room on a recent weekday featured a display case of hand-crafted chocolate treats: coffee caramel, sunflower seed butter cup, coconut ganache, sea salt caramel and blueberry lavender ganache. In the back of the shop is a kitchen, where chocolate was swirling around in a tempering machine, to give the candies the smooth luster that makes them gleam.Read the full article on The Westport Journal.
