One Sweet Family

Chocolate has always permeated Kelly Walker’s life, since candymaking goes back five generations in her family. Her great-grandmother worked as a chocolatier in a department store and one of her great-great-great uncles worked for Wunderle’s Candy Company in Philadelphia.

But it wasn’t until Walker was 19 that she chose to learn the skill. Walker, her mom and her aunt spent three days in Philadelphia soaking up her grandmother’s chocolatier secrets.

“We wanted to keep that knowledge going,” Walker said.

Since those initial lessons with her grandmother, Walker hasn’t stopped discovering new things about the trade, which has become her full-time job. Chocolates by Kelly officially started in 2009, and now Walker runs the operation out of a large kitchen space in Manchester.

Walker describes being a chocolatier as a “challenge that she never quit trying.” She is constantly experimenting and cooking up different variations of truffles, cordials and caramels. She prides herself on using high-quality chocolate and real ingredients, such as herbs, for flavor. For the blueberry lemonade cordial, for instance, she combines real blueberries and their juices with lemon juice.

“There’s nothing fake or manufactured about the chocolate,” she said.

One of Walker’s dreams as a kid involved owning a candy shop. Now, she is living it while continuing her family’s tradition. Although the business is small now, she and her business partner, Dan Steiner, plan to eventually expand.

Walker’s chocolates can be purchased online at ChocolatesByKelly.com or picked up at local farmers markets, Little House Green Grocery, Once Upon a Vine-South, Papeterie Richmond, Outpost Richmond, Perk! and Glassworks by Alex. Vegan chocolates and custom orders are available.