There are lots of ways to know you’ve made it. As a writer, it’s being published in something prestigious. As an actor, it’s a big role next to an A-lister. Sports players go pro, and musicians headline at big venues. For Cellar Door Chocolates, that time has come through earning sponsorship at this year’s Emmy awards.
“There’s a vetting process involved,” Erika Chavez-Graziano said, “so we definitely faced some competition. I’m thrilled we won out - we’ve been in the running for a while.” By earning a spot as an Emmy sponsor, Chavez-Graziano and Cellar Door are sharing the spotlight with other sponsors like Audi, L’Oreal cosmetics, and United Airlines - definitely a sign you’re running with the big players.
Cellar Door will be the one and only chocolate station at the Governor’s Ball for both the prime-time and creative arts awards, which necessitated the production of twenty thousand pieces of chocolate - an even more impressive feat when you realize it was all produced in two weeks. “We can normally produce about 4,000 pieces per day,” Chavez-Graziano told me. That’s all well and good when you don’t have a store and a kiosk to stock, along with filling any potential online orders - basically, they’ve been working like mad to get ready.
Once all the goodies finally arrive, they’ll be set up in an incredible display. This year is the 60th anniversary of color television, so the event is going with a completely Technicolor theme. All of the chocolate that Cellar Door is producing will be in the hues of the NBC Peacock, and will be spread out on two separate setups of six six-foot tables - one for each color. “That’s one hundred square feet of chocolate per setup,” Chavez-Graziano told me with a laugh. “It’s going to be completely nuts. From what I heard about previous years the chocolate tables were completely cleared out by the end of the night.”
If you’re wondering what the stars will be snacking on, Cellar Door will also have Emmy party boxes on sale soon, a great idea for your Emmy viewing. They’ll be filled with some of the top-five truffles, bourbon balls, chewy caramels, peanut butter cups, sea salt caramels, and chocolate covered pretzels/grahams/Oreo/Marshmallows. If you’re having an Emmy party, why not eat like the winners?
I asked Chavez-Graziano how she planned on getting the chocolates out there - was she shipping them? “No way, are you serious?! What if they arrived late or melted? I’d be a laughing stock.” You could hear the incredible business in her voice. “I’m driving them out packed in dry ice.” It’s a three-day trip to the Emmy’s, and she’ll be documenting her journey on - check in and wish Louisville’s own Cellar Door Chocolates good luck on hitting the big time!
Photos courtesy of Cellar Door Chocolates
