Truffle maker breaks
out of the mold

ina Buck has the perfect job and ideal working conditions. She makes chocolate truffles in a dream kitchen built to suit her and, the best part is, she’s her own boss.

Even the name of Tina’s business is perfect. It’s called The Chocolate Garden and it’s in Coloma. To me, the name conjures up images of only good things, good smells, in a perfect world.

I am not a chocoholic like some, but I do enjoy the creamy sweetness of the candy. But, I just have to say, Tina’s truffles are to die for; they are the creamiest, best-tasting chocolates I’ve ever put in my mouth. They are not in the least bit waxy; each is soft all the way through.

Making truffles is a second career for the businesswoman.

She was an advertising executive for several years in Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Her bigger clients numbered Sara Lee and General Mills. But the country girl at heart, who grew up in a small town in central Michigan, began to hunger for a garden and house of her own rather than the big-city apartments she had to call home.

“You get to the point in corporate America where you get tired and want to break out,” Tina said.

Now she’s having the time of her life.

“I have everything I love rolled into one thing. I feel very, very blessed. I worked hard for it. I worked a long time. I did pay my dues.”

It was 15 years ago while working as an ad executive that she began making truffles as a holiday gift for friends and colleagues. Each year, she received more and more compliments and encouragement from friends to quit her job and make them full time. She finally decided to do that about a year ago when she’d had enough of corporate life.

For years, friends had been asking for her recipe, but she said “no.” Now she wonders if The Chocolate Garden was buried in her subconscious.

“I felt stifled,” she said. “This is perfect for me. Not only am I surrounded by chocolate, but I get to be creative, strategic and in charge.”

She chose Coloma to be near her brother and sister-in-law, but especially her two young nieces.

Last March, Tina bought a 137-year-old Italianate farmhouse in Coloma. Her Chocolate Garden kitchen was originally a summer kitchen that hadn’t been worked on in years, she said. “I designed every inch of this kitchen. We literally ripped out the floor and started from scratch.”

But what is a truffle?

“A truffle is considered to be the absolute royalty of the chocolate world,” Tina said. “If you’re a chocolate lover, it’s the best way to experience chocolate. It refers to the creamy center that these have.”

A chocolate truffle must have reminded the people who named it of the truffles that people dig out of the ground, she said. The original candy truffles were lumpy, bumpy, expensive, very brown and ugly, she said. The unprejudiced Tina said, “Mine are beautiful.” Hers are handmade as opposed to molded.

It’s a two-day process to make one batch. “You can’t whip out a batch in an hour. Rolling is a skill; it takes time and practice,” Tina said.

Tina’s dream is to make Coloma and chocolate synonymous and she’s on her way to making her business’ name known around the world.

Just last week, she sent a box of truffles to the American consulate in Washington, D.C., which was then taken by diplomatic pouch to Russia. Another customer has hand-carried the chocolates to Europe. She just loves them and sends them to friends all over the country.

Tina said her truffles can be mailed anywhere, even warm climates, because she can use insulated packaging and ice-packs.

Tina’s truffles are kind of expensive, but for a treat or an extra-special gift, they’re worth it. Prices range from $4.50 for a two-ounce bag of two truffles, to $39 for a one-pound box of 16 truffles.

They do come in a variety of flavors, including dark, milk and white chocolate, but I want to personally recommend Tina’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry truffles. Don’t wash your hands right away because after you’ve eaten the chocolate, the sweet smell of raspberry lingers.

While totally remodeling a kitchen and beginning from scratch may take its toll on some, Tina said, “I’m having the time of my life.”