Poughkeepsie, NY
Keeping busy is something that Camille Capello has always been good at. In fact, it seems she always had a bit of a restless nature. When Camille was pregnant with her son, she had to be on bedrest,
“I went crazy. I made 150 jars of jelly that summer, I had to be home for three months, I was crazy.”
In the years prior to her son, just for something to do, Camille would make her infamous triple chocolate truffle cake for her husband’s coworkers. Time and time again her husband’s friends would tell her her cakes were incredible and that she needed to do something with them. The thought of starting her own business was bounced around every time her chocolate truffle cake arrived at her husband’s office, but finding the time and energy to get it off the ground seemed more like a dream than anything else. However, after making more jelly than anyone could ever actually need, Camille’s husband decided to intervene.
“Why don’t we start that business you were talking about?”
Working through an online service for assistance in the legal matters of starting a business, Camille worked to create a name for her business that would inspire her business for the future. She told us this was a very important part of starting out and that although it was tricky working with a lawyer online in California, they did a lot of the run around for her. For those who know her well, Camille is and always has been, the undisputed queen of chocolate, and that is more or less how she settled on Queen Choco.
“I’ve always loved candy and chocolate. I loved Willy Wonka as a child.”
It’s not just about the candy for Camille. It is about making something delicious but also making it look inviting. When Camille’s oldest son was a baby, she has been teaching early childhood education, and one of the most important parts of teaching for her was creating an inviting atmosphere for her students. When working with little kids, she found it very important to make the classroom fun and inviting. Presentation was always important, and she took that with her when she started her candy business. Camille aims to create things that make people say, “Wow, what is that?” so they cannot help but come over to satisfy their curiosity.
Camille is currently making her candies at the Poughkeepsie Open Kitchen, located in the old Underwear Factory in Poughkeepsie, NY. It is a shared-use commercial kitchen available for rent, Camille has been there for three years now. Coincidentally, she became connected with the committee working to build back up the Underwear Factory because she used to go there with her grandmother when she was a child. Before using this space, Camille was selling her chocolates at the Hudson Valley Marketplace on Salt Point Turnpike. That is until it closed, but Camille and her husband stuck around until the very end. Right after leaving the marketplace, Hudson River Housing had been in the process of trying to raise money to redevelop the Underwear Factory. Camille told us it felt like the project had been underway for years, but at the time she had put herself back into school to finish her CPA so finding a new “marketplace” wasn’t exactly first on her list of things to get done. Juggling being a mother, student, wife, and business owner, Camille told us she has to go with the flow of things, which usually means finding events and opportunities for her business as they come along.
While the Underwear Factory was still finding its new purpose, Camille had connected with an old friend, Alan Daniels, owner of Halftime Beverage in Poughkeepsie. Alan was excited when he found out that Camille had become a chocolatier and wanted her to start making things for his events. Camille said he took her under his wing, giving her exposure to a lot of different things and broadened her horizons as a candy maker. Her very first time using an alcoholic beverage for candy was at The International Beer Festival on Harbor Island in Mamaroneck, NY. Camille took a container that somewhat resembled a beer glass and created a chocolate using Brooklyn Brewery’s chocolate stout and Warwick Valley’s Doc’s hard apple cider for the head of the beer. Both companies were at the event. The following year Camille made a truffle out of Dogfish Head’s 60-minute IPA, incorporating their fish logo into her presentation. Another year she featured a candy with Nine Pin’s products.
At events, Camille really enjoys taking someone else’s product and showcasing it into hers,
“It helps me, it helps them, and it gets people looking, and thinking ‘wow that’s different’,” Camille told us. In fact, this has become Camille’s signature, “I’m really good at taking a product and making a candy out of it.” While incorporating alcoholic beverages have become the norm, playing with new ingredients is what Camille does best. For years, she told us, she always waited for her husband while he went into Halftime Beverage to pick up beer. Until one day, she decided to check it out for herself. She felt like a little kid in a candy shop, thinking about all the candy she could create with all the different kinds of beer. She even tried taking a sweet barbeque sauce and making candy out of it. However, it ended up turning out a little strange and she wasn’t quite sure it would be a hit among customers. For an event in Catskill, she made chocolate shot glasses and filled them with bourbon caramel using Catskill Distillery’s bourbon.
Camille’s main focus right now is doing events and collaborating with other brands, primarily between May and October. She has done events for Townsquare Media, Bad Seed Cidery, The Beer Bourbon and Bacon fest, Cider Fest, and many more. Between the many roles that Camille holds this pretty much fills up her schedule. Some of the local products she has incorporated into her products include Crimson Gold Cider by Ninepin, Black Dirt Distillery’s Bourbon, and Albany Distilling Company’s Deathwish coffee vodka. Southern Tier is also a company whose products Camille frequently uses, particularly their chocolate mint beer which she says is made with top-notch chocolate and in turn, creates an excellent candy.
Camille recently invested in molds for her chocolate with the Queen (her logo) embossed in them. This way she will be able to make chocolate bars to sell locally instead of only at events. The mold she’s created can be filled however she chooses. Being that she makes all her own fillings, the possibilities are endless. Camille was excited rattling off future ideas of chocolates with goji berries, vegan caramels, or liquor or beer-based fillings. Although these are exciting new ideas, they’re on the back burner for now. Being a one-woman show has its limitations, but she does get help from her family. She says her husband is her “taster” while her children, on the other hand, are thoroughly supportive in helping her eat what she’s created. Taster might not seem like a very important job but when you have 50 plus truffle flavors and live to incorporate new ones, the taster becomes an asset to your business. Camille also makes caramels, brownies, chocolate covered strawberries, toffee, cookies, cakes, smores, and more, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating sweets.
In addition to working with other entrepreneurs to promote their brands through candies, Camille finds it important to stay connected with her community, frequently volunteering at soup kitchens. It is clear that working with others and lending a helping hand is something that comes naturally to Camille. While working numerous events and using the Underwear Factory’s facilities, Camille meets many new business owners and entrepreneurs. She makes a point to always offers any help she can through the avenues she has found to be useful herself.
Officially a chocolatier for a little over 10 years now, what has become most important to Camille is finding a balance. Making candies is a passion that has kept her sane through many of the curveballs life has thrown her way, but she is also passionate about being a mother, a wife, and a student, and the last 10 years have shown her that she is capable of being all the things she loves. Not to mention being able to make any of her favorite products into a caramel truffle. For now, be on the lookout for chocolate bars in your local grocers with The Queen on them!
CONTACT
Phone: (845) 891-3095
Click Here to visit the Queen Choco website