Napoli's Chocolee Confections

“Things are getting worse… Please send chocolate.”

This was the tag line on one of my favorite Sandra Boynton cartoons from the ‘70s, and it summarizes a fairly universal idea: chocolate makes everything better… including Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate maven Lee Napoli, owner of on Dartmouth Street found herself particularly frantic preparing for today’s holiday.

“It happens all at once,” she said during a break from her hectic weekend. “The Christmas season, the orders are spread out over six weeks. This is a completely different ballgame. Valentine’s Day is very ‘slam bam thank you ma’am.’ There’s hardly any prep time. But it's always good to be busy.”

A Calling to Chocolate

Napoli’s an old pro and she makes her fresh chocolates, literally, every day. If keeping up for the holiday is an issue then you know her treats are selling like crack. This comes after a career as a celebrated pastry chef in the area for some thirty years, presiding over desert menus at foodie destinations like Icarus and Maison Robert. She opened Chocolee in 2007 and in the process of doing so, realized it was her destiny.

“I guess on some level I was always aware that chocolate was where I’d end up, but it’s not something I was consciously planning for” she said.

“Around the time I opened the shop I found a chocolate candies cookbook that a waiter at Maison Robert had given me in the early ‘90s and the inscription said ‘Dear Lee, good luck with your chocolate shop. I know you’ll open it one day.’ At that moment it became clear to me that this is what I’d been working toward all along. If I didn’t always know it, others did.”

Sin... and Serotonin

When it comes to chocolate and romance, Napoli says the lure is based on some very simple history.

“It’s about indulgence,” she said. “In the beginning, only certain, very wealthy people could access it. Chocolate is delicious and elite, and it’s retained an image as a sinful pleasure even though we now know there are potential health benefits from eating dark chocolate.”

Although no scientific proof exists to back up the long-perpetuated idea that chocolate has an aphrodisiac effect, there is a documented link between cocoa solids and serotonin. This might explain chocolate’s comfort factor.

Salt, Sesame, Spices and... Bacon??

So, what sorts of delicious, comforting, pleasurable, sinfully indulgent, serotonin-flooding, elitist treats are selling for Valentine’s Day this year?

“Well, the salted caramel squares are big sellers all year round,” she said. “The champagne chocolates are big Valentine sellers as well as the toasted sesame caramels. People seem to really respond to the spicy varieties… the dark chocolate and poblano pepper truffles are another favorite.”

Napoli offers classes that she says are enough of a primer to get attendees started making their own chocolate concoctions at home. Naturally, she encourages them to try new combinations, but just because she likes to experiment doesn’t mean she’s a fan of every chocolate fad.

“The bacon and chocolate craze? Not so much,” she said. “The creamy texture of a chocolate is the biggest sign of its quality. So, you have this beautiful, creamy chocolate event happening in your mouth and then what? You’re left gnawin’ on that bacon!”

“It’s not the flavors that bother me, it’s about the texture,” she added.

A Rolo Rock

Make no mistake: while Napoli may be a renowned chef and know quality chocolate from processed garbage, she still falls prey to the same sweet tooth cravings that haunt us all.

“The worst chocolates don’t melt– you literally have to chew them,” she said. “It’s a lot like wine, and after you’ve tasted a lot of it you just know what’s good and what isn’t… which isn’t to say I won’t get up in the middle of the night and eat a frozen Rolo,” she said with a chuckle.

“I was so embarrassed – I cracked a bridge eating one of those and all my dentist could say was ‘Really, Lee? With all those delicious chocolates and pastries – a Rolo?’ The truth is that I don’t eat any of it all day when I’m working, but for whatever reason I’m up at one or two in the morning for some chocolate and a glass of milk.”