Jacques Torres, pastry chef and TV Food Network star, certainly
isn’t resting on his laurels. He left the pastry world in
2000 to open his original chocolate shop and factory in Brooklyn.
In 2004 he opened his own chocolate manufacturing plant, Jacques
Torres Chocolate Haven, in the SOHO district of Manhattan. It is
an expensive piece of real estate, but Torres is gambling that opening
his factory to his cadre of chocolate fans will be a success. His
second shop is right in the middle of the action, as the factory
floor wraps around it on three sides. You can actually watch the
chocolates being made, while you sip a warm mug of hot chocolate
because the factory has glass walls into the shop and out to the
street.
Torres manufactures a full line of products, including bonbons,
bars, and hot chocolate mixes, to stock his two chocolate shops
and supply wholesale customers. And, yes, Torres actually works in
the factory. He was there on the day I visited, chatting with customers,
while apologizing for the chocolate smears on his jacket. Not a
problem, Jacques, that’s what chefs' jackets are for!
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