Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

On the same block of Middle Street as Portland, Maine, favorites Hugo’s, Duckfat and Pepper Club is the equally noteworthy Dean’s Sweets, a husband and wife chocolate shop. Walk slowly, or you might just pass it by as you head toward the Old Port or the waterfront. It’s the perfect place to tickle your taste buds and perhaps discover a great local gem to treat your wedding guests. Dean’s wife Kristin shares a bit about their operation as well as their favorite local spots in this week’s inside peek. Here’s a fair warning that it will likely make you want pull up a chair, nibble some chocolate and share a glass of red wine with these two to learn more.

L&L: Tell us a little about you, your background and the history of Dean’s Sweets.

SWEETS: Dean, an architect by training and profession for 30 years, started making truffles about a decade ago, just for fun. He loves chocolate and loves cooking, so it was natural that he’d find a truffle recipe and try it. Since then, Dean has adapted and improved the recipe many times over to produce our current 22 flavors of truffles and caramels. Dean is still an architect and he still has fun making truffles, he just makes a lot more of them now, with some help from his trusted team.

I entered the picture about eight years ago. The scandalous truth is that before I became Dean’s wife, I was his business coach. I helped Dean formulate the business side of chocolate making, including the website, packaging, and marketing. Once I realized Dean’s talent as a chocolatier, I decided he would make a good husband. Dean is a good husband, and I am still a business coach, and we work together on our growing family chocolate business.

L&L: Describe the range of yummy goodness you create. What is the bulk of your business?

SWEETS: Dean’s Sweets currently has 22 varieties of truffles, plus a to-die-for salt caramel. The truffle flavors range from traditional rum and raspberry to more exotic concoctions such as cayenne and Tequila lime. Our newest truffle is one that was inspired by a Slow Food event at the Museum of Art in Portland. Our task was to let ourselves be inspired by a painting from their collection. We chose a 16th century still life with lemons and apricots. From this, Dean created a lemon apricot chevre truffle which has become instantly popular. The lemon is refreshing and bright and balanced perfectly with the chocolate ganache, followed by just a hint of apricot.

The greatest portion of our business comes through our retail store in Portland, as well as through our website where people can order online. And because chocolate travels well, we also take our show on the road to do chocolate tastings whenever we can. We get to do really fun events, such as wine and chocolate pairings, all around Maine and New England. One event we have coming up next year is a wine and chocolate evening on a schooner in Casco Bay. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it.

L&L: Your truffles are the perfect classic wedding favor. What is your most popular flavor?

SWEETS: The salt caramels are probably our most popular flavor. They’ve got that yummy sweet and salt combination, and it’s Maine sea salt, of course. Then again, everyone has their favorites. We had a couple recently who ordered two flavors for distinct reasons: the first flavor was blueberry because the bride wanted to augment the Maine theme, and the second flavor was Scotch because the groom and his friends were single-malt Scotch aficionados. Another match made in heaven it would seem. Our Champagne truffle – a white chocolate and Champagne center dipped in luscious dark chocolate – is very popular among wedding couples.

L&L: How do you make a truffle, anyway? How long do they typically stay fresh?

SWEETS: A truffle has two basic components, the center, or filling, and the shell. The center is a chocolate ganache – in its most basic form this is chocolate and heavy cream, plus whatever flavor ingredients are required. Dean follows the premise that simpler is better, so he sticks pretty close to this formula. The precise proportion of chocolate to cream varies depending on the other ingredients being used. To keep from having the cream separate, Dean usually heats the cream and uses that to melt the chocolate. This combination can then be mixed with a rubber spatula, immersion blender, or food processor. Dean uses all three processes at different times. The flavoring, be it brandy, rum, scotch, coconut or blueberries is usually added at the end of the mixing.

The ganache is then allowed to rest for anywhere from a few hours to a day or more. In this time, it goes from being quite liquid to reasonably firm. Dean has an ice-cream-scoop-like tool which he then uses to scoop roundish balls of ganache and place on wax paper covered baking sheets. These are further rounded off and allowed to sit for another day or so to dry out.

Finally, Dean dips the centers in a 70% cacao Belgian bittersweet chocolate which is carefully tempered to create a properly crisp quality and shine on the completed truffle or caramel.

We use a fine 56% cacao Belgian chocolate for the ganache, and an equally fine 70% cacao Belgian chocolate for the shell. Our heavy cream comes from Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook, Maine, a local farm that uses sustainable agricultural practices in all of their farming operations. We use natural and organic ingredients for most of our flavorings and flavor ingredients, sources from Maine whenever possible. We use a variety of high-quality liquors and liquers for flavoring and flavor enhancements. What we do NOT use are any preservatives or ingredients that you can’t pronounce. We also use no nuts or nut products in any of our truffles. (Folks with allergies can rest assured.)

