The sweet tooth

Sweet (and spicy) tooth
These aren’t your grandmother’s truffles, though she might have loved them. Such exotic flavors as honey chipotle lavender, Chinese five spice or wasabi ginger — like nothing you’ve tasted before — it’s all part of Kate Dunbar’s wildly imaginative plan to set your sweet tooth on its ear.

Mother of invention
When Dunbar enrolled in business training at Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV), it was with every intention of starting a business — just not this one. Discovering that a permit for her infused spirits venture would not be forthcoming, and facing a deadline to announce the venture, she saw very few options. “So I just stood up and said, ‘My name is Kate Dunbar, and I specialize in awakening your five senses through food.’ I didn’t know what I was saying, it just came out: ‘I’m the owner of Petite Rêve Chocolates.’ I didn’t even realize it was going to be the name until then, but it’s always been something I loved. Petite Rêve is French for little dream. It’s like every dream; it starts out little, then we make it grow bigger.”

Imitations need not apply
Dunbar hails from the deep roots of Ventura’s farming families — McGrath and Coultas — a pedigree that informs every choice she makes in her kitchen. “I come from a farming family; we started Ventura County 145 years ago, so getting food from farmers and making something from it — it’s who I am,” she explains. It’s a simple idea that proves revolutionary to some. “One competitor came over to me and said, ‘What do you mean you only use fresh ingredients? We just buy the flavors and the additives and the pre-made ganache.’ That stuff is available, the salesmen keep calling me — I’m just not interested.”

Dare to dream . . .
Petite Rêve’s official coming-out party was the recent Casa Pacifica Wine & Food Festival, and Dunbar’s unusual blends were a smash hit with both patrons and purveyors. “I knew I’d created something really good when the prep chefs were sent over to my table to grab desserts for some of the head chefs — and then a few minutes later the head chefs themselves came over to see what was going on.”
. . . Then dream big

In a market replete with treats, Dunbar’s recipe for success comes from the freshness of her fare and a determination to do things her own way. “In the planning stage I wondered, ‘who’s going to buy them?’ ” she recalls. “Well, people who don’t want crap in their food, who are tired of preservatives, who want to eat fresh food.” In an age of exploding nutritional awareness, it’s a market that will surely keep growing. “Part of my plan is to go into restaurants that want something created for them if their pastry chef doesn’t have time,” she explains, “or can’t afford a pastry chef and want something special outsourced. The bridal market is another target, with our spice brownies and French macaroons — and our crepe cakes for Mother’s Day, they’re fantastic.”

Eat, drink and be merry
“I hate seeing women bored in the grocery store,” she confides. “I just want to put my arm around them and say, ‘Oh, come on, let’s go find some stuff together! Let’s do something, because that box you’re holding, that’s just bad for you.’ ”

Petite Rêve Chocolates may be ordered online by visiting www.petiterevechocolates.com. Dunbar hand-delivers orders to residents in Ventura County and other addresses in So Cal.