Saratoga Chocolates Stirs Castro Sweet Tooth Fantasies
with Award-Winning Confections

By Xander Piper

Saratoga Chocolates opened four months ago to sighs of relief among Castro chocoholics seeking a convenient fix.

Working with organic and locally grown ingredients, the trendy upscale chocolatier has pioneered some unique flavors while sticking to the old standards. From the traditional “hot chocolate truffle,” which hides a soft gooey cinnamon marshmallow, to the likes of Meyer lemon and rock salt caramel, to the exotic fusion of the Chinese five-spice chocolate truffle, these chocolates ooze both deliciousness and swank.

But things weren’t always creamy and delicious in chocolate town. There was almost a time when chocolates had moved out of the neighborhood for good.

At first, Castro chocolate fans lamented when Joseph Schmidt at 16th and Sanchez streets closed its doors after 20 years in business when the owner retired. However, when Scharfenberger Chocolates needed to find a replacement for Schmidt they held a contest and the winner was Mary Loomas, owner of a chocolate shop in Saratoga, CA. Deciding not to work for Scharfenberger, Loomas was placed in contact with Joseph Schmidt and found out that the space was for sale.

“Before I knew it there was a man on my door with the papers for a lease!” Loomas said excitedly. Like the start of a great love affair, Saratoga Chocolates was born.

The store is already seeing regulars. “It’s always nice to go to a smaller store; they can adjust to the customer’s fancies,” said Allena Malina of Reno, who had frequented Joseph Schmidt whenever she visited San Francisco. “It’s hard to break the habit, and I like the tradition of novelty brought back by the new owner.”

“I’m glad to see these aren’t mass produced chocolates, but handmade, each unique and unique to the area with local flavors,” said Stephen Olbash, a local foodie.

The Castro location has been a great boon to the business. “There is a real loyalty to the local shops from people who live in the area,” said Terry Shelly, director of marketing. “We’ve had the most welcoming reception,” agrees Loomas.

Loomas worked in the high-tech industry for 20 years and quit to become a stay-at-home mom. As a hobby, she made chocolate in her kitchen, and as she improved, she decided that she just might try her hand at a chocolate shop. While originally self-taught, she augmented her innate chocolate prowess at the Valrohna’s Ecole Grand Chocolat in France before opening her Saratoga location four years ago.

Once a year she teaches a weeklong class to top chocolate chefs from around the world. Her signature style is to emphasize local and organic ingredients, and never to sacrifice flavor for additives or preservatives. Almost all her ingredients hail from local farmlands — from fresh strawberries and apricots to organic framboise — and she also believes in staying away from overly sugary chocolates.

“Of course chocolate can only grow in equatorial regions, but I always try to find a California vendor for it, and the same goes for all my other ingredients,” Loomas said. “We are truly blessed in California to have so much. We should take advantage of it.”

“There is a trend in fluffy grancaches with corn syrup or glucose, but I work with denser granaches,” Mary said.

Seasonal chocolates are also offered throughout the year. This Valentine’s Day, chocolate devotees can have their hand picked favorite flavors wrapped in classic red velvet boxes or in their largest clear box, framed with a seductive red, faux alligator skin for a modern take on the classic Valentine’s Day gift.

“Love Potion #9 is always raved about by our customers,” Shelly said about the tea-based truffle offered exclusively for February. “People should also look out for Key Lime, which will come out soon as well.”

Loomas, however, says her favorite is the St. Dominique single origin truffle. This chocolate gourmand’s truffle is a dense dark confection with a high cacao content crafted to prove that the store’s main focus and ingredient is indeed the chocolate itself.

Saratoga Chocolates has already started to introduce some unique touches by offering a range of classes for different levels of chocolate makers and teaching how to pair wine and chocolate.
“[Classes] are always sold out and are a lot of fun we drink wine and just play in our kitchen,” Loomas said.

While Saratoga Chocolates has ambitions, Loomas hopes to never lose sight of the goals she set out with.

“I hope to expand to one or two more stores, but I never want to be so big that I have to add preservatives to my chocolate or compromise my ingredients.” As she thinks about the future, she sighs and says, “Right now I just can’t wait till we finish moving in and getting this location well established so I can get back to playing in my kitchen and coming up with new chocolates.”

Saratoga Chocolates is located at 3489 16th St.

Copyright 2010 Castro Courier