Valentines Day is fast approaching and we all know that a little love makes everything taste better. All of our Foodzie producers have a love for good food. But for some, their love of food goes hand-in-hand with their love for each other. Meet Zahra and Jennifer, the owners of Hedonist Chocolates in Rochester, New York.

1. How did you meet?
We met in Santa Cruz, CA at the Blue Lagoon bar in the summer of 1996. Santa Cruz is Jennifer’s hometown and she was going to school and working in the city’s Parks and Recreation department at the time. Zahra had just graduated from college and was in town for the summer, working in the costume shop at Shakespeare Santa Cruz. It was 80s night at the Blue, Jennifer was there with her sister and housemate, recovering from a recent breakup. She watched two confident and beautiful girls (Zahra and her friend Irene) as they entered the bar and said to her sister “I want to be with a girl like that.” After exchanging glances across the bar, we connected on the dance floor. After a little while, Zahra asked Jennifer if she wanted to kiss her. The rest is history

2. How did you decide to start a food business together?
We moved to Rochester, NY (after living in Michigan for 2 years while Zahra finished grad school) for Zahra’s job as a user interface designer at Xerox. Jennie left a career job in Parks and Recreation in Michigan but was not able to find similar work in Rochester. She spent a year working on the project house we bought together, then needed something more satisfying. She had always wanted to start her own business, so we started discussing options. Our first idea was a consignment clothing store, but we soon realized that we would have to have a much more extensive knowledge of women’s clothing than we possessed and scrapped that concept. Zahra then suggested a chocolate business because Rochester didn’t have an artisan chocolatier. Jennifer had experience working for a California chocolatier so it seemed like a good choice that would also allow us to be creative. We started experimenting with chocolate truffles at home and in early 2006 found a kitchen space and made everything official.

3. What is the best thing about working together?
The best thing about working together is that you know you are not alone, that you can always get the support you need from your partner. Starting a small business is a lot of hard work and the pressure to succeed can become too much for one person. Our situation is a little bit unique in that Jennifer works full time on the business and Zahra works part time on it (in addition to working full time as an Interaction Designer at Xerox). But we each know that we can ask for help, discuss problems, complain, or whatever else is needed.

4. Any funny stories or challenges that have resulted from working with your significant other?
In late 2005, we had made the decision to start our chocolate business and were nearly finished with the business plan. We had almost everything in place, but we were still struggling to come up with the perfect name to express our style and approach to chocolate-making. Around this time, Zahra was talking on the phone to her Aunt Carol, telling her about our latest travel and food adventures. Aunt Carol, whose lifestyle is quite different from ours, responded by affectionately referring to us as “a couple of hedonists.” We knew right away it was the perfect name for our company, not only because chocolate is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but also because it captured the spirit of our life together. A hedonist is someone whose life is devoted to the pursuit of sensual pleasures. We find our bliss in chocolate and hope to help our customers do the same.

5. Who comes up with better flavors?
Zahra has the occasional brilliant idea, but Jennifer and her apprentices are the ones who come up with the flavors in the Hedonist kitchen.

Stay tuned for another great Foodzie Love Story tomorrow!