Laureen Haynes had a successful, yet hectic, career in corporate America.
Now she’s all about chocolates.
“I went from mad scientist in biotech to happy chocolatier in a quaint chocolaterie. I was always a foodie with a big sweet tooth,” said Haynes, who opened a chocolate shop in upscale Westport.
Haynes, who spent her corporate career as a director in sales and marketing for diagnostics companies in the health care industry, was most recently with a molecular diagnostics company.
“With COVID-19 hitting, we were one of the early suppliers of PCR systems and kits for hospitals. I’m proud to have served as part of the pandemic response, but realized it was time to exit at this pinnacle of my career,” she said. “The toll from the pandemic was especially heavy, and I needed to pivot to something happier. What’s happier than chocolate?”
Haynes opened Chocolatieree in 2022 after stumbling upon what she said was a cute, but vacant building near downtown in the Connecticut Gold Coast town.
“It was perfect to include a small commercial chocolate kitchen with retail space. Plus, being less than a mile from home meant I could commute via our electric scooter,” said Haynes who has lived in Westport for 25 years with her husband, Matt, and their children.
The shop’s name comes from her nickname Ree. “It’s a play on Chocolatier Ree and chocolaterie, which is a French word for a place that makes and sells chocolates,” she said.
Chocolatieree is an artisanal chocolate house that creates designed, small-batch, handmade, bonbon-style chocolates crafted with top-notch ingredients, including high-quality chocolate.
“I saw chocolate on a path to becoming a lost art here in the U.S. and was dissatisfied with our long shelf-life selection. As a former microbiologist, it’s the over-industrialization of our food system that’s stripping food of its natural goodness,” she said.
“The quality of the chocolate makes a world of difference, and that, along with our hand-painted jewels, are what set us apart,” she said.
Because of their freshness, the confections are best eaten within two weeks. Haynes explained she is particular about who she sources chocolate from and consciously opts for a small supplier with high-level flavor profiles that aligns to her “clean” ingredients compass.
Online reviews say here ideas are working. “The chocolates are incredible. Bought some tasty treats for V-day. So good. Bought my wife a box and the packaging was so pretty..” a customer wrote.
“Exquisite! Every aspect of this place is perfect. From the service to the atmosphere to the cleanliness, and above all, the incredibly creative and delicious chocolates,” another wrote.
So far, the shop has crafted over 70 flavors and keeps a monthly rotating menu.
Last year, Haynes received a grant through the Women’s Business Development Council and used the money to purchase a second tempering machine that allowed her to expand her capacity and in-stock variety.
“We started out featuring about six to eight as we rotated and tested our menu, but have doubled that, along with solid chocolate offerings,” Haynes said.
A South American sojourn
Her chocolate comes from cacao farmers, primarily in South America, and it’s either certified organic or contains organic ingredients, she said.
“We source dark and milk chocolate that do not contain soy lecithin, which is rare to find. What put me on this journey was chocolate in the U.S. not tasting like chocolate anymore,” she said. “It was through trips to South America and Paris where I realized what we were missing.”
Haynes’ chocolate journey began with a trip to South America in 2013 with her husband.
“We visited Quito where we toured a little chocolate shop that included a tutorial on the process of chocolate making, starting with cacao pods harvested locally. Bean to bar was having a moment and this was the first seed, or bean, so to speak, planted. The chocolate was delicious,” she said.
A year later, Haynes embarked on a self-guided tour of the chocolatiers in Paris.
“We found beautifully crafted bite-sized chocolates that tasted divine. Upon returning, I enrolled for fun in a professional chocolatier program to understand the chemistry of chocolate. After building my foundational knowledge and practicing my new-found craft, I completed a hands-on intensive in Belgium at Callebaut and visited various independent chocolatiers throughout Belgium.”
Haynes began making chocolates mostly as a hobby, building her skills and experimenting with flavor profiles and in 2021 the space at 66 Church Lane became available.
“We have a sign in our shop that reads “Chocolate is the answer… who cares what the question is…”
‘A little bite of happy’
For Haynes, chocolate is the conduit for making people happy.
“I love the creativity, the freedom to think outside the box discovering new flavor pairings, and a sense of accomplishment popping these shiny little beauties out of a mold that then get gobbled up by customers,” she said. “I’d love to establish Chocolatieree chocolateries across the country for optimal quality bites of happiness.”
The shop also takes special requests for events.
“These are fun because we’re asked for things we haven’t made yet and have found they become part of our rotation due to popular demand. Our Cookie Monster is our latest example. For another, we had a wonderful high school intern last spring and asked her to come up with a new flavor. She wanted to do something based on a caramel macchiato. We named it the Claire-amel Macchiato. Can you guess her first name?”
The production plan is to continue increasing the variety stocked at one time, especially as chocolate season hits and Haynes is finalizing special holiday “tasting flights.”
Haynes said she enjoys creating new flavors inspired by the seasons, such as pumpkin-spiced caramel latte, and now she’s focused on holiday flavors, including the popular Drunk Santa, an old-fashioned bourbon caramel and Gingerbread Haus, capturing ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and a bit of molasses.
“We also make a riff on the classic milk chocolate orange, and a festively hand-painted Spicy Snowman with a bold sense of cayenne that comes through the dairy free cinnamon-infused dark chocolate ganache,” she said.
Also, the shop offers fruit flavors with layers of fruit pate-du-fruit (or jam) on a layer of ganache.
“It’s fun creating dairy free counterparts that are equally indulgent options with these,” she said.
In addition, she uses organic fruits, specialty liquors, herbs, spices and other inspirations, such as miso, mascarpone, sesame, and freshly ground almond butter to create layers of flavors.
Two of her favorites is her first-ever, the Caramel-by-the-Sea, a chewy yet creamy caramel hand-dipped in 72% dark chocolate with a drizzle of milk chocolate and sprinkling of Fleur de Sel on top, and her most recent born flavor, “Packin’ a Sour Cherry Punch Pie,” a sour cherry jam layered over a white chocolate mascarpone ganache with a splash of Grand Marnier.
For now, she’s expanded her online offerings and will be adding bags of chocolate crumble to make hot chocolate or to add a spoonful to coffee. “Our north star is providing a little bite of happy. The best feeling is when a huge smile erupts on a customer’s face upon sampling one of our creations. It doesn’t get better than that.”