Our truffles keep for four to six weeks from purchase. However, truffles are always best enjoyed fresh. We don’t generally recommend refrigerating them, but if you plan to keep them longer than a few weeks I would suggest that.

L&L: What sort of packaging do you offer for wedding favors? Do most couples present one, two, or more truffles to their guests?

SWEETS: For wedding favors, we offer a one, two, or four-piece box, with any choice of truffles or caramels. Our usual boxes are clear tops with frosted bottoms, but we can also supply white or gold boxes in the favor sizes. These come with a custom label (the bride and groom’s names, plus the date, for example), as well as a ribbon matching the color scheme of the wedding. Most couples choose to offer their guests two or four chocolates. Sometimes there’s some pretty heavy negotiating going on on the reception floor – “Hey, I’ll trade you a coffee truffle for your peppermint truffle.”

Some couples also choose to put packages of Dean’s Sweets in the hotel room welcome gifts or as a special thank you to people who have helped with the arrangements. We offer boxes of eight or sixteen for larger gifts.

L&L: How much do your treats cost? Is there a bulk order discount?

SWEETS: We offer wedding and special event prices that are significantly discounted from our retail prices because of the (usually) large size of the order. For weddings and events our two-piece box (with label and ribbon) is $4.50 and our four-piece package is $8.50. We are very happy to work with couples to make the packages affordable.

L&L: How far in advance should a couple place their favor order with you? Do you require their order be picked up, do you deliver or do you ship? Once received, do the truffles need to be stored in any particular way until the wedding day?

SWEETS: A safe rule of thumb is to order your truffles about three to four weeks in advance (more time is great, less time is doable but challenging). That gives us time to make sure we have all the information, all the necessary ingredients, and to make, package, and ship the truffles by the big day. Couples can pick up their order, or we regularly ship Priority Mail (USPS). In the warmer weather, or to warmer destinations, we ship with insulated boxes and cool packs. No one wants a melted truffle for a wedding favor.

Once received, the truffles simply need to stay in a coolish (non-sunny) place. Refrigeration is not needed, nor even desired.

L&L: What was the most memorable wedding you have made truffles for or attended and why?

SWEETS: We don’t usually attend the weddings that our chocolates attend, but our most memorable response was from a bride who selected cayenne truffles as one of her favor flavors. A week after the wedding she said that everything went perfectly, and the favors were extremely well received – perhaps too well, in her opinion. She was disappointed that after everyone departed there were several bottles of Veuve Clicquot Champagne remaining, but there wasn’t a single truffle left for her! Be sure to order enough, or at least keep some out for yourself!

The most memorable wedding I’ve attended, was of course our own. Spectacular place, spectacular music, great food, and great chocolate. We opted to have two-piece boxes on the tables in a random selection of flavors. This allowed people to pick the flavor they liked best, and ended up with some of the truffle-trading mentioned above. We had additional truffles available with dessert, creating some interesting situations with children eating the chocolates in their box and then refilling from the plates. Great fun!

L&L: What “must-see” places and eateries do you suggest folks from out of town check out while visiting Maine?

SWEETS: Dean and I love a glass of red wine or a beer on a Friday night. Our favorite cozy bar for that is Local 188. Our favorite multi-sensory venue is Grace (Dean was the architect of this spectacular renovated 1860s church). We especially recommend sitting in the balcony for one of their specialty drinks and watching the goings on below.

Our go-to place for a great meal without spending a fortune is Thai Veranda. It’s inauspicious and unassuming and just a short hop from downtown Portland. We always get the fresh spring rolls. And there’s always plenty from our meal to take home for the next night.

For very special evenings, we go to Fore Street. I could be happy eating the bread and drinking the wine, but every bite of food is amazing. Dean, who doesn’t usually like mussels, has not stopped talking about the mussels in wine we had there last time. Another equally amazing gustatory experience, and a splurge for us, is to have a small plate or two from Hugo’s. Just a little goes a long way and is completely satisfying.

On a hot summer night, we love ice cream at Beals at the end of Exchange Street. I always get the black raspberry chip frozen yogurt with chocolate sprinkles. Dean changes his up more often, but is very partial to the coconut almond ice cream.

A favorite music venue, for anyone staying around for a few days, although a bit out of the way, is Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield – a wonderful repurposed barn serving up great music and excellent food. Also occasionally available for weddings. (Full disclosure, this is where Dean and I got married so we’re extremely biased!)

L&L: Thank you for giving us an inside peek into Dean’s Sweets. If readers want to get in touch with you to inquire about tasting and purchasing your chocolates, what is the best way for them to reach you?

SWEETS: We are always happy to have folks visit our store at 82 Middle Street to try any of our chocolates. We know it’s important for brides and grooms (and family) to be able to sample and find out what they like most. If that’s not possible, we are always available by phone (207 899-3664) or through our website.

Lucky readers, Kristin and Dean are extending 10% off for any size wedding order with mention of this blog. Thank you, thank you!