| Jonathan Grahm mixes it with love
and makes L.A. taste good!
There are two kinds of success stories in the candy world. One
involves the old school style chocolate shop that, even with updated
packaging, makes same kinds of truffles your parents and grandparents
enjoyed through the years. The other involves ultra-modern, foodie-oriented
operations that endeavor to create gorgeous architectural marvels
forged from cocoa and sugar.
If you are a chocoholic, there is truthfully nothing wrong with
either strain of upmarket chocolate. However, 21 year-old Jonathan
Grahm is boldly stirring things up through his total reinvention
of Compartes Chocolatier as an artisan
destination for chocolate lovers. While Compartes has been a respected
local name in chocolate for more than 50 years (especially as his
family, owners of the Bonny Doon vineyards,
purchased the store 7 years ago), Jonathan had his own idea about
how to introduce Compartes to a new generation of chocolate connoisseurs
and keep veteran customers coming back for more. Also embracing
the company’s fresh new direction are such taste-makers as
Nicole Kidman, Bruce
Springsteen, Teri Hatcher,
Marcia Cross, Christian
Bale, Rob Reiner and Dustin
Hoffman.
“My grandmother is a foodie, and it directly rubbed off on
me,” says Grahm, recognized as the youngest chocolatier in
America. “Since age 14, I have devoted
myself to the art of making fine chocolate, and to this day, I am
still learning and experimenting. I began by decorating the
chocolates, and around the time I turned 19, my experiments lead
to the invention of Love Nuts. I live and breathe chocolate and
will take practically any opportunity to develop something new.
If I eat in a fancy restaurant, I take mental note of divergent
flavors and ingredients that taste great together. Over this past
holiday season, when we ran low on some of our flavors, I found
opportunities to experiment in the kitchen and develop new ones
such as a truffle incorporating honeydew melon and jalapeno.”
Doing things the slow, time-honored way (with a copper kettle and
a giant wooden spoon among the things in his arsenal), Jonathan
has created such original flavor sensations such as Spicy
Chilli Pepper, Lemon Citron,
Sesame Seed, Raspberry
Peppercorn, Australian Ginger,
Lemongrass, Mango
Basil Masterpiece, Chai Spice Tea
and Rose Petal. As he has recently
mastered the art of making marshmallows and toffee on premises,
he is now developing a collection of five
exotic flavored marshmallows and
five exotic toffee flavors to be sold in special sets. He
is also especially proud of his new spin
on peanut butter cups, filled with
honey-sweetened peanut butter made on the premises. Of course,
Jonathan still offers up Comparte’s “bread
and butter” classics, including traditional
truffle flavors, signature stuffed
fruits, chocolate dipped dried
fruits, turtles, English toffee
and Chocolate covered pretzels,
grahams and Oreo
cookies.
“I make every effort to know every
customer on a personal basis,” affirms Jonathan. “While
some gourmet stores in Brentwood and West L.A. have a chichi air,
it is more important to me to connect with individuals, learn about
their favorites and get them excited about the new things I have
in the works.”
This week, 4 lucky readers will experience
all the special ways this “Candy Man Can!”. You can
also visit Compartes at 912 S. Barrington
Avenue in Brentwood (310/826-3380) or log on to www.compartes.com
to experience Jonathan’s phenomenal talent in its full, expansive
glory.
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