In the rhythm of life at Hazel Hill chocolate shop, Valentine's Day is the last big event of a hectic few weeks. Nick Xidis, who owns the shop with his wife, Terry, says they run like crazy in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then they get a couple of weeks off in January to rest before starting on Valentine's Day. Afterward, things slow down until August, when they have to make chocolates for the coming Christmas season.
Such is life when you make every treat you sell. And Hazel Hill creates world-class confections. They have received nine international-level recognitions for various products, including the Whiskey and Spice chocolate that won bronze at the International Chocolate Awards World Finals in November 2022.
Nick makes the Whiskey and Spice chocolate, as well as other chocolate varieties, from bean to bar in the shop's basement chocolate room. This award winner is a bar of 72-percent dark chocolate made with fruity Tanzania's Kokoa Kamili cacao. In the nib stage, it soaks in Union Horse Craft Distilled Bourbon for several days. Then the nibs are re-dried, removing the water and alcohol and giving it caramel and oaky notes to pair with the fruity taste. The nibs are ground into chocolate, and Vietnamese cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla sourced from Moburts Spice Shop are added for the final flavor profile.
Hazel Hill chocolate is made to be savored, much like you would enjoy a nice glass of wine. Perhaps that's why it's the perfect gift for a day celebrating love. Nick describes it as feeling a bit sinful, but it's okay. He also points out that chocolate makes people happy thanks to a bit of help from the theobromine naturally found in cacao.
"It's a way to give somebody something that is a pleasure," Nick says. "For somebody you care about, that is something you want to do for them to show them you care. You want them to experience a little bit of indulgence and a little bit of happiness."
Unfortunately for Nick, chocolate isn't the ideal gift for Terry on Valentine's Day. Laughing, he says, "I get zero points for giving her chocolate. On the husband scale, I get nothing. My wife is a pragmatist. I'm the dreamer and the innovator. She is the grounded person in the relationship. I give flowers, and not just on Valentine's Day. Sometimes just because."
The couple has been married for 30 years. They have six children and eleven grandchildren. They met at a six-month-long training course in Oklahoma City while working for the Federal Aviation Administration on the computers that process radar data.
"Terry was one of the first women to be in that role. They didn't have ladies' bathrooms in the workplace when she started," Nick says.
They started as friends who enjoyed playing racquetball, but soon it grew into something more. There was just one obstacle. He lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she lived in Seattle, Washington. Once the course was over, they continued the long-distance relationship for two years before getting married when there was no Facebook or Zoom to make things easier.
"We were burning up the phone lines," Nick remembers. "My last shift of the week was a midnight shift, so I got off at 8 a.m. on what would be my Friday, and I didn't have to be back until evening watch on Monday. So, I would get off in the morning, get in my Saab, and drive from Albuquerque to Seattle. I would spend a day and a half with her, and then I would dead-head all the way back to be at work. I had the energy. I was young and very much in love with her."
They still go on dates just about every week. Nick says, "Like any marriage, ours is not perfect. You're not going to have a relationship where there's no conflict, or you see things differently. But we've always pulled in the same direction in life and always tried to understand from the other's point of view when we got crosswise with each other. Our faith has also been important. Having faith in your lives, that higher power, helps you weather things that you might otherwise not survive."
The couple opened Hazel Hill in 2005. Nick is a third-generation chocolatier. His great-grandfather and grandfather came to the US from Greece and learned about the chocolate trade in New York City. They shared that passion with Nick. The shop is named after Terry's grandmother.
The biggest-selling Valentine's Day product for Hazel Hill is its chocolate-covered strawberries. Since they can't make them ahead of time, they work around the clock on that day, covering hundreds of pounds of strawberries. Then they are boxed up or made into a bouquet reminiscent of a dozen roses.
Nick's advice, especially for "The Dudes," is to order ahead. "If you're coming in here at 4 p.m. on February 14th, you're going to be pretty limited in what you can get. If you want to do something that is special and you want the best, order early. But it's hard to make a mistake with chocolate."
Visit Hazel Hill at 724 S. Kansas Avenue or online at hazelhillchocolate.com.