Our Story

The name Chocolat Lily is for a wonderful wildflower that grows in the Columbia Gorge, Frittilaria lanceolata. On first glance, it is a brown bell-shaped flower, but once you take the time to look, it is magnificent inside, just like our truffles.

Chocolat Lily was started in 2008. The motivation was to create something beautiful, small and delicious ~ without compromise. Food tastes better when it is organic and local and with the knowledge that the growers and workers are treated and compensated fairly.

Along with the birth of the confection company came our other labor of love, a new bean-to-bar chocolate-making company: Cotton Tree Chocolate. Cotton Tree Chocolate in Belize employs local women who buy local beans. At this time, their products are sold only in Belize. Chocolat Lily uses Belize-made chocolate in some of its products.

Anne Pattison Simmons is the founder of Chocolat Lily. Her passion for creativity and her commitment to sustainable and ethical practices ~ organic ingredients, local produce, fair treatment of the people who supply cocao ~ culminated in the blossom of Chocolat Lily.

A Letter From Anne

All living things are interconnected. And we each have impact, small as it might seem.

In the natural world, nothing exists in isolation. The use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers affects the soil, rivers, lakes, and the air. One percent of these chemicals end up in our food, the other 99% in our drinking water and the air that we breathe. Insisting on organic is our attempt to tread lightly on the earth.

We have to get serious about cleaning up our planet and treating living beings with care and thought.

I make a commitment to using organic and fair trade chocolate. The chocolate I use is either from Belize or other organic growers. The cacao farmers in Belize are happy to farm as they always have, without expensive chemicals. They treat the rainforest and the cacao plants with respect and consider the harmonious relationship between soil, water and seeds.

Our other ingredients are local or regional, organic and seasonal. Fresh raspberries, blueberries, mint, and basil are from our garden. Wild huckleberries grow in the nearby mountains. Local farms supply organic cream and butter and many other yummy fresh fruits, nuts and herbs. Because the seasons are always changing – and because it is more fun to create different combinations – the ganache centers and decorating choices are always new and exciting.

Sourcing locally means that the fruits, dairy, nuts and herbs added to the chocolate are fresher, require less energy to arrive at market, and contribute to preserving local farms and landscapes.

Simple, recyclable packaging fits into this model for me.

I hope you enjoy Chocolat Lily truffles.

~ Anne Simmons, Chocolatier and Founder of Chocolat Lily

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