Chocolate brings bliss to Kent entrepreneur

Kent Coffee & Chocolate Co. owner Sandra Champlain has found her bliss -- and it's spelled C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E.

The 45-year-old entrepreneur is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her shop at Main Street by delving deeper into her love of chocolate, the confection she came to enjoy while a student at the Culinary Institute of America.

Chocolate has given her the "rapture that refreshes (her) life," as philosopher Joseph Campbell defined the term "bliss" in the 1970s.

Champlain recently recorded a CD, "The Law of Chocolate," in which she recounts the history, cultural uses and joys of chocolate eating.

From use in medicinal practices to that of haute cuisine chocolatiers in 17th-century France, chocolate has intrigued and served cultures since rain forest cacao pods were first processed by ancient people, Champlain's CD says.

"While at the CIA, we had a three-week course about candy making and chocolate," Champlain recalled. "I loved it -- playing with it, smelling it, eating it.


Tags:  coffee entrepreneur confection refreshes culinary campbell bliss