J. Emanuel Chocolatier:
Tad Van Leer Launches Chocolate Line

“I’ve been covered in chocolate since the day I was born,” says Tad Van Leer, third generation chocolate maker. He brings decades of manufacturing know-how and innovation to his newest venture, J. Emanuel Chocolatier. His life-long love of chocolate has resulted in a line of artisanal chocolates are made with all natural ingredients at the Chester, New Jersey, factory.

As he worked with chocolate, he came to the realization that chocolate is one of the most sophisticated and complex flavors, he says. “Chocolate has been too narrowly defined as simply a snack food, primarily for kids. But I see it as the perfect, truly functional food.”

Innovation characterized Van Leer’s tenure with the Van Leer Chocolate family business. He developed a chocolate with a lower melting point when introducing Soft Chunks into ice creams. He also identified a way to put chocolate truffles into ice cream, and introduced the use of real chocolate (rather than the industry standard of cocoa powder), giving rise to the popular Godiva Ultra Premium ice cream.

Van Leer compares eating chocolate to drinking wine. Not only is it a source of profound pleasure and an intellectually stimulating experience, eating chocolate provides health benefits as well. Chocolate is rich in flavonoids (which act as antioxidants), fiber and minerals, and can even inhibit tooth decay, he says. Cocoa butter is said to coat the teeth for up to three hours after eating, helping to prevent the sugars from attacking one’s teeth.

Van Leer got the idea for the jewel in the brand’s crown, the Bacchus line of chocolate wine truffles, in 2001, when he visited Napa Valley as a guest of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Van Leer and vintner Warren Winiarski were discussing the similarities between chocolate and wine: They agreed that both are affected by terroir, can be blended, have complex flavor profiles and possess a number of healthful attributes.

Inspired, Van Leer created a line of chocolates made with select wines, both domestic and foreign, using varietals including: Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Malbec. Van Leer works directly with vintners in Napa Valley to select the wines, which impart subtle flavors that enhance the chocolate.

J. Emanuel Chocolatier’s other signature chocolates and confections include: the Traditional Truffle selection, chocolate bark, Chocolate Almond Butter Crunch, Terrapins (chocolate coated caramel/pecan), and various dried fruits hand dipped in premium milk and dark chocolate, The chocolate used as the base of all confections was named by Cook’s Illustrated as the best dark chocolate and cocoa powder in the world.

J. Emanuel chocolates are available at www.jemanuel.com and at select outlets in New York and New Jersey.

Edited by Patricia D. Sherman

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