Lavender Issuue: 308
Date: March 16 - 29, 2007
Article Author: John Michael Lerma

Just Truffles

On a perfect July evening last summer, my partner, Chad, and I rode our bicycles from our home in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood to the city's Grand Avenue neighborhood.

Our good friends, truffle makers to the stars Kathleen O'Hehir-Johnson and her husband, Roger Johnson, invited us to their home for wine and cheese. The three-story gingerbread Victorian dwelling that houses their company, Just Truffles, on the first floor is their home as well.

The pioneer chocolatiers started their enterprise in the lobby of the St. Paul Hotel, where they thrived for 10 years before moving to Grand Avenue. Traveling celebrities and politicians became loyal customers while staying at the St. Paul Hotel.

Opera legend Luciano Pavarotti thanked the two for a gift of truffles on stage during a concert, which encouraged them to craft an incomparable confection for Pavarotti called Tenor Temptation.

During the first hour of our visit, good wine and conversation flowed, Eventually, Kathleen and I moved our chat to her newly decorated kitchen, where she refilled my wine glass. As she poured, I could sense an electric charge in the air. Kathleen had inspiration, and said, "Follow me." We descended the curved staircase at the back of the house.

As Kathleen entered a security code to unlock a modern-looking door on the first floor, she got a wicked look with a smirk on her face, I remembered reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child. Willy Wonka now materialized before me.

The door unlocked with a loud buzz, and we walked into the chocolate-making room of Just Truffles. My nose was overpowered by the intense smell of chocolate and other nameless sweet scents. My vocabulary was reduce to "Oh, wow!" but the chef in me naturally asked about their method of creating truffles.

Kathleen clarified that they concoct their truffles entirely unlike other chocolatiers. Just Truffles creates theirs from the inside out, not the outside in. Other companies use shell molding - the shell is made, ganache is poured inside it, and the truffle is sealed.

As Kathleen explained, "We make our ganache, and then we let it rest for 24 hours to absorb the flavor that we have infused it with, They are then hand-rolled into balls. We let them rest again. Finally, they are hand-enrobed and decorated. It takes about three days to make one. They are very labor-intensive. That is why we make several batches a day."

"And the Pavarotti truffle is made how?" I asked, hoping for a sample.

Kathleen walked over to the display case at the front of the retail store, and revealed, "We make them with milk chocolate, cream of coconut, and Malibu rum. Then, we hand-dip it in milk chocolate again."

Opening the case, Kathleen handed me the truffle. The first bite forced my inner soul to sing arias. It was remarkable!

Unlocking the doors to the other display cases, and with the same gleam in her eyes and wicked smile she had on the staircase, Kathleen announced, "Help yourself." And I did. Unlike Charlie Bucket, I was not put through a series of tests for the ultimate reward. I was handed a glass of wine instead of a golden ticket, and instructed, "Follow me." This was better than the book!

I sampled the Raspberry Truffle, Frangelico Truffle, and Champagne Truffle out of the 33 varieties Just Truffles sells.

Kathleen shared that the Champagne Truffle is the most complicated to concoct: "We make it with white chocolate, which has a softer consistency. We mix that with the effervescence of the champagne, and it becomes very hard to work with. We keep the temperature and humidity low, because heat and moisture are chocolate's archenemies."

At the front of the shop are several autographed celebrity photos, including Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton, Yo-Yo Ma, and, of course, Pavarotti.

Kathleen noted that the truffles were featured on Oprah's show "Only the Best."

Just Truffles makes an average of 500 truffles a day, and 1,500 a day during peak seasons.

When asked how much chocolate is ordered regularly, Kathleen responds, "We order it by the ton, and have used the same manufacturer for the past 19 years. When it is deliverd, we have to corral one of our sons and his buddies to help carry it into the store. It comes in 50 pound boxes. We hav to schlep 40 boxes into the store. We think of it like a chocolate health club."

Kathleen and Roger have looked at various ways to expand their company, but have decided not to franchise or use distributors because of the delicate nature of their product.

According to Kathleen, "We are very particular whom we sell our chocolates to. First, they must have a special refirgerated candy case that incorporates humidity control. Second, they must convince us they know how to handle our product. We have been known to pull our product off shelves of some very big-name companies because they were unable to rotate our stock, and provide the type of service that we demand."

With that, my adventure in the chocolate factory was finished, as Kathleen and I gathered truffles to share with our spouses.

Later, as Chad and I rode our bicycles home, I reflected on the evening. My adventure, unlike Charlie Bucket's, didn't end with a tale of prudence and guidance. It finished in creamy, buttery chocolate, fantastic fruits, and luscious liqueurs encased in hand dipped chocolate. Mike Teevee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Augustus Gloop were replaced by George Shearing, Yo-Yo Ma, Margaret Thatcher, and me.

All of us, great and not so great, have been drawn to the enchantment of Kathleen and Roger's chocolate factory, Just Truffles.