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It's No Longer A Deep, Dark Secret

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

Updated: 02/14/2008 05:45 pm

CARROLLWOOD - A gourmet chocolate shop known for its pure, melt-in-your-mouth confections has opened a local storefront to peddle its sugary concoctions.

Peterbrooke Chocolatier, a chocolate chain with origins in Jacksonville, has been offering cocoa bean-based goodness to chocolate lovers since opening in May.

The shop is wedged between a Blockbuster and First Watch restaurant in a shopping plaza at 13184 N. Dale Mabry Highway, north of Fletcher Avenue.

The chocolate confectionery started in 1983 by Phyllis Lockwood Geiger in Jacksonville's historical San Marco neighborhood. Geiger named the store after her two children, Peter and Brooke, and incorporated the boy-girl theme with pink and blue colors.

It has since branched out to several locations in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Local franchise owners Jim and Gretchen Vautier fell in love with the chocolates when they lived in Jacksonville, where Peterbrooke is an institution.

"We always had this idea to start our own business and always wondered 'Why don't they franchise?' " said Gretchen Vautier.

In 2006, the Vautiers received a postcard announcing the gourmet chocolate store would do just that. They jumped at the chance of owning not one, but three stores.

The Vautiers, who live in the East Lake area of Pinellas County, were among the first to sign up. They left their corporate jobs in human resources and dived into the chocolate business.

"All of a sudden, we recognized the opportunity because it's Peterbrooke. It's an institution. It's a destination within Jacksonville," she said.

Within a four-month period during the past year, they introduced Peterbrooke chocolates into the Tampa Bay market. The Largo shop was the first to open in March, followed by the Carrollwood site in May, and then the East Lake store in June.

At the Carrollwood location, shelves are stocked with rows of hand-dipped decadence.

"Every sense should be stimulated when you come in," said Gretchen Vautier. "It should be a sensory overload. Once you come in, you should smell chocolate."

Snacks such as Ritz crackers, potato chips, pretzels, Oreos and Nutter Butters bathe under the store's spinning chocolate wheel, where pure milk, dark and white chocolate is tempered to 89-degrees to get that smooth and shiny texture.

Peterbrooke chocolates have no wax, fillers or preservatives like chocolate bars sold in stores, she said.

"It's satisfying, and it's pure. This is why we never get tired of it," she said.

For chocolate-lovers looking for unusual gifts beyond chocolate bars and nut clusters, the store sells a chocolate pizza, which is a bed of chocolate sprinkled with pecans, almonds, a trail mix of dried fruits and nuts and drizzled with icing to look like mozzarella cheese.

Customers can rent a chocolate fountain or bring in a bottle of champagne to have it hand-dipped in chocolate.

The store also opens its doors to birthday parties where guests can make chocolate treats by decorating apples and dipping pretzels or Oreos in tempered chocolate.

Their biggest seller has been the chocolate-covered popcorn, a treat that founder Phyllis Geiger invented by accident when she needed samples to give away at a holiday festival.

"There's something magical about the saltiness of the popcorn and the sweetness of the chocolate that is just perfect," said Jim Vautier.

Half the store is dedicated to special-occasion gift baskets where themed boxes celebrate birthdays, baby showers, new homes and anniversaries.

The gifts are popular with real estate agents and pharmaceutical representatives and also are ideal for partygoers looking for a hostess gift, said Gretchen Vautier.

First-time customer Kristin Lambert stopped in one day during her lunch break to satisfy her chocolate fix. She bought a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered Oreos, and foiled chocolate hearts.

"It's very rich, very good," said 33-year-old Lambert of the chocolate. "It has a very good aftertaste. It's awesome. I love chocolate. What woman doesn't?"

PETERBROOKE CHOCOLATIER

ADDRESS: 13184 N. Dale Mabry Highway
PHONE: (813) 969-2991

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

WEB SITE: www.peterbrooke .com

CHOCOLATE FACTS

Eat chocolate and be happy. Chocolate contains the highest concentration of any food of phenyl ethylamine, the chemical produced in the brain when a person is in love.

Chocolate was first cultivated and consumed by the Mayans and Aztecs. By the year 1000 A.D. the beans were being used as currency. The Aztecs believed that drinking chocolate would bring great wisdom, understanding and energy.

One ounce of milk chocolate usually contains 5 mg of caffeine. By comparison, a 6-ounce cup of coffee contains 100 to150 mg.

Source: Peterbrooke Chocolatier

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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