Once a luxury only within reach of the wealthy, chocolate has become the No. 1 flavor choice in our own time, with the average American consuming over nine pounds per year. Theobroma, the botanical name of the cacao tree, means "food of the gods," and todays serious chocolate fanciers seek that small taste of heaven in the form of handmade chocolates. Among this elite group of confections, perhaps none are more delightful than Harbor Sweets®, the whimsical, nautically inspired chocolates of candymaker Benneville Strohecker.

       "Im not a candymaker," protests Strohecker. "I wasnt interested in candy per Se. Even though I say making the best piece of candy in the world, regardless of the cost, was my imperative, the real attraction for me was the marketing challenge. I always believed in the concept that if anyone made the best of anything or performed the best service, no matter the cost, there were people who would perceive the value of that product or service. Ive always drawn on experts, whether its making the candy or developing financials. I dont know much, but I know a lot of people who do, and I know how to use them. Thats what I enjoy most.

       A marketing executive for ten years with Schraffts, a then-struggling Boston-based mass manufacturer of candy Strohecker had access to the worlds candy experts brought in by absentee owners as consultants. "My job was to keep them out of the way because their suggestions would have cost money the company didnt want to spend." The company may have found their advice too costly to implement, but Strohecker listened, asking each of them, 'if you could only eat one more piece of candy before you die, what would it be?"

       The candies produced by Harbor Sweets are a direct result of the most frequently heard answers: homemade chocolate almond butter crunch; smooth dark chocolate; an old-fashioned chocolate-covered caramel made the way they were years ago with fresh cream, butter, and a little corn syrup, sugai and honey; and almond bark--chocolate broken into irregular pieces with whole toasted almonds. These dream candies became Sweet Sloops®, Marblehead Mints®, Sweet Shells®, Sand Dollars®, and Barque Sarah®, respectively Strohecker began his experimentation at home on weekends, "getting out the Fanny Farmer Cookbook and burning things." When he hit on something good, he had the consultants sample the candy on their next visit. "They always had suggestions: 'Why dont you add a little salt, whatever."