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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1984)
Chocolate entrepreneur blends tasty concoctions for Eugene ‘chocoholics’ By Julie Shippen Of the Kmerala One could say that Janele Smith is in the business of making people fat. It may not have been her original in tention when she opened shop a year and a half ago, but the obvious delight Smith takes in seeing the sweet-toothed individual contentedly indulged is enough to invoke speculation. As sole proprietor of Fenton & Lee fine chocolates — the latest chocoholic craze to hit the area since the Monster Cookie — this spry woman takes great pride in making some of the Northwest’s most delectable confections. Smith’s preface to the chocolate making business began as a leisurely in terest. “It was a hobby when I was a preschool teacher,” she admits. But hobbies sometimes have the tendency to blossom into full-time oc cupations and with a little encourage ment from her family, friends and others in the business, Smith entered into the chocolate-making profession. “It’s very time consuming. I think that was the biggest shock of leaving teaching and realizing how much time it really takes,” she says of business management. ‘‘I do have Sundays off right now,” Smith adds with a note of firm resolution. She estimates spending anywhere from 50 to 60 hours a week at the new Fenton & Lee shop on 13th Avenue, beginning early every morning melting chocolate and preparing fruit-and-nut centers and finishing the day in her of fice with the bookwork, she says. And in between those hours. Smith plays'the roles of dishwasher, sweeper, sales representative and retailer. She has some assistance, however, in the form of four part-time people who help her dip, pour and pack the chocolates. Hired help includes her two teen-age sons, whose middle names were the in spiration for the business’s name. Ap parently they have no objections to working every day after school at their mother’s shop. For a business only halfway into its se cond year, the staff size makes its own statement of success. “We have doubled (profits) in the first year,” she says Caucus explores ‘gender gap’ The so-called gender gap can be a powerful tool to gain political leverage for women in both parties this year, say organizers of the Oregon Women’s Caucus state convention to be held at the Eugene Hilton Saturday. The gender gap refers to the dif ferences in voting patterns between men and women, says caucus member Deborah Romerein. For ex ample, she says, a recent poll by CBS and the New York Times showed there was a 24 percent difference in responses when Republican men and women were asked if they thought Pres. Ronald Reagan should be elected for a second term. Alice Travis, the National Women’s Political Caucus’s representative to the Democratic national convention, will give the keynote address. Other speakers will include state Sen. Margie Hendriksen, D-Eugene, and state Rep. Mary Burrows, R-Eugene. The caucus is bipartisan, and the convention will cover strategies for gaining political influence for woman in both parties. The convention begins at 9:30 a.m. and will run until 6:30 p.m. A fee of $35, $30 for caucus members, covers lunch, a reception and entertainment by local feminist comedians. For more information, contact Cheryl Hunter at 747-9935 or Margo Schaefer at 342-2240. Photo by Michael Clapp Janele Smith mixes up another tasty batch of Fenton & Lee chocolates for sugar junkies throughout the Northwest. matter-of-factly. Fenton & Lee now has around 25 outlets in Oregon and Washington, and Smith says the number grows with every passing week. Local retail outlets in clude Reed & Cross, Valentine’s and the recent addition of the EMU Main Desk, where the chocolates have caught on well despite the per-chocolate price of 35 cents to $1. “I think students think they’re expen sive, but they buy them anyway,” says one of the Main-Desk employees who prefers to remain anonymous. Apparent ly the end outweighs the means, but not without reason, she says. ‘‘You’re get ting a good quality chocolate, plus it’s made in Oregon.” One of Smith’s secrets is that she uses locally-grown ingredients in her chocolates, which