Compartes Chocolates

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Aug 3rd 2007 at 10:02AM

Is there such a thing as a chocolate prodigy? If so he might just be Jonathan Grahm, the 23-year-old chocolatier behind the helm at Compartes, a chocolate company in Los Angeles that has been in business for over 50 years. Grahm's youthful enthusiasm has led to all sorts of delicious invention including his cheekily named Love Nuts which are hand roasted with Tahitian vanilla beans sprinkled with sea salt, layered in dark chocolate and then dusted with cocoa powder. He also has a complete line of truffles with dramatic flavors such as raspberry pink pepper, seven spice, umeboshi plum, smoked salt and lavender honey.

How did Grahm get in the chocolate business? His family just happens to own the Bonny Doon wine company and bought Compartes ten years ago. Grahm took over the business and was responsible from turning it from a more traditional candy store into a trendy gourmet chocolate shop (even getting a redesign with the help of a reality TV show). And of course, he does Bonny Doon truffles (shown above), combining their popular dessert wines such as Framboise, Vin De Glacier Muscat and Boutille Call Port Wine with dark chocolate for a great after dinner treat.

Tags: chocolate, chocolates, chocolatier, compartes, jonathan grahm, JonathanGrahm, truffles