For more than 50 years, three generations of the Krautheim family have been crafting the finest quality, premium artisan chocolates. It all began on the island of Oahu, Hawaii with Gertie Han. As a young girl growing up on Oahu, Gertie worked for a wealthy Austrian family where she learned to create delectable European desserts. However, a burning question stirred within her, “how do I make chocol
ate candy?” and she set out to teach herself. After she met and married Carl Krautheim, she discovered he was a chocoholic. They were a perfect match for each other. Living in Honolulu, Gertie was making chocolates in their garage for family and friends. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Gertie shared her chocolates during the black-out to help people calm down. Carl, a military man and a non-smoker, traded his ci******es for chocolate bars. Gertie called her kitchen her “laboratory” and would often cook late into the night perfecting many of her recipes. Carl and Gertie tested a variety of the world’s finest chocolate in order to produce the perfect dark, velvety truffle. They both enjoyed chocolate made in the French tradition, with a strong, rich chocolate ‘bite.’
Gertie also developed rich, buttery caramels as well as delightful creams, all drenched in French chocolate. Carl and Gertie’s success in producing the finest, world-class chocolates is due to their unwavering insistence on using only the highest quality ingredients. Gertie was determined to create the perfect confection that would make a chocolate lover sigh “Ohhhhh! Chocolate!”
Eventually, Carl and Gertie moved to the mainland, opening a chocolate shop on Mercer Island. That shop has been open for 27 years and is now a family icon on Mercer Island. While Gertie was creating chocolates, Carl managed the store. Customers described Carl as an “extremely likeable man” and he was well known for handing out samples to everyone who came to one of the stores. This tradition continues today. There is an atmosphere reminiscent of times gone by when each person is treated as special.
