Chocolate Twist is an empire, not a company…and that empire is ruled by her royal highness, Kate Coffey. She’s tenacious, tireless, and above all twisted. In addition to these totally admirable qualities she’s also extremely resilient, having taken a few of life’s bitter blows and turned them into something sweet for her, her children and her customers whom she lovingly refers to as TwistHeads…If you haven’t hailed the Queen of the Twist yet, now’s a good time to start because there’s something we can all learn from her…whether it’s finding something creative in the everyday mundane, empowering ourselves to forge ahead through difficult times, or how to clean marshmallow off a kitchen floor.
PFW: So Kate…can I call you Kate? Or do you prefer Queen of the Twist? It didn’t require too much digging to reach the conclusion that your business, Chocolate Twist, is all about enjoying the sweeter side things, not taking life (or candy) too seriously, and taking a fun approach towards your business. You mentioned that fans of your products receive the title of Twistheads (I for one have been a Twisthead for months and didn’t even realize I was given such a title!) Aside from raking in new Twistheads by way of your tasty confections, what do you hope to accomplish through Chocolate Twist?
CT: At the end of the day (usually a 12 hour day), after we've created tasty, approachable and fun candy; after we've modestly donated to our charities of choice; after we've patted ourselves on our backs for a job well done, I hope to be an example of perseverance, determination and bravery for young girls and women who may be going through a tough time. Shortly after I opened Chocolate Twist I found myself suddenly going through a divorce and living as a single mom with two pre-teen children. I knew I had a choice to lay down and let my challenging life overtake me or to get up, get moving and turn Chocolate Twist into something I was proud of. It was that or take a desk job and cooks don't usually do well at desk jobs. I had an endless stream of support from my family and friends but I was the only person who could make Chocolate Twist a success. I hope my story inspires other women to get up, get moving and do something of which they are fulfilled, challenged, excited and proud. We're all about Girl Power at Chocolate Twist. However, more important than anything I do at work all day, more important that all the talent, time and treasure I donate to my charities of choice, more important than being a role model for other young women, the most important thing that I can do with Chocolate Twist is provide for my own two children, teach them that life is not always easy but doesn't need to be impossible, that they can count on me but they should count on themselves first, and that when all is said and done, a well placed candy bar can do wonders.
PFW: Before founding Chocolate Twist back in 2009 you had received your Baking and Pastry Certificate right here in Chicago through Kendall College…was candy making and the meticulous art form of working with sugar and chocolate something you had a lot of prior experience with before Kendall?
CT: Before my time at Kendall College the only kind of candy experience I had was power eating it on Halloween and then stashing the remaining bits and pieces under my pillow. I have a mouth full of cavities to prove it. It was a Chocolate class at Kendall that inspired my love for creating confections. The chef instructor was so visibly moved by chocolate and the simple power that chocolate has that made me think twice about it's magic. However, it wasn't until I was working with the late, great Chef John Mega and Chef Bill Kim that I learned the art of making truffles and caramels. We all worked together at a caterer for about a year - in that time I probably made 10,000 chocolate truffles and 5000 caramels. At the end of my stint with that team of chefs I could make truffles and caramels with my eyes closed. The rest of the confections I create comes from trial and error. We make a lot of candy in the Twisted Kitchen - most of it is spot on - some of it is a huge fail. But each fail informs the next success.
PFW: Reading about how captivated you were at an early age from watching your grandmother’s cook reminded me a lot of my own experiences growing up with a family that absolutely loved to spend time in the kitchen. I think it’s those initial experiences that really ignite the flame in some people to make cooking a part of their almost-everyday routine. Were you very hands on in the kitchen growing up or did you grasp onto this tasty hobby later in life?
CT: I loved watching my grandmothers cook. That experience was so fun and comforting. It was community. I was as hands on as they'd let me be. I was often handed a piece of pasta dough or bread dough to make my own creation. I was always a petite girl so my eyes came right up to the stove top. I watched so many melrose peppers frying, pasta sauce bubbling, butter rendering, biscuits being cut. Great, now I've triggered some serious food cravings. I want my Nonni and Nana!
PFW: You know as well as anyone that a well-made candy, chocolate, or caramel can be transformative. Case in point: winning over new customers (Twistheads-in-training) with just one bite of your confections. Was there ever one or several “wow” moments (or caramels you crafted) that stood out prior to founding Chocolate Twist that made you think “Damn that tastes good. I definitely want to turn this into a business!”
CT: I have had a wicked sweet tooth since inception. Ask my mom, affectionately named The Queen Mum, what my dental bills were like - she can attest to my insatiable sweet tooth. I've always loved licorice. I could eat it daily and never tire of it. I love caramel. All caramel. Any caramel. Any time. Any day. So yeah, when I was taught how to make caramel and licorice I thought I had discovered the meaning of life. And, in many respects, I think I did. Make it yourself. Such a metaphor for life! I'm gonna get t-shirts made with that on it "Make it yourself."
PFW: All of us on staff at Provenance are always…always…thrilled when vendors leave samples. I’d like to assume they’re only for us to snack on (but in reality they’re mostly for the customers to enjoy but hey, we’ve gotta eat too right? Right.), but either way we love them. I was particularly fond of your Twisted Cabernet Caramel samples, infused with a red wine reduction…as a major fan of the vino, I found them to be simply inspired. Where or how do you come up with ideas for clever flavor mash-ups like that?
