The company makes a lemon meringue
chocolate with cookie ganache encased in
a white chocolate shell with hand-carved
lemon zest.
Raspberry liqueur truffles created by Genesis
Chocolates.
Continued from Page 6
“We felt like this was it,” Sforcina
said. “Everyone has been so welcoming
and friendly and helpful. People here are
relaxed and like to enjoy life. Astoria felt
like home the minute we got here.”
Cordova added that they felt the North
Coast’s cooler temperatures would benefit
the business, as cravings for chocolate are
always in season.
Genesis Chocolates’ production facil-
ity is the commercial kitchen at the North
Coast Food Web.
Program manager Caitlin Seyfried
believes the company fits the nonprofit’s
mission perfectly.
“It’s a small business started here
locally,” she said. “There’s a difference
between buying nice chocolates from them
and buying something that’s not made here
from a big box store.”
The duo have a set division of labor. “I
make the chocolate,” said Cordova, “And
Lachlan makes me look good— and does
everything else.”
According to Cordova, making chocolate
can be finicky, primarily in terms of tem-
perature variations, which also allows for a
great deal of experimentation.
“The idea is to make a lot of differ-
ent recipes and see how people experience
them,” said Sforcina. “Chocolate is obvi-
ously awesome, but if you have new recipes
it becomes exciting and fun.”
Their handmade creations are shaped
like gems and cracked on top to resem-
ble geodes. The idea stems from Cordova’s
passion for geology.
“Maybe it comes with the name Gene-
sis, maybe with being born on Earth Day,”
she said. “When I look at rocks I see some-
thing that’s special. Chocolate is special to
pretty much everybody. Making truffles is
like finding a treasure.”
Peter Korchnak
Peter Korchnak
Sforcina displays a new batch of Genesis Chocolates.
The pair’s next treasure hunt is the quest
for the perfect vegan chocolate truffle.
Sforcina and Cordova are both vegan, but
they aim to dispel the stereotype.
“It can be healthy but it can also be fun
and maybe a little naughty,” said Sforcina.
Cordova added that the pair is also
focused on running a business with a mini-
mal footprint on the environment.
“People don’t realize how much impact
chocolate has on the planet,” she said,
emphasizing that their goal is to source only
fair trade ingredients. “We want to change
the world for the better and be that change
that we can be.”
Their motto, “be a little bad, do a lot of
good,” reflects their outlook. Five percent
of their profits will be donated to support a
refugee assistance charity in Jordan where
Sforcina used to work.
Genesis Chocolates offers online sales
with shipping in the U.S. and pickup or
delivery as part of the North Coast Food
Web’s weekly Small Farms Market Day.
They’re also trying a unique business
model, a luxury truffles subscription ser-
vice. Chocolate lovers can sign up online
to have truffle boxes delivered on a regular
weekly or monthly basis.
“You can have your favorite chocolate
regularly,” said Cordova, adding that the
subscription also allows people to try new
flavors.
“Chocolate is such a treat,” she said.
“We want people to feel special.”
Genesis also plans to feature their prod-
ucts in area grocery stores and eventually at
their own cafe.
For the holidays, Genesis Chocolates
created a special combo box headlined
by the dark chocolate peppermint truffle,
topped with crushed candy cane and edible
gold dust, plus raspberry liqueur, pumpkin
creme brulee and bourbon butterscotch truf-
fles. In addition to the weekly market at the
food web, Genesis Chocolates will appear
at a number of holiday-related events on the
North Coast.
Cordova worked at a major independent
chocolate company before launching Genesis
Chocolates this year.
Each chocolate is handcrafted in the North
Coast Food Web kitchen.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021 // 7