AV俱乐部

One could say that M茅lanie Leclerc (Class of 鈥�04) has a bit of a sweet tooth- one that led her down the path of entrepreneurship. It was M茅lanie鈥檚 taste for high quality chocolate and her desire to do something different that led her to develop M茅licious Chocolat, a business venture she otherwise may not have pursued.

鈥淭he idea for M茅licious Chocolat came up quite a few years after completing my Master鈥檚 degree at Dal AC,鈥� M茅lanie explains. 鈥淚 wanted to do something different.鈥�

M茅licious Chocolat is a small business based out of M茅lanie鈥檚 home in Truro that prides itself on being able to offer chocolate lovers a different chocolate experience. From smooth caramels to crispy pralines, M茅licious Chocolat proudly offers a variety of high-quality chocolate products using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Bonbons and truffles are handcrafted in small batches using the highest quality of ingredients. Flavoured centres are enrobed in premium French dark and milk chocolate, bringing to life the taste-buds of those who are lucky enough to try it.

鈥淧eople seem to like my chocolate,鈥� M茅lanie smiles. 鈥淚 find it so rewarding to see people鈥檚 faces when they bite into one of my chocolates and they really enjoy it.鈥�

M茅lanie grew up just outside of Quebec City. At the age of 16, M茅lanie began听her first summer job working at a听small artisan chocolate boutique.听It was there that she听developed a taste for high quality chocolate. Following her passion for decadent treats, she attended classes at the Chocolate Academy in Montreal, a teaching and training academy that offers professionals and artisans the opportunity to improve their skills working with chocolate, explore trends and techniques, and discover new recipes.

鈥淭he courses at the Chocolate Academy were one or two day courses,鈥� M茅lanie explains, 鈥淚鈥檝e taken six of them over the past few years. I learned about the chocolate crystalizing process, different techniques to temper chocolate as well as molding, framing, enrobing and decorating techniques. I learned how to make the centres, some of which I can reproduce in my kitchen, some I can鈥檛 as they require ingredients or equipment I currently don鈥檛 have.鈥�

While her time spent at the Chocolate Academy expanded her knowledge of chocolate, M茅lanie also pursued a science degree at Universit茅 Laval in Quebec. It was after completing her Bachelor of Science in agriculture and plant science that M茅lanie set her sights on Nova Scotia. After making the move to the East Coast, M茅lanie enrolled in AV俱乐部鈥檚 Faculty of Agriculture where she pursued a Master鈥檚 degree in plant science, graduating in 2004.

鈥淢y first interest in coming to Nova Scotia was to work with seaweed and to improve my English,鈥� M茅lanie explains. 鈥淭hings didn鈥檛 turn out exactly as I hoped but it was still a good experience.鈥�

While she didn鈥檛 end up on the path she鈥檇 expected, M茅lanie鈥檚 time at Dal AC taught her the importance of critical thinking and problem solving. With those skills and many more, M茅lanie now works as a Research Associate at Perennia, a government agency that works to help farmers, fishermen and food processors be prosperous and profitable.

Although M茅lanie鈥檚 position at Perennia is full time, she couldn鈥檛 ignore her passion for creating quality chocolate. Wanting to be able to offer delicious specialty chocolates to her friends and family, M茅lanie started M茅licious Chocolat after she completed her Master鈥檚 degree. To build on her business skills, she has taken classes at the Community Business Development Corporation (CBDC) to expand her knowledge on basic business, accounting, marketing concepts, and more.

鈥淚 started to make chocolate for special occasions like Christmas, Valentine鈥檚 Day, Easter, Mother鈥檚 Day, and to sell to colleagues and friends,鈥� M茅lanie explains. 鈥淚t just kind of went from there.鈥�

While M茅licious Chocolat is still very small, M茅lanie attends the Truro Farmers Market occasionally to sell her products. She also supplies chocolate to special events, most recently Dal AC鈥檚 scholarship banquet last November.

鈥淚鈥檝e had my chocolates in Women鈥檚 Day celebrations, weddings, and other special events,鈥� M茅lanie says. 鈥淔or Dal AC鈥檚 Scholarship Banquet I prepared packages of two chocolates filled with flavoured centres- smooth caramels, creamy ganaches, crispy pralines and more.鈥�

Looking towards the future, M茅lanie would like to create a space for M茅licious Chocolat that is solely dedicated to her chocolate production. While this is M茅lanie鈥檚 goal for the future of her business, she recognizes the challenges of operating such a small business. Expanding would require significant capital investment, which can be risky for a small business.

鈥淚 would love to have a space where I can create new recipes and work more efficiently,鈥� M茅lanie says. 鈥淎 lot of time goes into recipe and product development. I try different things, see what people buy and then I adjust. Right now the business is homebased and expansion would require significant capital investment. The challenge is to develop a realistic business model that could support the investments needed to take the business to the next level.鈥�

For now though, M茅lanie will continue making chocolate, simply because it鈥檚 what she loves to do.

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