Dean's Sweets (Portland, Maine)

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to participate as a judge in Taste TV's Boston Luxury Chocolate Salon.  After the judging was over, I wrote about a few of the chocolates that really stood out to me.  One of my favorites was a delightful Maine Sea Salt Caramel Truffle made by Dean's Sweets in Portland, Maine.  When Dean himself commented on my blog that I should stop by the next time I'm in Portland, I knew that a visit to Dean's Sweets was a must last weekend and I emailed Dean to make arrangements to meet him.

I arrived shortly after the store opened at 11 AM and I spent the next hour falling in love with not only the delicious truffles, but also the lovely folks behind Dean's Sweets.

Owners Dean and Kristin Bingham

Dean Bingham is an architect who started making chocolates out of his home kitchen to "do something different."  For the past ten years, Dean has been hand-dipping each of his truffles into gorgeous edible art.  These days, Dean is still an architect but no longer making chocolates at home and has been working out of Dean's Sweet's store location for about two years now.  But no matter the location, Dean's attention to detail hasn't changed as he experiments with new flavors without compromising on quality.

These Super Cayenne truffles pack a serious punch!

Dean's wife Kristin is also a vital part of Dean's Sweets.  Kristin was previously Dean's business coach and it seems as if love blossomed over chocolate.  I'm not sure I can't blame either of them as these decadent chocolate truffles can only encourage feelings of love and romance.  Kristin continues to handle the business and marketing operations of Dean's Sweets and her presence is most evident in the precious packaging of these delightful treats.  

Over the course of an hour, Bret and I got the chance to sample some fabulous truffles while we talked with Dean and Kristin.

I learned that while the Rum and Brandy were Dean's first truffle flavors, the Salt Caramel truffle is by far the most popular.

Salt Caramel Truffles

But Dean keeps it interesting with flavors like Lemon Apricot Chevre, which was inspired by a friend who requested chocolates using her farm's goat cheese for a slow food event.  I've tried chocolates that incorporate goat cheese before and haven't been the biggest fan but the goat cheese flavor in these were mild and went well with the citrusy notes.

We sampled so many different flavors as Dean and Kristin told us the story about how these flavors came about and the trial and errors as Dean experimented with the consistency and flavor of each truffle.  Although we could have talked about chocolate forever, the four of us ended up chatting about so many different things from the local food movement....to nut allergies (all of Dean's Sweet's chocolates are nut-free)...to their favorite spots in the city (which include their neighbor Hugo's and  Veranda Thai).  

By the end, Bret and I wanted to buy every single truffle and invite Dean and Kristin out for cocktails.  We managed to show some self-restraint as we purchased a box of eight for ourselves, along with a box of eight and a box of four as gifts for friends.  In full disclosure, while we purchased all of our chocolates at full price, Dean and Kristin also gave us a few of their pumpkin truffles and their bacon butter crunch truffles for free.  

I cannot recommend this place enough.  The truffles are all beautifully dipped, packaged and designed.  While you can certainly order these truffles online, I seriously urge you to stop by their store the next time you're in Portland so you can meet Dean and Kristin and fall in love with Dean's Sweets the way I did.  

Dean's Sweets is located at 82 Middle Street, Portland, Maine.  You can also order their chocolates online by visiting here.