At this shop, making chocolate is for lovers

February 11, 2009|Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - On Valentine's Day, romance and chocolate tend to go hand in hand, which isn't lost on Ellen Byrne and Christopher Carlson, owners of Byrne & Carlson. You could say that for them, every day is dipped in chocolate and coated with love. The two, married for 11 years, have worked side by side for almost 20.

Visitors to their Old World shop in a brick townhouse here behind Market Square are greeted by the enveloping aroma and sight of rich chocolate, sugar-dusted jellies, chocolate-dipped candied fruits, over 15 kinds of truffles, caramel turtles, nut clusters, and almond buttercrunch. Byrne and Carlson are best known for decorated chocolate bars, beautifully glossy rectangles of dark chocolate on which candied orange slices, plump dried cherries, crystallized pansies, and toasted almonds are carefully placed. If you can bring yourself to eat a stunning bar, every bite is different, bringing sugary, tart, and nutty flavors against a backdrop of the finest Belgian chocolate.

"We combine both European and American traditions of confectionery," says Byrne. Everything is handmade in small batches. The couple buys dried cherries from Oregon, Agen prunes from France, and fresh cream from local dairy farms.

With over 30 years experience working with chocolate, Byrne, 48, relies on her background in fine arts "to create something that is visually enticing," she says. A native of Arlington and graduate of Massachusetts College of Art, Byrne started working summers during high school at the Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit, Maine. Later, Carlson, 40, was attending Maine's Colby College and was hired as the summer fudge cook; he returned full-time in the mid 1990s.

They married in 1997 and two years later opened the Portsmouth shop. "There was no specialty chocolate store here," says Byrne. They've purposely kept the business small, she explains, "to continue to do everything ourselves." In addition to the two of them, there are a few employees, including Byrne's sister Maryann Vaughan, and Jean Husby, a part-time chocolate maker.