All Things Chocolate
The “hub” for chocolate on the westside of LA!
Our Chocolatier
Ruth Kennison
Ruth Kennison studied the art of being a chocolatier at The French Pastry School, the Callebaut Chocolate Academy, as well under M.O.F. Stephane Treand. Her infatuation with chocolate began with her first job in high school at a prominent sweets shop in Boston, where she grew up. Since then, Ruth has followed her dessert passions around the world – taste-tasting vanilla beans in Tahiti, selling homemade madeleines in Sydney, honing her chocolate skills in Asia alongside a former pastry chef from Spain’s El Bulli Restaurant and with chocolate greats in Paris.
Most recently, Ruth has been traveling around the “chocolate belt” of the equator, learning as much as she can about where our beautiful chocolate comes from. Ruth is passionate about educating children and adults about every aspect of the cocoa bean. Ruth launched her own chocolate company and website called Bonaparte Chocolate, and she insists that all her new concoctions be tested by her husband, David, and son, Sebastian.
Shop Chocolate
Chocolate at The Gourmandise School
The Gourmandise School sells milk and dark specialty chocolate in small and large sizes from premium chocolate makers like Cordillera and Republica del Cacao. This chocolate can be used for everything from making cookies to tempering. We also sell a variety of premium chocolate bars from fair trade organic companies with high transparency.
Visit or shop or give us a call to order: (310) 656-8800
Santa Monica Chocolate Society
Tastings, Discussions & Guests
The Santa Monica Chocolate Society is a club of sorts that celebrates and savors the finest, rarest, most delicious chocolates on Earth.
Once a month, we gather to taste regional bean-to-bar chocolates and explore everything chocolate, often with a guest speaker ranging from cacao farmers to craft chocolate makers themselves.
Led by The Gourmandise School chocolate expert Ruth Kennison, the group is inspired by her many adventures across the equatorial “chocolate belt” and her work with craft chocolate makers. Ruth shares whatever’s fresh and exciting from her wonder cabinet of carefully curated bars and bonbons at each gathering. Interested in more? Check out our blog posts for tips and resources for buying craft and baking chocolates.
Vive la Révolution!
A new generation of craft chocolate makers is reinventing the way we produce and eat chocolate. Like beer and coffee, these specialty makers take great care with each step of their process, from who’s growing the beans (and whether farmers are being paid fairly) to subtle nuances of flavor through roasting, fermentation, and other techniques. These small-batch artisans aim to bring quality and transparency back to a chocolate industry dominated by giant mega-brands that mass-produce confections for consistency of taste and high profit. In the new chocolate revolution, the focus is on fairness, freshness, and flavor. No Bonbon will be Left Behind!
Learn more about chocolate from our blog post “For the Love of Chocolate”
UPCOMING CHOCOLATE CLASSES
Chocolate Workshop: Craft Chocolates from the Bean to the Bar
Saturday & Sunday, August 5 & 6
2:30pm – 6:30pm
Friday Bakes: The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Class
Friday, September 22
10:00am – 1:00pm