When Deb Morris was a teenager, she would get home from high school, rip open a Snickers candy bar, then wash the snack down with a glass of orange juice.

In the decades since, Morris’ palate has become significantly more refined and today she is owner of Barkeater Chocolates in North Creek.  

“I have always loved chocolate,” she said. “In my 20s, I realized there’s a HUGE difference between a Snickers bar and what you can get at a fine confections shop.”

After moving to the region 15 years ago — when, Morris said, “you couldn’t find really good artisan chocolate in Hannaford, Walmart and Target like you can today” — she started experimenting with making her own.

“I’d make truffles or whatever and sneak them into social gatherings,” she said, explaining how she placed them in a generic box. “I’d just put them on the table and not say a word, then linger and see what people were saying about them.”

She learned enough to open Barkeater Chocolates, an award-winning specialty chocolate shop. Now, she teaches a class on chocolate at Seasoned as part of SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary program.

“The students learn very quickly that chocolate is finicky and it’s not something they’re going to conquer in a day,” she said. 

The class focuses first on what not to do with chocolate, since there are, Morris said, “a thousand ways to ruin it.”

They learn to temper chocolate, then make truffles and bark, experimenting by adding different elements.

“There are some people who take the chocolate class and it’s just fulfilling a requirement for them — they’re not in love with chocolate,” she said. “But I think they end up with a greater appreciation of it.”