Katrina Markoff
by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
May 17, 2005
Vosges Haut-Chocolat represents the success story of a female chocolatier working hard to realize her own vision and also her own chocolate empire. Katrina Markoff, owner and creative force behind Vosges, found inspiration from traveling around the world to study food after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu. Inspired by the spices and food markets in Asia, Katrina developed her line of “exotic truffles.”
Vosges’ motto is “travel the world through chocolate.” Katrina aims to introduce the cultures, peoples and histories of the exotic ingredients to her customers and she wants to tell the stories of these in the common language of chocolate. An ambitious and admirable feat. In line with the Slow Food movement, Vosges encourages modern society to take the time to not only enjoy chocolate, but also to enjoy the experience of eating and sharing at large.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat is based in Chicago, where Katrina started her chocolate business in 1998. She created the chic image for Vosges with signature purple gift boxes that resemble hat boxes. Purple is a personal favorite for Katrina, a fervent yoga practitioner. The color represents the seventh and highest chakra relating to consciousness as pure awareness. The chocolates in the gift boxes are single tiered but sit on an elevated platform in the tall box, which accentuates their elegance. They are so gracious-looking that you almost don’t want to touch them, but who are we kidding?! Let your mouth share in the joy that your eyes are experiencing!
Click here to read about our craving from Katrina Markoff at Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
