French-inspired chocolates, handmade desserts available at Fountain Hills chocolate shop
FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ (AZFamily)— A Fountain Hills couple has been serving handmade French-inspired chocolates in their community for the past two decades.
Chocofin Chocolatier first opened in Fountain Hills in 2001. The owners, Louis and Denise Mirabella moved to their current location near Fountain Hills and Palisades Boulevard, north of State Route 87, in 2004, where they make their delectable chocolates, pies and cakes.
The Mirabellas worked as pastry chefs before moving to Arizona in 1993 and began making chocolates and selling them to big resorts around the Valley.
After getting business from the resorts, the couple decided to quit their day jobs and bring Chocofin Chocolatier to life.
“This is our livelihood… We get to do what we love to do,” said Louis.
Chocofin Chocolatier may be a small shop, but their desserts and chocolates are big in flavor.
The shop handcrafts chocolates that are sold daily. They come in fun and unique flavors like frisson lemon, hot chile, banana macadamia, rum coconut, salted whiskey caramel, roasted raspberry, and sugar-free milk and dark chocolate truffles.
“We do make everything from scratch here, so they (customers) are going to find a real good quality product here,” said Denise. “We do specialize mostly in individual chocolates, and we pride ourselves on having a different recipe and using great ingredients for each one.”
Chocofin Chocolatier also creates various cakes, such as tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, ice cream cake and sugar-free flourless chocolate torte.
They also make pies, including the mixed berry streusel pie and chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Pies and cakes are also available by the slice. For those wanting a cool treat, the shop has a variety of gelato flavors to enjoy.
The shop can also make wedding cakes and favors, desserts for special events and personalized truffles.
The Mirabellas say their chocolate is French-inspired, which is reflected in the name Chocofin. Louis says he came up with the name while studying French chocolates.
Chocolats fins means fine chocolate in French, so Louis abbreviated the name to represent the French tradition they started with.
“People try these, and it’s not what they’re used to unless they’ve traveled a lot in Europe, maybe,” said Louis. He says this makes the customers appreciate the chocolate even more.
Chocofin also creates chocolate products to fit the season. For example, the shop sells brandy pumpkin pies, pumpkin cheesecakes and the popular chocolate turkeys for Thanksgiving. Chocofin Chocolatier will make an eggnog truffle, white chocolate Christmas figurines, and chocolate Santas for Christmas.
The Mirabella’s say their chocolates are made fresh, so they don’t last as long as the drugstore box chocolate that’s more sugar-based.
“We just put that little extra mile in to make it taste really good,” said Denise.
Chocofin Chocolatier
Location: 13404 N La Montana Dr # 2, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
Hours:
- Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Closed Sundays and Mondays
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