There’s a new craft chocolatier in town (and it’s SOOO good!), Bell Tower Chocolate, and it’s brought to you by my good friend Chef Brendan. I sat down with Brendan to catch up and get the scoop on all things chocolate!

Passion for Chocolate

YIH: Let’s talk Bell Tower Chocolates, what got you interested in chocolate?

Brendan: I’ve always loved chocolate. My cat’s name, when I was 5, was Fudgy. I grew up in San Francisco and both Ghirardelli and See’s Candie manufacture there so it was all around me.

In my early 20’s, I took a tour of Scharffenberger chocolate, a big bean to bar chocolate company in the east bay. I got to really learn about working with chocolate at Harris’ Steakhouse when I was an assistant pastry chef, where I made chocolate confections and desserts.

Then about four years ago, I visited Dandelion chocolate in San Francisco. They embody the revival of craft chocolate on the west coast and bean to bar. I took a tour and their chocolate making class. After that, I said to myself, “I could do this!” I bought the necessary machines and started making chocolate.

Fast forward a few years later, I move to San Diego and about 6 months ago, I left my job at the time and busted out the chocolate machine and started making chocolates.

Actually, Tang (his girlfriend and my good friend) is the reason the passion I have for chocolate has stepped over the line. Tang is incredibly supportive and she has a passion for chocolate as well. Plus, Tang is crafty and creative and she can apply her artistic ability to the bonbons and make them beautiful. I get to concentrate and work on the chocolate craft side. If it was just me it would just be making chocolate bars!

What is bean to bar?

YIH: What is bean to bar?

Brendan: With bean to bar you can roast the beans in the husks or just the nibs after they’ve been husked. We roast the beans in the husks. When you roast whole beans and more moisture and oils stay in the shell when it’s heated. Then you shell them and have a pile of nibs, and then we grind them in a cocoa melanger, a rotating stone mill/grinder.

YIH: Does it impact the flavor?

Brendan: The flavor is way different because with bean to bar you control the roast. The roast has a huge influence on the flavor profile. What flavors you want to pull out of the bean determines how long you roast.

YIH: What’s your favorite part about making chocolate?

Brendan: The roasting part is my favorite. It’s the first stage. That’s where you really get to start to smell the chocolate bloom and you can pull beans out at different stages and see how the flavor is changing.

It’s not part of the process, but being able to share chocolates is also one of my favorite parts because it’s such a beloved product. It’s fun to be able to see people’s reactions.

What’s Next?

YIH: You have the bars and the bonbons coming out. We love the whiskey flavor. What are some flavors we can expect to see coming up from Belltower?

Brendan: Well we have the Peanut Butter and Jelly vegan white chocolate and Sarsaparilla Strawberry Bon Bon. Right now we’re developing a vegan white chocolate and a vegan caramel.

I want these chocolates to represent San Diego. The whiskey I use is whiskey from Vista, Henebery. I plan to go to our local farms and source. Sasparillo strawberry, R&D bitters, from Vista. All of our products right now are vegan and gluten-free.

Where Can We Buy Bell Tower Chocolate?

YIH: Where can people buy Bell Tower Chocolates?

Brendan: Right now you can find our chocolates at California Homemades. In the near future, we’ll be at farmer’s markets and the plan is to have a storefront. Follow us on Instagram @belltowerchocolate for where we’re going to pop-up!

YIH: Will you take orders through Instagram?

Brendan: Absolutely, I will even personally deliver them right now!

Oh my goodness! You heard that right, your chocolates will be personally delivered right now by the creator himself! If you are in Escondido though, you should stop by California Homemades. A fantastic vegan eatery in Escondido, where Chef Brendan is creating fresh new vegan dishes every week!

---

Who is Chef Brendan?

YIH: Have you always been interested in food? What got you interested in the culinary field?
Brendan: It’s interesting, my culinary past started when I was 6 years old. My aunt married a guy, Uncle John, who owned a restaurant in San Francisco, PJ’s Oyster Bed. I grew up in the restaurant environment, squeezing orange juice on Sunday mornings when I started. I moved to the front of the house when I was 13 years old and I liked the people interaction. San Francisco in the mid-90s was a lot different, this was when the local music scene was really heavy, Chris Isacc and other artists would come through. It was a party. To spice up the restaurant, PJ’s Oyster Bed would transform to PJ’s Bayou by the Bay mid-week during crawfish season.

YIH: Were you ever interested in other areas?
Brendan: Well after high school, I went to Monterey State and studies film and theatre, but I dropped out and went to culinary school. There was also a period of time when I left the culinary industry for 5 years, and I sold guitars for Guitar Center and played bass for a few bands. But I was still interested in food. While I was playing bass, I got into mushroom hunting.

YIH: Oh what do you need in order to go mushroom hunting?
Brendan: Tip for mushroom hunting, go with someone who knows how to identify the mushrooms properly.

YIH: So what other culinary experience did you get?
Brendan: When I was older, I managed my uncle’s restaurant and moved on to manage Destino. I did private catering. One of my favorite things to do was private dinners for small groups and their house basically turns into an intimate restaurant.

I taught culinary classes to guests at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito and worked at a hydroponic store and applied my experience with hydroponics systems and restaurant to sales at an aquaponics farm. The produce you get from aquaponics is unbelievable. Through an aquaponic system you don’t need to till a farm and deplete nutrients in the soil, I was exposed to the best produce.

I moved on and opened up a hydroponic store, Global Garden Supply, in Santa Cruz with my brother Sean. I eventually sold my share and moved to San Diego.

Now I’m designing vegan dishes at California Homemades and making chocolate!

YIH: Which chefs were you most influenced by?
Brendan: At my Uncle’s restaurant there was a guest chef who was from New Orleans, Michael Reese II. My uncle wanted to bring the party of New Orleans to the bay area and that’s how Bayou by the Bay started. Just to see the passion and personality from Michael was inspiring. He was passionate, fun, crazy and wild. He had awesome recipes and the way he could sell his passion for food was amazing. When customers would come in he would talk to the customers and they weren’t just eating they were getting a whole experience. People would come back to the restaurant just for the experience with Michael Reese.

Then there was another chef, Chef Pachi, who came from Il Fornio. He showed me how to organize and stay on it in an insanely busy kitchen environment. We worked in an open kitchen so we had to be precise, clean and consistent. He taught me to to be about consistency on food in chaos and consistency in the food line.

At Harris’ Steak house I met Chef Mike, nicest head check you’ll ever meet. His kitchen ran like a machine. He had a kind heart approached to the kitchen. Mike was the complete opposite of the typical yelling chefs, but he had complete control of the kitchen. It’s a different approach that you don’t see and I really respected him.

---

Hope you are as excited about Bell Tower Chocolate as I am! I can’t wait to try out all their flavors and I’m so glad I learned about bean to bar. I’ll be on the lookout for that trend.

Thanks for stopping by and happy eating!

-Kristina