Orange County man shares love for family, community through Warwick Chocolate Company
Chef Victor Gelman opened the Warwick Chocolate Company five years ago.
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Chef Victor Gelman is hard at work on another batch of his famous apple pie chocolates, one of his special fall-themed treats for his shop, Warwick Chocolate Company.
"We make a lot of different truffles," he explained. "We have a large selection of candy bars, we do a lot of seasonal stuff, and most importantly ... we cross-collaborated and integrated a lot of locally produced items that we integrate into our chocolate and offer to local residents. If we look around the store right now, you can find things from Warwick Valley Winery, Warwick Valley Olive Oil Co., Ochs Orchard, Pennings Orchard [and] Greenwood Lake Coffee Roasters. The list goes on and on. We have so many local collaborations that I'm proud of."
Gelman opened the Warwick Chocolate Company five years ago, but his chocolate-making journey started with a trip to Brooklyn in 2009.
"My wife and I were walking through Dumbo, and we walked past this really famous chocolatier," he explained. "She was like, ‘Oh my God, look at that shop!’ I'm like, "I've never heard [of] this place.' She's like, ‘What do you mean? He's the most famous chocolatier in New York City!’ We went in there, I got taken for a quick $150, and for weeks, I kept hearing about how great it was."
After that day, Gelman knew he had found a new way to impress his wife.
"For a moment there, I said to myself, ‘Wow, if I get a job for this guy, even for a couple of weeks, this is going to do wonders for our relationship,’" Gelman said. "I applied. They hired me with no experience. I ended up staying there for almost a year, learned a thing or two, and [have] been doing this ever since ... Prior to being there, I didn't know anything about chocolate at all. I saw what's possible. I saw what beautifully and perfectly processed chocolate can look and taste like."
From there, Gelman's chocolate-making became an act of love. As the years went by, that love only grew - along with his family.
"This entire store was founded with my family in mind," he said. "All three of my kids come and help at different times ... and a lot of the flavors are decided on by my lovely wife ... I wake up every morning, and I try to find a way to impress her. So, a lot of the new stuff I do at the shop is literally just for her."
That love for his blood family soon extended to the community.
"I love this town," Gelman said. "I love its people and I love having a store here ... We have so many loyal and good customers, [who] are actually more friends than customers at this point. I have this rule [that] if five people ask me to make something [new for the shop], then I turn around and make it."
Gelman even went the extra mile to gain an increase in male customers. So, he decided to incorporate his love of fishing into his shop and develop even more of a connection with community members.
"Ninety-seven percent of all our customers are female," he explained. "We have struggled to be relevant with the male clientele. At one point, we said, 'Well, what if we put this giant fish on the wall and see what happens?' Next thing you know, I have male customers coming in all the time and saying, 'Is this the shop with the giant fish on the wall?' It starts a conversation. We make new friends and we get new customers."
In addition to his chocolate truffles, candy bars and collaborations with other local vendors, Gelman offers special products during the holiday season. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, he is currently offering large chocolate turkeys that you can fill with treats like popcorn or Italian cookies.
"[The turkey] has possibly been one of my best-selling items for the past 10 years or so," Gelman said. "It is neither solid nor hollow, and it is full of caramel popcorn. What I tell people is if you have your favorite Italian bakery, [you can also] bring me a pound or two of your favorite Italian cookies. I will stack them nicely inside. Then, at your holiday table, you can smash the turkey. You have chocolate, you have cookies. You have a lot of fun. The kids love it. It's great."
Warwick Chocolate Company is located at 16 Railroad Ave. in Warwick. Orders for the chocolate turkeys and all of Gelman's other creations can be placed either in person at the shop or on his website.
