The holidays are a time when lots of chocolate will be both given and eaten. Chocolate is ubiquitous, one of the most widely consumed foods on the planet. You can find some of the most decadent candies at drug stores or local markets.
It’s possible that the chocolate you buy at the store is made by some far away food conglomerate. And then there’s Fantasy Chocolates, which is run by a local man with a kitchen and a few molds.
I met Bob McNally while roaming the hallways of the Entravision station at a networking event on Dec. 3. That evening, several hundred working professionals gathered for an informal meet-and-greet event sponsored by the Santa Maria Professionals. McNally was one of a handful of small business owners invited to showcase their products at the event.
He was wearing a U.S. Navy veteran cap. Being a Navy veteran myself, I struck up a conversation with McNally and it turns out that he’s a former Navy diver. His service spans the latter part of the 1970s, early ’80s, and he also continued this line of work as a civilian. Knowing that divers are among the saltiest of sailors in the Navy, it may seem a bit out of character for McNally to become a chocolate maker later in life.
But maybe it’s the sweetness or the independence of being a cottage food maker that drew McNally to make chocolates. Since 2012, food entrepreneurs in California have been able to make and sell their products from home. One of the advantages of such a license is being able to skip the massive overhead costs that come with having to acquire all sorts of commercial-grade equipment and renting or buying an actual space.
Santa Barbara County allows for two classes of cottage food operators, classes A and B, with the latter allowing the operator to sell directly to retail outlets instead of only from person to person. Anybody can apply for such a license, although there are some restrictions. From Carpinteria to Santa Maria, there are hundreds of cottage food operators in the county.
For at least the last year, McNally has been the proprietor of Fantasy Chocolates. He makes his confections at home and sells them directly to the public.
Before he got started, he purchased several items from another chocolatier that was going out of business. McNally wanted an actual store, but that became too expensive. So he politely asked his roommate to live somewhere else and set up a small chocolate factory inside his residence, where he makes candies on a part-time basis.
McNally spent many hours learning about chocolate, burning chocolate, and throwing away chocolate in the effort to understand how chocolate works.
“It’s just so hard to set a store up,” McNally said. “It’s not like I can quit my job and do chocolate all of the time.”
He doesn’t actually make chocolate, but instead he buys it in bulk and melts it down and conforms it to his various molds and designs, which number in the hundreds. McNally’s products range from boxed chocolates to cake toppers, decorated bars, cheesecake- and pecan-filled truffles, and centerpieces.
McNally always carries items ready to sell, but he also produces fresh, made-to-order chocolates. He carries sugar-free chocolate as well. The chocolaty items listed on his website cost $10 or less.
“This is the time of year when I start to get busy,” McNally said.
For more information on Fantasy Chocolates, call 332-3941 or visit fantasychocolates.net. For more information on cottage food operators licenses, visit cosb.countyofsb.org/phd/environmentalhealth.aspx.
Highlights
• To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Café is holding a three-course anniversary dinner paired with wine. Tickets to the event are $75 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and seating is limited. Tickets can be purchased at losolivoscafe.com under “special events.” For more information, contact Matthew Negrete at 688-7265, Ext. 214, or email matthew@buysantabarbarawines.com.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2015.