Q&A With Founder of Veree Chocolate

Veree Chocolate (Denver, CO)

Move over craft beer! Craft chocolate is taking Colorado by storm. Chocolatiers across the state are stirring up inventive chocolate flavors and designs sure to satiate any chocolate craving. Made with gourmet ingredients and lots of creativity, these chocolate confections add a touch of sweetness to the Colorado culinary landscape. Find out how a professional musician turned accountant came to be a Master Chocolatier, and the meaning behind “Veree” in our Q/A with Veree Chocolate owner/founder Patricia Chapman:

Q: How did the idea for Veree Chocolate come to be?

About three years ago, I began a journey to decide what I wanted to do next with food.  As a naturally curious person and incessant dabbler, I started expanding my culinary adventures into the world of sweets; fine chocolate was one of these side trips.  I attended classes at Callebaut Academy in Chicago, and finished the Chocolatier program through Ecole Chocolat in Montreal.  Last September I earned the Master Chocolatier designation from Choco Scuola in Lecco, Italy.

As I began to study what chocolatiers were doing all over the world (and seeing some of it first hand) I realized that this was a delightful product that was not being fully served in Denver. Veree. The name is intended to be synonymous with “extremely” and the little flower in our logo is actually a wheel of exclamation points.

Q: How do you find inspiration for flavors?

A: I started with flavors I love: bright, sparking flavors with depth and breadth; fruit most often offers that profile.  Then I looked at the overall flavor sets I was working with and decided that, much like putting together a menu, you need to have something for everyone if possible, and a balanced mix of light colors, darks, shapes, and yes, plenty of non-fruit offerings.

And of course, as I travel through life, I am always writing myself a note about something to try in my test kitchen.  I probably have more than 50 flavors and forms I’d like to produce, but my retailers can only handle about 12 to 15 at a time.

Q: What Colorado products do you use?

A: Colorado products used: honey, cream, butter, seasonal fruit, draft beers, local whisky and wine.  I also support local distributors (such as Italco) for those things we can’t grow here – such as cacao trees!

Q: Tell us about your background.

A: I started playing with cooking seriously at about age 13, and followed self-study of Julia Child, Helen Corbitt, Irma Rombauer and a general love of Japanese high cuisine.  However, my first college and professional career was as a professional musician.  In a weird parallel world sort of way, I started studying accounting in my off time and was an oddity – a musician dreaming of being an accountant.  During one intermission in my finance career, I opened a small restaurant in downtown Dallas, which was very successful.  I sold it after a couple of years to move to Colorado.  After a very good career in the finance world and obtaining an MBA from DU along with some professional certifications, I dreamed of getting back into the food business.

Q: What do you most love about Colorado?

A: Colorado has been part of my soul since about age eight, when the family started traveling here for vacations.  It is a pathological need for me now to be outdoors, and especially in the high country at a place where there is virtually no sound of human beings.  It’s all about getting to the summit but enjoying the journey.  Every time I sit and look across a snowy or green alpine meadow my heart just swells and I get a little choked up.  I am flat out in love with Mother Nature.  Being out there with my family is the best of all.

Q: What is something readers would be surprised to know about you?

A: Probably that although I have had several careers and am now a grandmother, I still have about five different business models I’d like to launch, but I’m more conservative now, and the food business will be “it” for the rest of my life.