02/10/17 Black Dinah Chocolates - Kate & Steve Shaffer

Rusty Atwood introduced our guest speaker Steve Shaffer, and his chocolate business, Black Dinah Chocolatiers.

(Photo: President Laura Young, Steve Shaffer and Rusty Atwood.)

In the spirit of American ingenuity, Black Dinah Chocolatiers was born to the “mother of invention,” who in this case turns out to be Kate Shaffer. The marriage of Kate and Steve Shaffer is an interesting story on its own. Neither Steve nor Kate are Maine natives, but they found their way to Vacationland and took to it in the adventurous, devil-may-care way as many newcomers do. The couple spent ten years off the coast of Acadia National Park, on Isle au Haut. They didn’t make the move with any expectations, but soon realized that you had to be determined and flexible to survive. 

Since they were set up on the island, they needed a way to make some money and Kate decided that everyone needs to eat, so she would get into cooking while Steve continued to work construction. The food business was not what they had hoped, so Kate gave it further thought and found a way to combine her fascination with chemistry, artistry, and food. That spawned the chocolate-making business and a little café to sell it out of. While Kate enjoys the making of chocolate, she doesn’t particularly love the taste and eating of chocolate, so she leaves that to others, especially Steve.

The product quickly gained a following, despite the limits of island life. While the location may have been limiting, it was fortuitous because it is close to Downeast magazine and caught the attention of restauranteur, Sam Hayward, who shouted the chocolate café out to the readers. Soon they got further recognition from Gourmet magazine and more orders came in. The motherload came when they got a call from Martha Stewart magazine telling them they intended to do a piece on the chocolate (pun intended!) and asked if they would be able to keep up with a huge uptick in business. This good fortune forced them to reconsider their location and the limitations imposed, including temp help and the logistics of shipping....so they had to move from Isle au Haut, but keep the spirit of Black Dinah alive. 

Their new-found Westbrook location and success brought with it some challenges. They have four employees to help them out. Steve is the marketer, while Kate is the maker. They have a host of regular corporate customers and the café is an attraction for the retail business, but the web-based marketing and logistics are a work in progress. Fluctuations in atmospheric conditions, particularly, temperature, can affect the taste of the confection. It also turns out that chocolate is best eaten at room temperature and in combination with other foods. Black Dinah procures the base chocolate from a couple of family farms located in Venezuela and Peru. 

Steve was asked what makes chocolate so popular? It comes as no surprise that the taste, not too sweet, of the Black Dinah chocolate is the premier differentiation. Plus it seems that chocolate is quite social and perfect to give as a gift and to share. If you’re looking for something extra special and unique, try the shaved chocolate and mix up a thick chocolate drink. 

If you’ve waited until the last minute to get something for your Valentine, head off to Black Dinah Chocolatiers Café and retail store located at 869 Main Street, Westbrook and pick up some truffles or shavings to save the day and the love of your life.