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Syracuse, N.Y. — Adam Brian Kaiser didn’t plan to be a chocolatier, at first. Born and raised in New York City, Kaiser studied science at Queens College and earned his bachelor’s degree in geology. He kicked off his career in NYC as an environmental consultant. But after moving to Syracuse five years ago, he started making bonbons as a hobby. When his wife and friends raved about his flavors, he toyed with the idea of launching a chocolate brand. “I wanted to do something I was passionate about, something I was excited to talk about, something that creates community,” said Kaiser. “It’s scary and pushes me out of my comfort zone.” Kaiser quit his job in environmental consulting in 2024 and spent some time as a baker at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que to learn how to work in a commercial kitchen, while perfecting his chocolate recipes. He formed his business, Adam Brian Chocolat, last winter and launched in-person sales at the Utica Wine & Chocolate festival last May. There, Kaiser sold $1,800 worth of bonbons. “It was great; it was not what I was expecting,” he said. “It encouraged me to keep going. If it weren’t for my wife being my biggest cheerleader, this would not exist.” This fall, Kaiser began sharing a kitchen with the team behind Sweets for Babe, a new banana pudding cafe. He makes his artisanal chocolates in the lower level of the McCarthy Mercantile in downtown Syracuse, piping fillings, mixing fruit gels and compotes, and hand-painting each confection by hand. Kaiser’s geology background came in handy, as he found “a lot of overlap” between science and chocolate. “Cocoa butter is actually a polymorphic material,” he said. “The chocolate temper is actually one of the crystal forms of cocoa butter, and it helps to understand those conditions on a chemical level.” Tempering gives chocolate its shine and firm snap, and allows it to remain solid at room temperature. Kaiser grew up loving the scenes in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” where people pull candies off trees to eat them. “I love creating something that feels magical, something people wonder how it’s created,” he said. “I love demystifying those things.” He prefers Gene Wilder’s Wonka over the Johnny Depp and Timothée Chalamet versions, to be clear. On his social accounts, Kaiser shares videos chronicling his painstaking process to make each small batch of chocolates. He spends four days crafting each bonbon variety, from Earl Gray Orange to Pistachio Kataifi Dubai. On Day 1, he makes the top decorations of each chocolate either with airbrushes or hand tools. The next day, he creates the thin outer shell of the chocolate. Day 3 is all about filling. He pipes in up to three layers in each confection. In his s’mores bonbon, for instance, he layers homemade marshmallow, chocolate ganache and a graham cracker base. On Day 4, he adds the chocolate cap at the bottom to seal all the flavors into place. “You build the chocolate from top down,” Kaiser said. “You eat with your eyes first. It has to look as good as it tastes. It tells your brain what to expect.” Kaiser sources his chocolate from producers in Colombia and Switzerland. He tries to source local agriculture for his fruit fillings. For the fall season, he made apple caramels using Gala apples from Navarino Orchards. Of all his flavors, Kaiser’s favorite bonbon is dark chocolate raspberry. Around Central New York, Kaiser admires the work of the chocolatiers at Gretchen’s Confections in Marcellus and Gabrielle’s Chocolates & Ice Cream in Manlius. Kaiser sells his chocolates online and at Wildflowers Armory in downtown Syracuse. His chocolate gift boxes range in price from $10-$30. Chocolate fans can also find his bonbons for sale at these upcoming holiday events: • Nov. 29: Syracuse Wine & Chocolate Festival • Dec. 6–7: Colloca Estate Christmas Market • Dec. 12–14: Syracuse Craft & Holiday Festival • Feb. 7: Buffalo Wine & Chocolate Festival
