LaRue Fine Chocolate

LaRue Fine Chocolate was started by Elizabeth Logan  McDaniel in 2015.

Making hand rolled truffles with her niece as a Christmas  tradition became the inspiration for her company. Jessica’s father,  Elizabeth’s brother, died in 1998 when Jessica was 7 years old. Elizabeth was  looking for ways in which she could be active in her niece’s life. After a  few years of failed candle making experiments and other crafty projects going  awry they settled on chocolate…who doesn’t love chocolate, right? During this  time Elizabeth was working as a fine wine representative for a distributor in  the upstate of South Carolina. She started giving her chocolates to some of  her customers as Christmas gifts. The feedback she received from chefs and  restauranteurs sparked the idea that this could be more than just a hobby.  Elizabeth’s husband, Sean, gave her a chocolate making course and the  chocolate and confections textbook from The Culinary Institute of America one  year for Christmas. In the fall of 2014, Elizabeth quit her job and hopped on  a plane to Vancouver to take a Master Chocolatier course. She has received a  Professional Chocolatier certificate with honors as well as achieving the  rank of Maitre Chocolatier from Ecole Chocolat.

Since 2015 LaRue Fine Chocolate has built a strong base of  loyal customers. The company has been featured in The Greenville News, Edible  Upcountry, TOWN magazine, HuffPost, and the Greenville Journal.  The chocolates have been sold online,  through wholesale outlets around the upstate, at events, and at the TD  Saturday Market in downtown Greenville in the Spring and Fall. The most  frequently asked question Elizabeth receives is, “these are beautiful, where  is your shop?”. I am excited to finally have an answer to that question!

LaRue Fine Chocolate has signed on for a 1500 square foot  space at Poe West in the Village of West Greenville. Guests will be welcomed  in to grab a “chef’s choice” box of chocolates to go, create their own  chocolate box, or sit down in the café area to enjoy a glass of champagne and  one of the many decadent desserts -think raspberry chocolate mousse, bourbon  pecan pie, vanilla bean crème brulee, as well as a cheese board- that will be  offered. Elizabeth is a Certified Specialist of Wine and sometimes assists  her husband with Homebrewing. She will be creating a small, but awesome wine,  bubbles, beer, and cocktail list for the space. There will be coffee drinks,  teas, hot chocolate with her house made marshmallows, and creative  non-alcoholic cocktails. Once open there will be “roll your own” chocolate  making events, chocolate classes, and truffle and beverage pairing events.    

The company is named after Elizabeth’s Mother, Dora LaRue  Smith Logan. Dora was a badass-she served in the Army, was married to a  Captain in the Marines, raised 4 boys and then gave birth to Elizabeth at  almost 40. She was strong, kind, gentle, and full of love—not to mention one  hell of a scrabble player. She died in 1996 and is greatly missed.

Elizabeth believes that what sets her chocolates apart  from others is her curiosity. She has traveled to Mexico, Canada, Italy,  Egypt, Germany, The Czech Republic, Chile, Thailand, Spain, France, and  Belgium. In most of these places she has taken cooking classes and toured  vineyards and wineries. She loves eating and drinking all the amazing flavors  that other cultures have to offer. Her years spent in the wine industry gave  her an understanding of flavor profiles and achieving balance on the palette.  When you taste LaRue Fine Chocolate you experience all the layers of flavor  and the love and effort that go into each of her creations. She hopes that  every bite tells you a story, takes you on a journey, or simply puts a smile  on your face.      

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