include strawberries, apples, apricots, pears and an equal variety of nuts that she roasts herself. Specialties include the Strawberry Frost, made of quick-dried berries dip ped in milk chocolate and again in white chocolate; Hazelnut Crowns, of crisp nuts set in molds of dark and light chocolate; Orange and Apricot Glaces, made of fruit slices dipped in chocolate that look as good as they taste. Smith also works with special mold shapes, such as two sizes of hearts wrap ped in gold foil, seashells made of minted chocolate, and ducks cast from an antique mold her sons talked her into buying. All together, Fenton & Lee produces about a dozen different types of fixes for the chocoholic, and Smith plans to add a caramel to the list, she says. Chocolates are also sold in boxed amounts that run $4.98 for a 6-ounce selection and $13.50 for the 1-pound size. It was these seasonally offered gift packages that kicked off Smith’s career, as her chocolates were sold mostly by wholesale from the company’s original location behind Pasta Plus on 11th Avenue. Though she spends entire days melting, dipping and pouring chocolate, Smith says she is quite able to keep her fingers out of the pots, and her self indulgence is only occasional. “I go on binges,” she says. One of Smith’s part-timers, however, pipes up with a different story on the matter. ‘‘I’ve never seen you eat a chocolate since I’ve known you,” says Jane Wagner, who is busy rolling fruit-and nut balls. “When you see 50 pounds at a time, it’s hard to think of eating it,” she explains. Smith’s family, on the other hand, can always find room for sampling. ‘‘They have daily doses. They have to stop by and get their fixes.” Her son, Nathaniel, is already on his way over for one. Classifieds HOLIDAY DEADLINE: Due to the July 4 Holi day, the deadline for the July 5 issue of The Emerald is changed from Wednesday, July 4 at 1 p.m. to Tuesday, July 3 at 11 am. In order to have a classified ad in the Thursday, July 5 paper you must have it into one of our outlets by 11 am on Tuesday, July 3. The office will be closed on July 4. HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY! EMERALD CLASSIFIEDS 686-4343 CLASSIFIED ADS CAN BE PLACED AT ODE Office, 300 EMU UO Bookstore Stamp Countar EMU Main Dask Garage Sales 1978 12 PASSENGER Dodge van typewriters, desks, mlsc 2806 Sorrel Way Friday and Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm. 6 28 3038 For Sale EURYTHMICS T-SHIRT, Buttons, Posters, Fan Club & More! For informa tion send SASE to Eurythmics 6363 Sunset blvd , Hollywood, CA 90028 Dept. J-4.6-28 Rf A 13” COLOR TV for sale Excellent condition, sharp color Call 342 7264 7-3 DELUXE KODAK disc camera, still in package Cost new, $115 Call 686-0812-. 6-28 UNUSED SPARE watch, Seiko men s digital Sports 100 Alarm, solar battery, waterproof *79 o.n.o 687-0446 6-28 HAYES MODEM FOR APPLE MICROS INCLUDES MANUAL AND SOFTWARE FOR DEC INTERACTION $200. PHONE 683-7517 Buy & Sell THE BUY « SELL CENTER Buy Sell-Trade Used electric guitars and amplifiers. 361 West 5th 613:UH Instruction LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR WORKSHOP: BEGINNING GUITAR MUE 408G, 3 credits, P/NP, 1:30-3:20 MUWH, July 16-August 10. Ideal for BEGINNERS & MUSIC EDUCATORS: Topics covered: Song accompaniment, melodic playing, music notation and fundamental technique. INSTRUCTOR: DAVID CASE: 342-6826 3008:6-28 1 FREE Soda ! plus in<>oFF I \J any slice Offer good Monday-Sunday 11:30-Midnight, Mon.-Fri. 3:30-Midnight, Weekends 1211 Alder on Campus 686-9598 Sy's New York Pizza pm* « MMdd WrUM aesnufunT Featuring fine SZECHUAN & CANTONESE Dining Buffet: 11,00 a m 8 00 p,m 11 00 a m, 3 30 p m • Dinner: 4 JO p.m. 10(00 p.m , Sun Thuts 300 p m 10:30 p m Mon. Thurs. Fri £. Sat Fri. & Sat 1275 Alder 1 Orders to Co 683-8886 Cash For Textbooks Mon. - Fri. Smith Family Bookstore 768 E. 13th 1 Block From Campus 345-1651 rnm COURSE BEGINS IN EUGENE Saturday, July 14th 8:30 a.m. Science Bldg. II Room 21 KAPLAN EDUCATIONAL CENTER Test Preparation Specialists Since 1939 For information. Flease Call DIM SUM Every Sunday 11 a.m. 3 p.m Sushi or Dim Sum Lunch Special And Try Us for Dinner CHINA BLUE Restaurant 879 E. 13th 343-2832 Thursday, June 28, 1984