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Chocolatiers Make South Carolina Life Sweeter

Christina Miles cools chocolate in a mold from her vat of liquid chocolate.  The Columbia chocolatier uses chocolate from Belgium and France to make her own unique candies, and hand-paints them with icing.
Tut Underwood/SC Public Radio
Christina Miles cools chocolate in a mold from her vat of liquid chocolate. The Columbia chocolatier uses chocolate from Belgium and France to make her own unique candies, and hand-paints them with icing.

Chocolate is one of life's great treats for most folks.  Traditional, mass-produced chocolate candies have been enjoyed for generations, but lately, specialists have been making chocolates in South Carolina.  Columbia chocolatiers Christina Miles and Joseph Vernon have developed their own unique varieties of chocolates. 

Miles says eating high-end chocolates has spoiled her mother, and admits that once you've had the finest hand-crafted sweets, it's hard to go back to ordinary chocolates.  But despite his fussiness over his own confections, Vernon declares his democratic tastes.  "I'll eat anything that’s even remotely chocolatey.  It’s like pizza, the worst I ever had was great."  It's all a matter of taste, and Vernon asserts. "How do you quantify quality?  You know it when you see it."  And with dark chocolate being recognized by some as healthy, anybody who enjoys chocolate – responsibly – is a winner.

Tut Underwood is producer of South Carolina Focus, a weekly news feature. A native of Alabama, Tut graduated from Auburn University with a BA in Speech Communication. He worked in radio in his hometown before moving to Columbia where he received a Master of Mass Communications degree from the University of South Carolina, and worked for local radio while pursuing his degree. He also worked in television. He was employed as a public information specialist for USC, and became Director of Public Information and Marketing for the South Carolina State Museum. His hobbies include reading, listening to music in a variety of styles and collecting movies and old time radio programs.