RUFFIN PREVOST Billings (Mont.) Gazettte | Posted: Monday, February 13, 2006 12:00 am
MEETEETSE, Wyo. (AP) - Like many of the cowboys on the rodeo circuit, saddle bronc rider Tim Kellogg has a second job doing ranch work. But he also spends much of his spare time making chocolates.
And not just any chocolates, but the kind folks stand in line for.
"At Christmastime, his chocolate truffles and candy, really whatever Tim was making, it was all so popular we had people waiting outside the store for us to open up in the morning so they could buy it," Jody Horvath said.
Horvath owns Reindeer Ranch in Cody, a gift and home decor shop on Sheridan Avenue that carries Kellogg's truffles and other gourmet candies from his popular line of Meeteetse Chocolatier confections.
When she moves the store to a larger space next door, Horvath plans to add a display case featuring an expanded line of goods from Meeteetse Chocolatier.
"I'm calling myself his satellite store," she joked.
Kellogg's kitchen and original retail outlet are in downtown Meeteetse, where he has lived for the last four years.
Before opening the store in September 2004, Kellogg made truffles as holiday gifts for friends and family, carrying on a tradition he learned from his grandmother.
"She never wanted anyone in her kitchen, so the only way you could get to lick the beater or the spatula was to help her out," Kellogg said.
"All of a sudden, one day I realized I knew how to make all this stuff."
Kellogg was saving money for a new bronc saddle two years ago, when his mother recommended he try selling his truffles at a summer art fair in Cody.
"I didn't want to because it was a lot of work, and I thought they wouldn't sell on the Fourth of July in the hot weather," he said.
"But I ended up selling out, which was quite a surprise."
After getting steady requests for more from friends and locals, Kellogg decided to rent a Meeteetse storefront and open Saturdays only. His goal was to start small and keep things simple.
"I've never been that scared to get on a bronc, but the morning I opened this store, I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into," Kellogg said. "I was really nervous."
Word of mouth and steady repeat business kept the store growing. And things really took off last year after Kellogg opened a Web site and ramped up for what turned out to be a busy holiday season.
Kellogg has more than 30 varieties of truffles, along with brownies, cookies, cheesecakes and other confections, all made by hand from fresh, local ingredients.
His best-selling truffle has a center flavored with Coors beer, an idea that started as a joke.
"I'm usually drinking a Coors when I'm cooking," Kellogg said. When a customer asked what new flavor Kellogg was working on, he joked about a Coors-flavored truffle.
"Then I thought, 'Why not? Let's try it.' "
It has since become a favorite, and he has added a similar chocolate-flavored truffle with Guinness, a dark Irish brew.
His latest creation is a jalapeIno-flavored truffle, which Kellogg says isn't hot, but has a mild, tangy kick.
"It's something different, and that's half the fun of getting chocolate, trying something new," he said.
New for Valentine's Day is a champagne truffle, which Kellogg is offering with a set of champagne flutes with hand-painted hearts.
He's also teaming with a day spa and coffee shop next door to offer a Valentine's Day Meeteetse Block Party package, which features a slice of cake, a 15-minute massage and a cup of coffee for $15.
Husbands and boyfriends who are jealous types might want to steer clear of sending the ladies of their heart to Kellogg's store on Valentine's Day.
His boyish good looks are as popular with many of his female customers as his chocolates.
Horvath said, "When all the women actually meet him, they say, 'Oh, my! And he makes chocolate, too?"'
On the Net: http://www.meeteetsechocolatier.com