[Photograph: Bespoke Chocolates]

'Tis the season to start thinking about Valentine's Day gifts, either for your significant other, or for less-than-significant others—everyone deserves a treat on Valentine's Day. Head to Bespoke Chocolates in the East Village where you'll find gorgeous, hand-crafted creations made by Rachel Insler, who will guide you towards the chocolatey morsels your little heart desires. One taste of her gooey Pretzel-Covered Sea-Salted Caramels—which she advises eating all in one bite—and you're likely to forget that you were on a mission to buy chocolates for anyone other than yourself.

Name: Rachel Insler
Location: East Village
Occupation: Chocolatier, Co-Owner Bespoke Chocolates
Website: bespokechocolates.com

What started you down the road to becoming a chocolatier? The proximate cause was my fabulous apprenticeship with Keith Hurdman at London's Melt Chocolates, but I think what started me down that road was the knowledge that a restaurant pastry kitchen wasn't for me; I really wanted to interact with the people I was feeding. Also as a former academic, I am still obsessed with learning, and more than any other medium, I felt like chocolate still had a lot to teach me.

So when I had a unique opportunity to spend six months in London, I decided to take advantage of the incredible artisanal chocolate community there. Learning chocolate in Europe was an inspirational experience, and working in an open kitchen was a real pleasure. The whole thing really "fit" me and I decided that I wanted to bring fresh, fun, serious chocolate (with a smile) to New York City.

[Photograph: Bespoke Chocolates]

How is focusing on chocolate different from being a pastry chef? Do you ever miss making non-chocolate treats? I don't have to work every Friday and Saturday night! Plus, no more oven burns!

Being able to focus on doing one thing really well resonates with me. And I now make non-chocolate treats for fun. Mousses, cookies, tarts, etc are no longer work! I woke up on my day off this Sunday and joyfully baked a batch of scones for my friends to eat while we watched football....that would not have happened during my restaurant days!

How do you get your ideas for new chocolates? Sometimes I'll be reading dessert recipes (or eating dessert) and I'll think, "How can I translate the experience of this dessert into a truffle?" Then sometimes, one of my employees with say "Rachel, make me a pumpkin chocolate"—and I do.

This past Sunday you donated 100% of your profits to benefit AmeriCares Haiti Relief program. How did that go?

Lots of our customers were super-generous, and gave extra donations on top of their usual chocolate purchases. And AmeriCares is an incredibly well-run organization; they can leverage your one donated dollar into $35 worth of aid.

Valentine's Day is around the corner. Are you creating anything special for the occasion? We are hard at work on a spicy dark chocolate, which I hope to have available by the beginning of February. I've gone through about eight different kinds of dried chiles in various combinations in order to land on the right flavor and appropriate intensity of heat. It's fascinating to me how some chiles hit you right up front, while others sneak up on you at the finish! I've really had to give myself a bit of a chile education this week, which is super. A few of my employees have a little bit of the dorky scientist in them too, so we love experimentation time at Bespoke.

Your Pretzel-Covered Sea-Salted Caramels are wildly popular. Any idea what it is about them that people love so much? Deliciousness! No, really—from watching people consume them (one of my favorite activities), I'd say they're fun to eat. There's a number of different "moments" you can experience. The salty crunch, the crisp dark shell, the almost-burnt-but-still-sweet ooze of the creamy liquid salted caramel. A lot going on, and it just works together.

Pretzel-Covered Sea-Salted Caramels. [Photo: Kathy Chan]

What are your favorite local hangouts or places you might be considered a regular? I am a frequent visitor to the bar at DBGB. Love that place. The bartenders are friendly (extra-friendly when plied with chocolate) and I love tasting the new drinks they're working on. The sausages are great of course, but I am obsessed with their tuna tartare.

If I do get to wander farther afield (in the East Village, that is), I love Terroir for their super-fun wine list and delicious snacks, not to mention their proximity to Destination, home of lovely bartenders and inexpensive, creative tasty bar food.

What is in your fridge that you'd be embarrassed to tell us about? I decided I'm not embarrassed by the fact that we have six different kinds of cheese in our refrigerator—so I'll say "a *lot* of Diet Coke."

What foods do you crave most in NYC? Cheese, cheese, a thousand times cheese! I live about two blocks from Murray's—it's dangerous (see above).

Everyone has a go-to person they call for restaurant and bar recommendations. Who's yours? I am that person. I filled the void left by neuroscience research with food research, and I keep a running mental list of restaurants and bars to check out—which I will as soon as I get some free time!

Bespoke Chocolates

6 Extra Place, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-260-7103
bespokechocolates.com
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