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Burlington, Vermont - January 30, 2008

Linda Grishman chirps, "Chocolate is really universally-loved!"

With an accent like hers, Linda Grishman gets a lot of questions. She rolls her eyes, saying, "People say, 'Where are you from? You're not from here.' I'm not Australian, I'm not a New Zealander, I'm not British, I'm not Scottish."

She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a family of certifiable chocoholics. Chuckling, Grishman recalls, "We would get chocolate from Switzerland, or France. I grew up eating really good chocolate!"

Her sweet tooth got even sweeter when she moved to New York in the 1980s. Grishman was working for a nonprofit when a friend introduced her to candy making.

That friend was a limo driver for the singer Peggy Lee, and would actually borrow the performer's wheels to deliver treats to gourmet markets like Dean & DeLuca.

Grishman says, "[Lee] had a live show on Broadway. [My friend] had the limousine all day so he'd pick me up. There I was with our packages and we'd go deliver them."

But the chocolatier put the brakes on that limousine lifestyle when she moved to Burlington in 1991. Grishman beams, "I am sweet on Vermont!"

In fact that's now her business name: Sweet on Vermont. She churns out dozens of premium chocolate bars an hour to feed wholesale accounts around the state and country.

The businesswoman says, "Chocolate is something people crave. And in a bad economy, it's actually almost recession-proof."

Grishman brags she's had offers to help dramatically expand her operation, but she has resisted, explaining, "I don't want something I can't control."

She wants to keep it in her home on a level where she knows who supplies her truffle ingredients like fresh Vermont cream, and where everything is hand-made.

When asked if she eats her mistakes, Grishman laughs, "We don't make many mistakes, but yes!" This reporter would make mistakes intentionally.

Even an experienced confectioner knows there's plenty of flavor combinations she'd like to experiment with. Linda Grishman says, "I really like what I do because it's not a boring thing."

These treats are keeping a transplant from South Africa rooted in the Green Mountains, with her "Made in Vermont" indulgences.

Linda Grishman smiles, and says, "You can't find a person who doesn't love Vermont!"

Grishman also teaches chocolate-making classes. To visit her website, click here.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont