Biting into one of Zuzu Candies’ fresh lemon and vodka truffles, you’re hit with something exquisite and, oddly, unexpected: the refreshing kick of real lemon, made smooth and decadent in a fresh dairy ganache, and wickedly easy to consume in its cozy chocolate shell. Just over a month old, Zuzu (not named for the tear-jerking line-deliverer in It’s a Wonderful Life, but from the Urban Dictionary’s slang for “goodies, superfantastically wonderful in a fantabulistic way”) is the creation of chocolatier Valerie Lamke, whose foodie roots date to 1900, when her family emigrated from Austria to San Francisco and opened the Vienna Bakery. Her great-grandfather insisted on the best fruit for his pastries, and, doing what any wildly meticulous sort might, bought some orchards in Petaluma.
Lamke, whose foray into artisan candy-making represents her second-act career (after years in clinical mental health), is similarly fanatic about the quality of her ingredients, the cleanliness of her space (no toxic products here!), and the taste of her treats, which include truffles, caramels, fudge, marshmallows, and, coming in 2014, traditional nougats, including a Persian recipe featuring rose water and pistachios, a French variation of honey and roasted almonds, and the Americana, with vanilla bean and peanuts.
A winner of 2013’s Best Chocolatiers & Confectioners in America Award, Lamke trained at the Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Chicago, and test-drove her handiwork at Los Angeles’ farmers’ markets, where she’s a certified vendor. But she set her sights on Santa Barbara for her storefront, having fallen in love with the town while two of her three children did time at UCSB. (Also, we have good weather for the delicate diva that is chocolate.)