Xocatl and chocolate have been working wonders for thousands of years—And local chocolate makers are stirring the pot
When local chocolate makers Peggy Davis and Rita and Susan Key reach into their cabinets, they’re probably not grabbing cocoa beans. But beans are where it all started.
According to legend, Dona Marina, an Aztec princess, whipped up a hot and bitter cocoa bean drink for her love interest in the jungles of Mexico. She used pods from the Xocatl tree, considered a gift from the gods, and threw in chili peppers to incite “amorous adventures.” (Her father, Emperor Montezuma, was said to have consumed up to 50 cups a day.) Apparently, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes liked it, because when he took off with the gold, he also took off with some beans.
Cocoa eventually spread from Spain across Europe. In England, the Brits were eating it up — except for the nuns — they were forbidden. Over its history, chocolate has been credited with magic, from love potions to curing colds, headaches and fevers.
Many of us crave chocolate on a daily basis, but from time to time we want to have something exquisite. That’s where local chocolatiers come in and they’ll be shining at ChocolateFest on Friday, Jan. 24, 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 25, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Jacobs’ Building in Chilhowee Park. Last year, 116 businesses and artisans were there to provide us with the best.
Peggy Davis, owner of Knoxville-based Divine Destiny Desserts, got started as a little girl making peanut butter cookies for her brother in the Navy. She later married a Navy man and became the mother of four girls and two boys. She says it was during this time that God revealed her future business.
She found herself expecting again, but knew something was wrong.
“I called my doctor and he said he told me to lie down in bed and relax and come see him on Monday. I fell asleep and had a dream that the baby was born and crawling. I was saying, ‘Come on, Destiny!’ Then I saw her going backward on a conveyor belt and knew God wasn’t going to give me that baby. I started crying in the dream and woke up. God said, ‘I’m not going to give you that Destiny, but I am going to give you your destiny.’ That would become Divine Destiny Desserts.”
Peggy’s now a grandmother and for the last several years has concentrated on baking and chocolate. She had to miss ChocolateFest last year, but in 2022 sold out. She’s versatile, making cookies, cakes, molded candy, cocoa bombs, whoopie pies, turtles, truffles and buckeyes. “You don’t have to be from Ohio to eat buckeyes,” she laughs. “I have so many ideas. I am so looking forward to ChocolateFest.”
The Chocolate Ladies will be coming in from Talbott.
“I took a candy-making class at a chocolate shop and I was hooked,” says Rita Key. Soon she outgrew her kitchen and moved to a commercial kitchen.
Daughter Susan Key remembers her mom making Rudolph suckers for her class at school. Now Susan works full-time in food safety, helping at the business on evenings and weekends. “The shop gives me a creative outlet,” she says.
One of The Chocolate Ladies’ specialties was born when a commercial sunflower grower wanted to get married in his sunflower field and asked them to do the reception.
In addition to large chocolate sunflower lollipops with yellow petals and miniature chocolate sunflower cupcake toppers, Rita created a doozy.
“I came up with this Tennessee Cow Patty,” she says, “dropping out chocolate and adding sunflower seeds. For the last several years, we have been fortunate to be able to send those to Nashville for an event called Ag Day on The Hill. They have milking contests and corn shelling contests, all to point out the role Tennessee agriculture plays. We also make cow patties, barks and cookies for gift baskets in guest rooms at the Opryland Hotel. We enjoy working with the folks at the Opryland Hotel.”
They’re also known for Rita’s own orange cream that’s dipped in milk chocolate and sometimes white chocolate.
“We’ve been at ChocolateFest every year [the organizers have] done it, since day one,” Rita says. Look for their barks, Valentine lollies and heart-shaped chocolate boxes filled with chocolate.
For more info on the event and local vendors, visit mychocolatefest.com.