MILLERTON — There’s wine tasting, beer tasting and even coffee tasting – but Millerton is adding something sweeter to the mix. A craft chocolate tasting event will mark the debut of Mudgetown Chocolate on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Tri-Corner Feed. Two free tastings will be held at noon and 3 p.m.
Mudgetown Chocolate is made in Millerton by Sharon-based chocolatiers using cacao beans sourced from all over the world. Saturday’s event will mark the official launch of the small-batch line at Tri-Corner Feed, one of the only places it will be available.
“Our goal is to delight the community with something special,” said Christophe Armero, chocolatier and founder of Mudgetown Chocolate. He describes his product as a “delicious, locally made chocolate that can’t be purchased anywhere else.”
The business began as a retirement passion project for Armero, who spent 38 years in the sugar industry. After moving full-time to Sharon in 2020 from Riverside, Conn., he and his wife, Jennie Baird, began experimenting with chocolate in their barn in 2022. “I realized quickly that it’s very easy to make mediocre chocolate,” Armero joked.
After becoming more interested in the process, he grew determined to master the craft. In 2024, he landed an internship at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, where he learned the tricks of the trade.
“It was a bit intimidating because I was this older guy and all the other chocolatiers were young and very professional,” he laughed. “But they taught me a lot.”
Today, Armero can speak fluently about each step of the chocolate-making process, from sourcing the bean and fermentation to roasting, cracking and “melanging,” most of which is done right here on South Center Street in Millerton.
Tri-Corner Feed’s incubator kitchen
Tri-Corner Feed has a bustling storefront where community members can find locally sourced produce, nutrient-dense groceries and even a chai latte – all with sliding scale prices. And there is just as much action happening behind-the-scenes in their fully licensed commercial kitchen.
It’s here that entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses like Mudgetown Chocolate can roll up their sleeves and create products in an affordable space without the burden of high startup costs.
Armero uses a small, 1-kilogram roaster in Tri-Corner’s kitchen, followed by a cracking and winnowing setup that uses a shop vac to suck out the shells and leave the nibs behind. Then, nibs spend 48 hours or more in a granite stone melanger, where they break down and release natural cacao butter. During this part of the process, the bitterness softens and new flavors develop.
Locally made, globally sourced
Armero and Baird purchase cacao beans directly from small farms and fermentaries in countries like El Salvador, Colombia and Uganda. The couple even traveled to Ecuador to visit one of their producers, prioritizing direct relationships whenever possible, which sets them apart from other commercial producers.
Armero said he hopes to bring more local partners into his chocolate business for future creations. “We’ve made some fantastic chocolate infused with whiskey,” he said, adding that he also has a vision of creating a chocolate bar with crunchy bread crumbs. His goal is to partner with local distilleries and bakeries to make this a reality.
Cacao beans sourced from farms in Uganda, used in Mudgetown Chocolate’s small-batch creations.By Aly Morrissey
Commercial chocolate vs. craft chocolate
Armero said the key differences between commercial chocolate and craft chocolate are “scale and objective.” Big-brand names rely on facilities designed to transform commodity beans into large quantities of uniform chocolate designed to meet the brand’s distinct taste.
Unlike these chocolate giants, Mudgetown Chocolate and other craft makers work in small batches, coaxing the best flavors out of beans. You might get a slightly different flavor with each batch. With only two ingredients in their dark chocolate – cacao and sugar – the results are highly dependent on the bean itself.
Armero said, “We’re always trying to get the best out of the beans.”
Mudgetown Chocolate, handmade in small batches using cacao sourced from farms around the world.By Aly Morrissey
A sensory experience
Armero and Baird describe their upcoming chocolate tasting as a full sensory experience, explaining that tastes can last from 30 seconds to a minute and evolve in that time.
“You get the top notes first, which are usually floral, lighter notes,” said Baird as she bit a chunk of chocolate. “Then you get the mid-notes which tend to be chocolatey and nutty, and then you get the end notes.”
The couple instruct tasters to crunch first, then let the chocolate melt on your tongue. They recommend breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose for the full effect. And, whatever you taste, Armero and Baird say it’s correct. “Everyone’s different,” Armero said. But everyone is right because it’s entirely subjective.”
The chocolate tastings are free and open to the public. They will take place at Tri-Corner Feed at 56 South Center Street in Millerton.
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Stephanie Haboush Plunkett
“The field of illustration is very close to my heart,” she said. Inspired by that example, she studied illustration at Pratt Institute and began her career as an illustrator before shifting toward museum work. An internship at the Brooklyn Museum proved pivotal. “It was inspiring to see the children come alive in front of art,” she recalled.
In addition to her curatorial work, Plunkett is the author of two children’s books, “Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Story from China” and “Sir Whong and the Golden Pig,” and has written or co-authored numerous books on illustration, including “Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School” and “Leo Lionni: Storyteller, Illustrator, Designer.” She earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and built a museum career that included positions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Heckscher Museum of Art before joining the Norman Rockwell Museum, where she has worked for 31 years.
But elevating illustration has meant challenging decades of critical skepticism.
“The goal has been to shine a light on this important American art form and to elevate public awareness of its artistic and cultural importance,”Plunkett said.
As a popular and widely circulated art, illustration is sometimes thought of as inferior to fine art, such as painting and sculpture. Plunkett considered why. She theorized that the 1913 New York Armory Show, the International Exhibition of Modern Art, with works by artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Duchamp, initially contributed to this evaluation. In the 1930s and ’40s, abstract expressionism became the art of the nation, and the rift widened further.
“Norman Rockwell became the antihero for many art critics of the time,” said Plunkett. “Illustration was viewed as too commercial and sentimental because of its emphasis on visual storytelling.”
Plunkett calls illustration “art with a job to do.” She explained, “Illustrators are adept at solving visual problems for their clients while expressing their own aesthetic and artistic vision.”
Visitors consider Norman Rockwell’s paintings on Civil Rights for Look Magazine, “New Kids in the Neighborhood” (1967) and “The Problem We All Live With” (1963.) L. Tomaino
She noted that the line between the fine and applied arts “is much more porous now, with many artists working across platforms and styles.” She cited late-20th-century illustrators like Marshall Arisman, Barbara Nessim, Robert Cunningham, Bernie Fuchs and Mark English as illustrators who forged unique approaches to working and seeing.
Plunkett commented that people want to see the original illustrations. “Generally, Rockwell exhibitions bring high attendance. Currently, our traveling exhibition, ‘Norman Rockwell: From Camera to Canvas,’ is at the New Britain Museum of American Art, but we’ve traveled Rockwell and illustration to 45 states and several countries, including Japan, France, Italy and Germany.”
Nowadays, illustrators take on subjects that are important to them. “The children’s book industry is committed to sharing the richness and diversity of people and cultures with young readers.” Plunkett cited the late illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s commitment to this goal. As a boy, Pinkney found no books portraying children like him, and “his life’s mission as an artist was to present inspiring, positive images of children of color.”
The Norman Rockwell Museum and Rockwell Center seeds were sown when “Rockwell placed the first 199 artworks in the care and collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum upon its founding in 1969, some of which he personally acquired for the fledgling collection,” said Plunkett. “The museum’s current Rockwell holdings include 865 original artworks, the artist’s Stockbridge studio and an archive of 400,000 photographs, letters, props and first uses of the artist’s work. We also hold about 25,000 illustrations by other artists, from the historical to the contemporary.”
“We call ourselves the home for American illustration. We have a real commitment to illustrators and what they’ve accomplished,” said Plunkett.
The Norman Rockwell Museum is located at 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
nrm.org
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