Jeanne-Louise Womble followed her passion when she started de Rochonnet delights Chocolatier in Chesterfield County.
She did so in 2004 after a 28-year career in human resources and health benefits administration for the state of Virginia.
"My mother passed away in 2000, and that left a big hole in my heart," she said. "I told my husband I wanted to do something I really enjoyed, hoping it would help me with my grief."
She turned to her passion for chocolate.
"I think I have a chocolate chromosome," she said. "As a child, everything had to be chocolate. My mother introduced me to imported chocolates. She was the inspiration. I named the store after her."
Womble began making chocolate for her family 25 years ago when her children were young. She took chocolate-making classes while working her state job.
She received her Professional Chocolatier Certification through the Ecole Chocolat at British Columbia University in Vancouver Canada in 2001.
"I wanted to learn from the masters," she said.
Her shop in the Village Marketplace shopping center off Midlothian Turnpike carries everything from homemade wine truffles and specialty tarts to a variety of homemade gelatos and white chocolate popcorn with sea salt.
Three days after retiring from her state job in 2004, she traveled to Paris, where she completed her Maitre Chocolatier certification through the Valrhona's Ecole du Grand Chocolat in Tournon sur Rhône, France.
"I never looked back," she said.
A year later, Womble took more classes. "I continue to take ongoing classes," she said.
Womble makes all of the chocolate products in her shop. Her son, Eric, a chef who works part-time at the shop, makes the gelato and caramel.
Other family members are involved in the company. Her husband, Richard, and daughter, Renee Mann, work part-time.
Best-sellers include the store's signature chocolates and turtles, made with Belgian French chocolate and filled with homemade caramel.
"We are also known for our international beer truffles, which come packaged in a beer bottle," Womble said, noting that she was the first chocolatier featured in the BeerAdvocate magazine.
In 2005, she added a 1,200-square-foot production center in Bon Air, which helped the company double its sales from 2006 to 2007. But her business fell victim to the recession in late 2007.
"We lost one of our biggest corporate customers," Womble said. "That really hit us. We had to make tough choices."
She closed the production center. "When the bad economy hit, the production center was like a money pit," she said. "We had to let four part-time people go."
But she looked for other ways to expand her business. In 2008, she began participating in large events such as the Virginia Wine Expo.
Sales were up 40 percent this past December compared with the same period in 2009.
Steve Smith of Hanover visits the shop regularly to buy chocolates for his wife. Each year, he also buys 25 boxes for the Cold Harbor Ruritan Ladies Night dinner.
He and his wife like the chocolates because of their fresh taste.
"They melt in your mouth," he said. "Jeanne-Louise really knows her stuff. She understands chocolate and what goes with chocolate."
Many of the store's sales are handled through the company's website.
"People contact us from all over the United States," Womble said.
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