Our Story

It all started with a party 15 years ago. Partners Joe Guiliano and John Down needed simple finger foods to serve guests at one of Down’s art exhibitions. Experimenting in their kitchen, they created a batch of dark chocolate truffles. People went nuts and talked all night about how good the chocolate was. Encouraged, they developed new flavors. When Florence Fabricant, a New York Times food writer, tasted their rosemary-walnut truffle and wrote about it, they officially started their company and created the standards for what became the artisanal chocolate movement in New York City. Both gentlemen have focused their refined sensibilities on all aspects of the chocolate they create. Mr. Down’s use of chocolate as a creative medium has garnered admirers from all over the world. Mr. Guiliano’s use of harmony has balanced the aesthetic of the brand and developed the niche market for such highly individualized chocolate confections. Together they created the culture of Christopher Norman Chocolates. This culture is based on sharing knowledge, celebrating gemeinschaft, and recognizing the duality of our common experience. Using chocolate as the medium for their message, they seek to create a link to the collective unconscious, which is most often addressed through the arts.