How Katherine Anne Duncan Puts a Unique Spin on Truffles, Hot Chocolate & More

To make good chocolate, you need the best materials. That’s what Katherine Anne Duncan of Chicago-based Katherine Anne Confections aspires to do with her chocolate, whether it's truffles, thick hot chocolate, or truffle making kits.

Katherine Anne Duncan making chocolate photo credit Tuan B. photography

Duncan got her start growing up on a farm, beginning with making caramels with local ingredients, where they could “eat as many as we cut and wrapped” when she was six. Years later, she started making chocolates and caramels for friends and family that became super popular. She decided that this might be a viable business for her especially since she loved making tangible things that made people smiled. Plus Chicago did not have many artisan chocolatiers at the time.

Duncan started the company in 2006 completely self-financing (in other words, no loans from banks) and ended up opening the cafe in 2012. The shop itself is dominated by their workspace where customers can see them making their various chocolate items because Duncan explained, “I’ve always been fascinated with the process.” It’s fun for customers to see where and how the magic happens.

Sourcing Quality Products

Duncan values high quality and good working practices for all of her products. She’s a big proponent of knowing the farmers and their food. She wants to know that the milk, chocolate beans, fruit, etc. are sourced ethically. Prioritizing ethical practices is twofold - it’s the right thing to do and the food just tastes better that way. If it takes a long time to find the best-tasting raspberries, so be it.

For her chocolates, she’s used Guittard because it has “great production and practices, but also the chocolate itself is fair trade.” That means good working conditions, paying well above market rate, which “is super important to us.” Of course, it also tastes great. But with recent disruptions of the supply chain, she’s had to switch up where she gets her chocolate. Recently they’ve also been using chocolate from Barry Callebaut and Valrhona, which are also high-end and delicious.

Mexican Hot Chocolate photo credit Tuan B. photography

Hot Chocolate

I most associate Katherine Anne Confections with hot chocolate, which is almost so thick you can stick a spoon straight up in it. The inspiration for it came from a visit to France and chocolatier Jacques Genin who served “really thick sipping chocolate.” The cafe won’t let people take it to go; they want you to sit and enjoy at one of their tables. Duncan decided to make her own version of drinking chocolate, though slightly thinner so it can be enjoyed every few weeks or months instead of only once a year.  Right now, unlike Jacques Genin, customers can take their hot chocolate to go, especially thanks to due to COVID-19, the store is not open for dine-in business.

Katherine Anne Truffle Making Kit Tuan B. photography

Making Your Own Truffles

Like many food companies, Katherine Anne Confections had to ramp up their online shipping so customers can enjoy their chocolate without going into the store during COVID-19. But they decided to add a new product in the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic: truffle making kit. The kit comes in three flavors —Vegan Raspberry, Hazelnut, Salted Caramel— and makes about 40-45 truffles. “One of our biggest reasons we hadn't in the past is because truffles were too hard to make, right?” Duncan said.

Part of the challenge was translating the know-how onto the page but they figured out how to make it work and it's been immensely popular with their team. One company client ordered 600 kits as holiday gifts for their team last year!

Goat Cheese Walnut Truffles photo credit Tuan B. photography

Sweet and Savory Truffles

While Katherine Anne Confections has many traditional flavors of truffles, Duncan also makes savory truffles. Their most popular savoy truffles are their cheese truffles (and some caramels) that they release in August. “We love combining salty with sweet,” she says, though she acknowledges that using cheese isn’t a new concept but she definitely has made some fun pairings.

Truffle flavors include cherry, ricotta, caraway; parmesan, and olive oil. Her favorite is the apricot, feta, and balsamic vinegar truffle where they roast apricots from the farmer’s market. The apricots get kind of jammy and combine with the balsamic and bittersweet chocolate, she says, “It’s so so good.”

They’ve gotten a great response from customers but she said it’s not something they’d put in a truffle box for grandma. There’s nothing quite like biting into a truffle expecting something sweet and getting something salty instead. Generally, the truffles are available for 7-8 days though their goat cheese and walnut truffle is a mainstay in the store.

While the store has weathered the unpredictability of COVID-19, where products are tricky to source and changing restrictions, Duncan is most surprised with staffing.

While she notes that they get fewer applications overall for her open positions, she’s finding that employees are really excited and engaged. Seasonal workers are asking to stay on longer. She really appreciates that the work she put into making a shop has created a positive work environment for herself and her employees.

Next up for the team is getting ready for their big order at the end of the month. For several years, Katherine Anne’s has been preparing thousands of truffles that will be packaged and delivered to 22 Whole Foods, mostly in the Midwest, just in time for Valentine’s Day.