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Just in time for Christmas: kosher chocolate Santas

Have a very kosher… Christmas?

Sounds like an oxymoron, but the strictly kosher Schakolad Chocolate Factory in Davie says their Christmas-related pieces sell like… hot latkes.

Among their items: chocolate Santas, toy soldiers and snowmen. There are also holiday vases filled with biscotti, lollipops and pretzels.

That this is a store that is certified to cater to religious Jews is of no consequence to Christmas shoppers. Some non-Jewish vegetarians prefer a kosher seal of approval to make sure no animal products are used in foods designated as dairy only – especially in items like marshmallows which are often made with gelatin. And for the lactose-intolerant, the store has “pareve” (also spelled parve) foods, which means no meat or milk is used.

Kosher dietary laws, a staple of orthodox Jewish religion and culture, prohibit mixing dairy and meat. The owners of this Schakolad – a national franchise– are a mother and daughter team of Argentinian immigrants, Adriana Schaked and Dafne Reich. They pay extra for the kosher supervision, which means a supervisor shows up regularly and unannounced for inspection. The supervisor from the Orthodox Rabbinic Board of Broward and Palm Beach Counties (known as the ORB) may come every day and stay all day, or pop in once a week.

The inspector combs through the refrigerator and makes sure the candy makers are using only kosher ingredients and following strict standards of cleanliness. He even scrutinizes employees as they wash strawberries to make sure everything is being done by the book (among other things, each piece of fruit must be soaked and individually dried by hand).

“Our strawberries come out spotless,” said Schaked. The chocolate, which is made in Belgium and California, arrives here in 50-pound boxes and is melted and molded on site. The fragrance of cocoa beans fills the modest-sized storefront at Nova Plaza.

Tonight marks the beginning of Hanukkah, and the Chabad Israeli Center, a synagogue in Boca Raton, ordered a giant chocolate menorah – 5 feet wide and 4 feet high – that children will dig into with spoons. The synagogue specified the menorah should be made of pareve dark chocolate, that is, without any milk, in case somebody has a hamburger dinner at home before coming to the Hanukkah party.

“I called a bunch of factories and they are amazing, they took the risk,” said Henya Hertzel, the rabbi’s wife, who ordered the edible menorah. When she came to the store to place the order, she did a double take when she saw employees making up “tons of baskets” with Christmas themes.

Love of chocolate is about as universal as anything in life gets, the store owners say.

“People love to give out good chocolate for Christmas,” said Schaked. She recalls being in Nazareth, Israel and visiting the Elite chocolate factory—the local equivalent of Hershey’s—and seeing “a production line of Easter eggs.”

“It’s not just for Jewish people,” Schaked said. “We want everyone to eat good chocolate.”

[email protected] or 954-572-2008

Chocolate with Bill & Sheila

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