Irresistible chocolate is worth the drive

ELAINE WARNER
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND May 05, 2007 11:16 pm

— A guy is walking on the beach when he spies something glittering in the sand. He reaches down and pulls up a bottle. As he brushes the sand off, a genie appears, giving him the usual line about three wishes. Knowing the drill, the man asks first for a billion dollars. Poof! The wish is granted. Next he asks for a Maserati GranSport convertible. Poof! There it is. Finally, he asks to be irresistible to women. Poof! He turns into a box of chocolates!
If you find chocolate irresistible, several specialty shops in Oklahoma are ready to cater to your desires.
A tempting blend of aromas — chocolate and coffee — greets you as you walk in the door of Winans of Guthrie at 109 W. Oklahoma. The sunny, yellow walls and white tin ceiling present a bright setting for shelves and cabinets of chocolates, china teapots and cups and colorful gift baskets.
Winans, an Ohio company, specializes in making fine candies. The chocolate they use is produced according to a 150-year-old old Swiss formula and process. Many of its recipes are more than a century old and all of their fillings are made from scratch.
Buckeyes are a signature candy. The buckeye tree is the state tree of Ohio and produces seed capsules containing inedible seeds (nuts) resembling the eye of a deer. Winans’ buckeyes are made of chocolate and peanut butter and are hand-rolled by Lotte Staton who rolls about 1,000 pounds of buckeyes each year.
Coffee was an innovation added by Winans’ present owner Joe Reiser. He started with one espresso machine but expanded the line into a roastery that now buys beans from all across the world and creates a number of original blends.
Rick Staton, Lotte’s nephew, owns Winans of Guthrie. Lotte and her daughter, Rita, who is the manager of Winans’ candy factory, visited Guthrie for a visit and were taken with the town. They thought it would be the perfect place for a candy store.
Following a visit to Winans’ headquarters in Ohio, Rick, a retired police officer, and his wife Stacy began looking for a location. They found the 1893 Adler Building on Oklahoma Street — a great location and a great old building.
Rick offers a full line of filled chocolates, nuts, brittles, truffles, coffees and assorted specialties plus a place to sit and enjoy a good cup of coffee and the taste of something sweet. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Of the eight Winans’ franchise stores, two are in Oklahoma. Like Rick and Stacy Staton, Katy and Jeremy Howard who own Winans of Norman have a personal connection to the company. Katy grew up in Ohio and members of her family were friends with both the Winans and Reiser families. When the Howards moved to Oklahoma, Katy brought a bit of Ohio with her.
Winans of Norman, 207 E. Main, offers the same great chocolates and coffees in a more contemporary setting. Store hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
For made-on-the-premises products, visit Kokao Chocolatier, 3410 S. Peoria, or Kokao Kabana, 507 S. Boston in Tulsa. Self-taught chocolatier Steven Howard specializes in hand-crafted truffles. He creates his own blend from seven types of chocolate.
Just listening to Christine Joseph talk is like walking into the movie “Chocolat.” She, like her chocolate, comes from Belgium. Her favorite items to make are truffles, marzipan and caramel pecans, which also are her best-seller. As soon as all the licensing procedures are complete, she will make another of her favorites — liqueur-filled chocolates. Her store, Nouveau Chocolatier, is at 205 S. Main in Broken Arrow.
No article on Oklahoma chocolates would be complete without mentioning Bedré Chocolates owned by the Chickasaw Nation. Their factory and store are just west of Interstate 35 at exit 70. Public tours of the factory are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call ahead at (800) 367-5390 to make sure the line is running. The retail store is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Though Bedré produces many fine chocolate items, its best-seller continues to be the High Dollar Chips with a mind-blowing combination of sweet and salt.
Fortunately, you don’t have to drive to Pauls Valley to buy Bedré creations. Gourmet Gallery, 1532 S. Boulevard, carries a huge selection of their products including the High Dollar Chips, a special gold-foil-wrapped chocolate centennial coin and even their popcorn, which is dusted with white chocolate and studded with almonds and pecans. J’s Hallmark on West Danforth also carries a small selection of Bedré treats.
There’s no excuse to settle for less than the best — no more waxy chocolate, no cheap imitations using vegetable oil. Go gourmet and try some of these great chocolate confections.

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