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<\/a>Sj\u00f6linds<\/a>\u00a0on 219 East Main St.\u00a0in Mt Horeb is one of my\u00a0favorite places to indulge.\u00a0 In fact, I bank in Mt Horeb just to have an excuse to go there.\u00a0 I have brought many friends there through the years\u00a0but there is\u00a0nothing like a solo morning excursion\u00a0accompanied by travel magazines, a cup of French hot chocolate (extra whipped cream), and maybe a little pastry.\u00a0 And, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better,\u00a0they have\u00a0opened a second\u00a0spot\u00a0in Mt. Horeb at 150 Lillehammer Lane!\u00a0 The older location will remain a cafe\u00a0plus bakehouse while the new one will serve as a cafe and their chocolate factory.\u00a0 If you have not been to either location yet, you have really been missing out on the delightful confections, Scandinavian comfort food,\u00a0and friendly atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u00a0Chocolate Factory at 150\u00a0Lillehammer Lane<\/em><\/p>\n The\u00a0new space, while bright and modern, is still cozy with a fireplace in the middle of the dining area.\u00a0 A long table along a wall of windows, crowned by an indulgent chandelier, is a good spot for\u00a0bigger\u00a0groups or for those looking to make new friends.\u00a0 And in case you didn’t notice in the picture above, there is a drive-through window for people on-the-go.\u00a0 When\u00a0Keith and I\u00a0visited last weekend, owner Tracy\u00a0Thompson\u00a0was\u00a0busy making Swedish pancakes\u00a0on the griddle and her daughter Melissa was manning the coffee machine.<\/p>\n Mother & Daughter<\/em><\/p>\n We\u00a0enjoyed traditional and buckwheat Swedish pancakes with ham, drizzled with maple syrup, as well as a jammy dodger and a stroopwaffle.\u00a0 Melissa\u00a0informed us\u00a0that the proper way to eat a stroopwaffle was to first let it warm up on top of your coffee.\u00a0 I warmed my stroopwaffle on top of my mug of caramel green tea until the rim was half covered in melted chocolate and\u00a0I could\u00a0break off pliable pieces of\u00a0it.\u00a0 May I please say stroopwaffle, one more time? Stroopwaffle!<\/p>\n Treats<\/em><\/p>\n The factory tour was intoxicating.\u00a0\u00a0There were\u00a0bags of cacao beans and\u00a0huge blocks of chocolate with different grades and origins. We learned about cracking, sorting, and winnowing and roasting.\u00a0 The\u00a0melanger, a big drum where the cacao nibs are ground and mixed with sugar until the texture is silky to the tongue was\u00a0a hypnotic piece\u00a0of machinery. One could lose themselves staring at the giant vat of swirling chocolate.\u00a0Even more fun was the tempering area and truffle making area.\u00a0 There was a trolley that must have been at least twenty layers deep with an assortment\u00a0of truffles,\u00a0large containers of sprinkles in all shapes and sizes, bottles of liqueurs and vanilla, chocolate hearts on sticks that were about ready to be unmolded, and gingerbread men resting from\u00a0their chocolate baths.<\/p>\n The chocolate bars (which\u00a0come in\u00a0about a dozen varieties) are beautifully wrapped and the\u00a0wax seal and colorful strings make me feel like I’m\u00a0opening a royal letter from the 17th century.\u00a0 The fleur-de-lis pattern, imprinted in the wax, is commonly thought of as a French symbol, but today I’ve read that some scholars have connected it to the corn sheaf used as the emblem of Skj\u00f6ldr, the\u00a0legendary ancestor of the Danish\u00a0royal family.\u00a0 Skj\u00f6ldr shows up in the historical Prose Edda<\/em> and the opening lines of Beowulf<\/em>\u00a0(as\u00a0Scyld) as well as other historical documents, often depicted as a boy who washes ashore in a\u00a0boat with a sheaf of wheat placed by his head.\u00a0 I particularly like this connection because it is so\u00a0fitting with the meaning of Sj\u00f6lind (see below).<\/p>\n Bars<\/em><\/p>\n I will leave you with a little Q&A with Melissa.<\/p>\n Leslie: How did you get interested in food business?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 When I was nineteen my Mom started Sj\u00f6linds intending it to be a little desert shop that would be have limited hours, I was going to be involved for a year or so but we\u00a0 were lucky enough to keep growing and I really enjoyed being in customer service so I have been here for almost ten years now.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 What is the meaning of Sj\u00f6linds?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 Sj\u00f6lind is my Grandmother\u2019s maiden name, it means one who makes their living from the sea.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0<\/em> What are your favorite things about owning and operating a cafe?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 Interacting with people is always a pleasure. \u00a0Problem solving is an underrated joy, you learn how to fix things and balance people\u2019s needs, when it works out you feel\u00a0like a small scale super hero.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 When did you start working with chocolate and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 When we opened Sj\u00f6linds we had sweets and we brought in chocolate bars from European and American chocolate makers. \u00a0Slowly we added truffles, caramels, <\/em>toffee, and other confections. \u00a0Then about six years ago we got curious as to what chocolate we made from scratch would taste like so we started playing around\u00a0 making tiny\u00a0batches.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 Who designed the packaging for your various confections?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa: Tracy, my mom is the person who attends to all the visual panache of our stores including our packaging.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 Where do you source the cacao beans?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0We like use a wide variety of cacao beans. Some of my favorite origins have been Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. \u00a0We blend our milk\u00a0chocolates and our high\u00a0percentage bars so finding beans that will play well together that you really like the taste of on their own is a fun challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 Do you listen to music when you are making chocolate?\u00a0 If so, what is on your playlist?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 Our process of making chocolate is very loud so there is not as much music when we are roasting and winnowing the beans. \u00a0Otherwise we take turns in the kitchen\u00a0 choosing what\u00a0we listen to, these days it is a lot of the Flaming Lips and the Sweeney Todd soundtrack every day. \u00a0I also listen to audiobooks ones with seafaring and\u00a0travel are always\u00a0great. \u00a0Also podcasts, Tom Ashbrook!<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 What is it like working with the whole family?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 It\u2019s so fun! \u00a0This time of year it\u2019s exactly like when we were kids and my mom would make so many tins of cookies for friends and relatives. \u00a0The only downside <\/em>is that no one knows how to tease you like your family does.<\/em><\/p>\n Leslie:\u00a0 What\u00a0other forms of art are you involved with or what forms\/pieces inspire you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Melissa:\u00a0 I used to be really in love with working with glass, I haven\u2019t really done it in some time but it is still something that I love, if you can get there,the Bergstrom-Mahler <\/a>glass\u00a0<\/a>museum<\/a> in Neenah Wisconsin is a great place to be inspired. \u00a0I made a marionette for my Grandpa\u2019s birthday and have started another. It\u2019s a great way to integrate\u00a0many forms of craft.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"sjolindsbuilding\"](\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/sjolindsbuilding.jpg\")
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