The Sweet Life: La Parisianne Creates Award Winning Chocolates In The Windy City

Robyn Rice-Foster is a chocolatier that not only puts soul into her creations, but also jazz, blues, and a little Lenny Kravitz.

The founder of La Parisianne du Chocolat began her career in sweets less than a decade ago, but she quickly made a name for herself by making treats for a Vera Wang promotion at Macy's, serving her chocolates to Oprah's guests, and in 2009 winning the first ever Chocolate Bliss Recipe Challenge at the "World Of Chocolate" fundraiser for Chicago's AIDS Foundation.

The winning recipe was the Milk Chocolate Sweet Potato Pie truffle. When other chocolatiers seem to gravitate towards cayenne and lavender, Robyn plays with ingredients that remind her of her mother's cooking. She presented at the World Of Chocolate again this year and she brought me some of what she'd be sharing before the event. Her Southern Peach Cobbler truffle, made with fresh pureed peaches, is like a rich, sweet pie surrounded by chocolate. Her German Chocolate Cake truffle is a whole piece of the cake in one decadent bite. And the Green Fairy? Absinthe - the real stuff - infused dark chocolate. Wow.

Robyn is also influenced by music. Who she's listening to at the moment can inspire what she creates. Lenny Kravitz brings out fruit flavors. Jazz, especially Coltrane's son, translates into chocolates that are smooth and creamy. Her Whiskey Truffle Ball, made with Jack Daniels, came to her while she was listening to Chicago jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes. She didn't know what the name of the song was at the time. So what was it? "Sonata in the Key of Jack Daniels."

As the name of her company might indicate, Robyn loves France and eventually wants to open a boutique in Paris. In addition to her creative truffles, many of her pieces can be mistaken for fashion items. She's made shoes and jewelry that are entirely edible, like the necklace and bracelet pictured above: they're made of chocolate!

You can order her fantastic chocolates (gift idea!) online, and check out her promo video below.