Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year for chocolatiers, and at Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire, the holiday is an opportunity to experiment with new ideas while highlighting local partnerships.
Rather than repeating the same concept year after year, the chocolate shop creates four new confections annually for its Valentine’s Day themed box, drawing inspiration from flavors, experiences, and collaborations.
“Really, we try to come up with something different each year,” said Grocer’s Daughter chocolatier Gabi Maddox.
This year’s Valentine’s Day box takes inspiration from “cocktails and mocktails,” a theme developed in collaboration with Iron Fish Distillery. The chocolates are directly inspired by Iron Fish’s specialty Valentine’s drinks, with some using the distillery’s spirits directly in the fillings.
The box this year features a range of flavors but a stand out piece for Maddox is the Fireside Snuggle, a milk chocolate, brown butter based ganache truffle inspired by an Iron Fish cocktail featuring espresso liquor, molasses and warm spices, along with a coffee caramelized sugar crunch.
“That whole flavor profile is in there,” Maddox said.
The other three pieces in the specialty box are Cedar Grove, Pineapple Paradise and Ginger Cheer. Cedar Grove pairs vodka and citrus ganache with rich dark chocolate, while Pineapple Paradise and Ginger Cheer deliver bold flavor combinations through a coconut pineapple dark chocolate ganache and a candied ginger beer dark chocolate ganache.
The partnership with Iron Fish builds on an established relationship between the two businesses. Grocer’s Daughter has previously incorporated Iron Fish spirits into ganaches and caramels.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Iron Fish over the past years, they typically use our smoked butter caramels as a garnish for their drinks,” said Maddox, adding that this year’s Valentine’s theme allowed for some playful combinations. “We were feeling a little...flirty.”
For Maddox and her team at Grocer’s Daughter, Valentine’s Day seems to be less about the pressure of a busy season, and more about the joy of creating something meant to be shared.
Each box, she said, reflects the collaborative and playful spirit behind the chocolates, “it’s super fun.”
Chocolate is also abundant at Murdicks Fudge in Suttons Bay as owner Michael Campbell is busy making his precious chocolate turtles right in time for Valentines Day.
“Turtles are our most popular item,” Campbell said. “The turtles are homemade. We make all of the caramel from scratch, and then they are shaped and guided by hand. And then hand dipped in chocolate right here in the shop. They’re 100% homemade.”
Turtles are in both milk and dark chocolate that provides enough sweetness but is on the healthier side.
Campbell reports prices are down in terms of suppliers that boomerang his cost by nearly triple for some products related to the fudge shoppe.
“Truffles are always another fan favorite. Fudge, of course, is our mainstay,” Campbell said.
Murdick’s Fudge Shoppe also offers a variety of nnuts, brittles and other novelties.
Campbell opened a secondary location in Manistee last summer and has been busy making it work, sometimes making the trip four or five times a week and clocking long hours.
Murdick’s has been open since 2004, serving Suttons Bay for 22 years.
