Marble & Steel Craft Chocolates LLC

Marble and Steel Craft Chocolates is a handmade craft chocolate online boutique located just south of Asheville NC. Serving locally and the greater WNC area, as well was online orders for domestic shipping. We specialize in chocolate bon bons, chocolate bars, custom orders and a variety of chocolate specialties. We carefully hand paint and airbrush each mould, working in small batches to deliver an exquisite chocolate experience that we take great pride in creating.

About us!

 My name is Molly Cook and I created Marble & Steel with my husband John officially in early June 2021. We both have spent our professional careers as chefs working in some of the most prestigious pastry shops, hotels and restaurants in the US. Our love for chocolate is what eventually lead to us both to become chocolatiers at a factory in Fort Myers, FL (where we first met!). After making chocolates professionally for many years in Florida, we decided to move to Asheville, NC to start our family.
We missed doing what we love, and decided to use our skills as artisan chocolatiers to bring a wonderful and well received product to WNC. Through the encouragement of our families and colleagues, we took a leap and decided to get back into our craft. We started making and selling our own chocolate bon bons, and the response that we received was incredible! The inspiration to push forward and create our small business was set and Marble and Steel Craft Chocolates LLC was born.

 

From a young age chocolate has always been a part of my life. I was born and raised in the heart and soul of central PA, two miles east of Hershey. In addition to living in "Chocolate Town USA" my grandfather was a third generation chocolatier of his family owned chocolate and candy business in Towson, MD called "Glaubers Fine Candies". The home that he grew up in was converted into a chocolate factory, complete with copper pots to make taffies, brittles, and chocolate enrobing machines to supply his many stores. My childhood was spent running around retail stores sneaking peanut butter cups and staring in awe anytime I was in the factory watching the workers create delicious chocolate confections.
This foundation lead me to pastry school at the Pennsylvania school for culinary arts. There I studied under the infamous chef Susan Notter. It was from that baking and pastry program I spent my internship in Fort Myers Florida at Norman Love Confections. Working as a full time chocolatier in one of the busiest high production chocolate shops in the country allowed me to grow from the many talented chocolatiers. I learned a multitude of chocolate making skills, met famous chefs, taught chocolate classes,  and  competed in nationally recognized competitions. I was awarded "Chocolatier of the Year" along with peoples choice in 2016 and assisted my husband to win the US Pastry competition in 2017.

John was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From a young age he loved to learn, build, and create using food as an artform. After spending countless years cooking and baking with his family, John pursued his passion to become a chef by going to culinary school. He attended The Florida Culinary Institute, located in West Palm Beach where he earned degrees in Culinary Arts and International Baking and Pastry. In addition, he traveled to Montreal and studied an advanced chocolate course at the Cocoa-Barry school of chocolate.

John started his professional career working in various upscale restaurants, which led him to the Ritz- Carlton resorts in West Palm Beach, and the Ritz Tiburon in Naples, FL. He then followed his passion to work with his favorite medium, Chocolate! He started working at Norman Love Confections, located in Fort Myers, FL. Where he rose from entry level chocolatier, to production manager and then ultimately head pastry chef. Over a span of almost 15 years he created cutting edge pastries, custom chocolate showpieces, taught chocolate and pastry classes, created a custom line of pastries featured on Princess Cruise lines, and competed in many state and nationally recognized competitions. He was awarded first place in the Florida pastry challenge, and Pastry Chef of the year at the US pastry competition in 2017. 

John is currently the executive pastry chef at the historic Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. He leads a kitchen where his team supplies decadent cakes, breads, pastries and high end specialty desserts to the resorts many outlets. He is in charge of building and decorating the life-size gingerbread house featured in the lobby of the hotel each holiday season. John also is on the judging panel for the National Gingerbread house competition that is held each year.