CACAO LORENZO
For chocolatier Larry McGlinchey, it’s not just business—it’s personal. From the way it takes McGlinchey three days to make one of his assortments to how he greets customers at his shop on Pot Spring Road, McGlinchey believes in giving it the personal touch.
“I’ve driven by a dozen times and always wanted to stop in,” a new customer said earlier this month.
“Well, we’ve been waiting for you,” McGlinchey responded and then launched into a recitation of the store’s lineup of fine chocolate treats.
Among the exotic chocolates in the store is an item called a basque square—the result of a fig soaked overnight in port wine, rubbed in milk chocolate butter ganache and then enrobed in dark chocolate.
It takes three days to happen.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding and I enjoy what I’m doing,” McGlinchey said. “How many jobs do you have where people come in and thank you for being here? And our customers actually thank me for bringing this Old World art back .... This is the real thing. This is handmade.”
McGlinchey’s previous work—selling medical supplies—took him to Europe, where he developed a taste for fine chocolate. His interest was piqued enough to take classes in France and Quebec Province, and for six years he made chocolates as a hobby and part-time business. Then, he took the leap to full-time chocolatier when he opened his shop at the corner of Pot Spring and Ridgely Rd. six years ago.
McGlinchey is in the French school of chocolate making. “With the French approach, if there’s a liqueur involved, you’re going to get the essence of it. It’s lighter,” he explained.
Among McGlinchey’s chocolates is one he calls India, likely because of its mix of five spices: cinnamon, anise, fennel, ginger and clove. Another chocolate uses actual lavender flowers.
“I like to get different tastes in a box [of chocolates],” he said. “A lot of boxes suffer from sameness. I want everything to be very different, yet go together.”
McGlinchey enjoys rolling out distinctive products for the holidays. For St. Patrick’s Day, he made shamrocks with Baileys Irish Cream and Blarney Stones with Jameson whiskey. For Easter, he has fashioned a cacao pod of chocolate and filled it with truffles.
“You’ve got to be consistent year to year, otherwise you get caught,” McGlinchey said. “I’ve always said you don’t need a sophisticated palate to know fine chocolate. Once you’ve had it, you know what it tastes like. So if you switch on your customers, good luck.”
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