Julia Child once said, “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” Little did she know her words were falling upon the ears of a young Dorian Isenberg who was trading in his post elementary school playtime in Houston, Texas for a TV date with Ms. Child every afternoon. There he would sit mesmerized as she turned raw ingredients into a finished product. After the show was finished, he would work in the kitchen with his mother preparing that night’s dinner using techniques he learned from each episode.

By age 11, Isenberg had moved on from basic meals to full-fledged epicurean creations, such as the Chateaubriand he whipped up for his parents 25th anniversary. His teen years were filled with more cooking, reading cookbooks, experiments in baking and, of course, eating. This trend continued through his 20s where he attended culinary classes, watched endless amounts of cooking shows, started experimenting with pastries and dabbled in the wonderful world of chocolate. His wife Jayme was a big fan of Teuscher Swiss chocolates, and he knew he could woo her with his own twist on the technique.

In November 2005, Dorian Isenberg’s knowledge of precision and logistics gained from years in the watch making business came full circle to merge with his perfectionist palate for great chocolate with opening of the J. Dorian Chocolatier storefront at 5312 Belt Line Road. Retail demand for Isenberg’s product was almost instantaneous, with customers placing holiday orders before products were even in the case. J. Dorian also provides chocolates to local hotels, restaurants and companies such as the Dallas Museum of Art, Nordstrom, Dr. Delphinium and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. Today, business continues to thrive with December 2006 sales almost tripling that of 2005 and with single orders as large as 8,500 pieces.

Featuring large glass windows and a place to sit and nibble, the J. Dorian storefront allows visitors to watch the creation of a wide variety of European-style truffles, chocolate bars and chocolate-covered delicacies. Isenberg samples each batch to make sure it meets the standards he started in his kitchen long ago. Among the best sellers are milk-chocolate covered macadamia nuts, dark chocolate-covered cornflakes, liqueur-flavored chocolates and 72-percent “special dark” ganache squares. A complete product listing can be found on the company’s Web site at www.jdorian.com.

When not concocting new chocolate goodies, Dorian Isenberg can be found sharing his know how and passion teaching classes as institutions such as Sur La Table and Cake Carousel. Isenberg lives in Dallas with his wife and business partner Jayme and their daughter.