Calgary's cchu chocolatier wins international award

A Calgary chocolatier's gin and tonic truffles have just won her fledgling business some major recognition in foodie circles.

Anne Sellmeris the only Canadian to be named one ofthe 2017 International Chocolate Salon'stop 10 best chocolatiers and confectioners in America.

"My jaw hit the floor when I saw it," the six-star grand master chocolatier winner told CBC's The Homestretch.

After taking a 12-year self-proclaimed "hiatus"to stay home and raise her three kids,Sellmer recently decided it was time to diveinto her passion for food and launch a home business.

"We always teach our boys to find what they love, and figure out what they're passionate about and do that. I sort of stopped and thought about, 'Wait a second, I need to take my own advice.'"

The name of Sellmer's resulting venture, cchuchocolatier,was inspired by the names of her three boys: Cole, Charlie and Hugo.

Experimenting with flavour

Sellmer makes all ofher chocolate in her basementkitchen.

Theshelves there are lined with chocolate molds for her shell designs, which she hand paints with coloured cocoa butter and fills withganaches, caramels andliquers.

Sellmer says this latest award gives her nascent business real credibility in a city with many well-established and talentedchocolatiers.

Still, she's focused ondistinguishing her brand with unique flavour combinations, whichincludes experiments not only with Hawkins Cheezies, but also ingredients like sriracha, sea salt, nuts and sponge toffee.

"It's spicy, and it's salty, and it's sweet, and crunchy andmelty. It's so wonderful, and it's different," she said.

Despite having opened just recently, Sellmer is already tossing around ideas about expanding her small studiointo a real storefront and hiring new staff.

"I'm just getting orders left, right and center, and faster than I can produce. It's amazing. It's wonderful."

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With files from The Homestretch and Mike Spenrath