Bon Bons Chocolatiers in Huntington is ready for the Valentine’s Day rush.
“They go so fast,” says Eric Lobignat, “it is as if they were free.” Lobignat is the chocolate maker at Bon Bons Chocolatier in Huntington. He’s referring to one of the specialties of the house, chocolate covered cherries, that do particularly well this time of year. Sea salt caramels are another favorite. But, it is their truffles, in seven varieties, that keep the team the busiest. Lobingnat estimates during the week prior to Valentine’s Day, they hand make close to 21,000 of the bite-sized treats.
In addition to the smaller chocolates, the Bon Bons creates larger hand-molded pieces: anything from cupids to stilettos and large keys (as in ‘key to my heart’). Lobignat picks up a bag containing a pair of chocolate handcuffs. “These sell very well,” he says.
Run by the mother-daughter team of Mary Alice and Susannah Meinersman, Bon Bons has been a Huntington mainstay for close to 30 years and Lobignat has been their chocolatier since 1992. Prior to his arrival on Long Island, he worked in Paris at La Maison du Chocolat, as well as at the legendary Michelin three-star chef Marc Meneau’s L’Espérance in France. While rightly known for their chocolates, Bon Bons sells all manner of candy and confections, as well as gifts ranging from stuffed animals, decorative wares, books and toys.
Looking around the workshop in the back of the store where he creates the chocolate, Lobignat points to a wall lined with racks of trays. The racks are loaded down with thousands of handmade chocolates. “By Valentine’s,” he says,”these will all be gone.” That includes all the handcuffs.
Bon Bons Chocolatier
319 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743
631.549.1059
