About Us

Chocolate Necessities ~ In the Beginning…

Kevin Buck, Founder

Chocolate Necessities stands tall among few original, discerning artisan chocolate companies in the U.S., founded in 1986 by Kevin Buck. His never-ending search for world-class chocolate began with a trip to Canada where he experienced Bernard Callebaut, a prominent European chocolate maker. (Well, that doesn’t count the time when Kevin was a youngster, raiding his father’s secret stash of candy bars and developing an early taste for chocolate!)

The Canadian trip, and a subsequent visit to the renowned Callebaut supplier in British Columbia, whetted his curiosity and ask questions, such as, “Why can’t we (in the U.S.) have this amazing chocolate?” And, “How can I source only quality chocolate with no compromises?”

Intrigue led Kevin to ask anyone he could in the industry. Many chocolate shop owners weren’t willing to share their information, but the right questions seemed vital to achieving the next level of industry-insider truth. He pursued a chocolate education (such as the Callebaut factory in Belgium with internationally-renowned instructor Jean-Pierre Wybau) to learn how to work with chocolate, then applied his own ingenuity and became a self-made chocolatier with top-tier, uncompromising products.

Valentyna Pasechniuk – Chocolatier

Artisan Pastry Chef, Valentyna Pasechniuk trained under Kevin at Chocolate Necessities and now works as Chocolatier to create a continual count of items for Chocolate Necessities operations in two locations.

Kevin has dedicated years to researching and tasting chocolate from around the world. And Valentyna experiments exceptionally with flavors. The usual milk chocolate we use contains 43% cocoa solids, and our go-to semisweet chocolate contains 57% cocoa solids. Equally important to Kevin: The ideal amounts of cocoa butter ensure that the chocolate melts properly, as only the highest quality couveture chocolate does.

That’s a hallmark of Chocolate Necessities–presenting you taste after taste of chocolate products you can’t find anywhere else this side of Europe!