CT: You sure do know how to flatter me. Thank you! I'm often asked how we come up with flavor combinations or what inspires us to create weird or unusual flavor profiles. I always answer this way: every job, no matter what it is (accountant, delivery driver, surgeon, ballet dancer) has a creative aspect to it. Every job, whether traditionally right brained or left brained, requires creative, well thought out solutions. People say "Well I'm an accountant. There is no creativity in accounting." I beg to differ. I've seen some very creative accounting. I've seen some very creative lawyering (just ask my divorce attorney!). I've seen some very creative teaching and dancing and waitering and mail delivering. We all live creative lives. Creativity just manifests itself in myriad ways. Like anyone else who has a problem looking for a solution, I open my eyes to the world around me and get inspiration. For example, I was looking through a food magazine the other day and found a salad recipe. It called for roasted beets (my fav of all time), pistachios and orange slices. I thought those flavors would work in a caramel. So the next day I got to work roasting beets and chopping pistachios and oranges. And sure enough the beet, pistachio, orange caramels were damn fine. And, to be brutally honest, sometimes we stand in the Twisted Kitchens, look at the inventory of liquors, nuts, herbs, fruits and other accoutrements and say "What can we throw in that pot of bubbling caramel?" Boom - that's how Stephanie (my most excellent assistant) created the Peanut Butter and Toasted Coconut Caramel.
PFW: I’m happy to dwell on specifics of your caramels and chocolates…mostly b/c I’m really hungry right now. Another one in particular (aside from the Twisted Cabernet Caramel) that comes to mind is your Beer & Pretzel Caramel. I’m a huge fan of this one because it’s a collaboration candy between you and two other local businesses we love supporting here at Provenance…Gnarly Knots Pretzel Company from Winfield, IL and Chicago’s own Begyle Brewing over in Ravenswood. Toasty pretzel pieces blended into Flannel Pajama Stout beer-caramel…need I say more? This caramel is an easy sell to our customers because we tell them they’re supporting several local businesses in the process which is a big advantage to carrying your products. What advantages do you feel Chocolate Twist offers its customers by being a small-batch, local producer?
CT:I love the new push to "meet the maker." Provenance does a great job of introducing customers to the actual humans who make the products they love. So often we forget that there are human hands behind everything we use, eat, touch every day. While we don't always have the opportunity to meet the people who made the refrigerator in our kitchen we do have the opportunity to meet the farmer who grew the veggies that are stored in the fridge. Or the wine maker who fermented the grapes. Or The Queen who coated the candy bars in chocolate. To put a face to a product, a story to the candy, a human behind the product gives that product a new meaning. To know the maker of your favorite product is akin to having a personal relationship with that product. Sounds so BS'y but it's true. I can eat Gnarly Knot Pretzels and know that Funi and Matt are creating a meaningful life for themselves through those pretzels. I'm helping support these two people by enjoying their product. Meet the farmer and see his or her sun burned face and know that they are toiling away to make their lives better and in turn, our lives better. Meet The Queen and know that I've made your candy for you and in doing so made the lives of my children and employees a little more comfortable.
PFW: As is the case with so many other food vendors we love carrying at Provenance, I imagine a highlight to running such a business is the taste-testing you do when you’re experimenting with flavor profiles and new recipes…do you have a favorite aspect to running Chocolate Twist that may or may not involve eating your product? Did I mention I was hungry?
CT: First of all, I think I'm going to deliver a sandwich to you. You're hungry! There are so many aspects of this business that I love but I think my most favorite part is meeting and collaborating with other small batch producers. Chicago is rife with some serious food talent. To collaborate with like minded and inspired food artists is quite rewarding. When we collaborate we acknowledge each other's talent, wallow in each other's talent and inspire one another to go bigger or go home. My proudest moment of collaboration thus far has to be the caramel sauce that I've created with Chef Bill Kim (Urban Belly, Belly Shack, BellyQ). Bill is a friend and my most influential mentor. One day, after trying my caramels he said to me "Can you make us a caramel sauce?" I jumped at the chance and took a bottle of his Seoul Sauce (a soy balsamic sauce he bottles himself) back to the Twisted Kitchen. We created an Asian Caramel Sauce with our two sauces. Bill loved it so much he serves it at BellyQ and told me "bottle this stuff." I am pleased to say that our line of three different flavors of caramel sauce will be hitting the shelves this year. Asian Caramel Sauce (a collaboration with Bill Kim), Epic Sea Salt Caramel Sauce and Cinnamon Cayenne Caramel Sauce - watch for it!
PFW: With items at our shop like the Root Beer Caramels, Beer & Pretzel Caramels, Go Fudge Yourself Bars, and the ‘always quick to fly out the door’ Saigon Cinnamon Peanut Butter Cups, clearly you’re a wonderfully twisted and creative person to come up with such tasty candies as these…Are there any other twisted treats coming up on the horizon we can look forward to in the coming months?
CT: Oh yes, darling. We have a chip line of candy bars coming soon. Like this week soon. Three new candy bars all with a different chip inside. And two of the three bars are collaborations with other small batch food vendors. Stay tuned. I'll be delivering samples to help satiate that hunger of yours.
PFW: And finally, are there any moments you can recall since you started Chocolate Twist five years ago that stood out as particularly twisted either in a good or not-so-good way, such as a flavored caramel or marshmallow gone awry?
CT: The Twisted Kitchen is in the basement of a church in Riverside. One night, during the Christmas rush, I was working late making mountains of 'mallows. The youth group was in the hall next door. They were having their annual Christmas dance. I had already worked a 16 hour day and was looking at two hours of clean up ahead of me. I was exhausted but determined to finish the night strong. As I was walking a particularly full pan of still hot marshmallows over to the cooler, the youth group turned on their music. There was such a huge blast of Justin Bieber that I was startled and dropped the whole pan of still hot 'mallows all over the floor, fridge, shelves, grates. Of course it instantly set up once it touched the cold inside of the fridge and so there I sat, on the floor of the kitchen, my heart beating to the sounds of Mr. Bieber scraping cinnamon 'mallow off the fridge shelves. I wanted to cry but that would have taken too much time. I still had dishes to do.
