LEXINGTON, KY - Bent over a metal pot in their test kitchen, gently combining ingredients and discussing cook times and temperatures, it is obvious that Diane Kellum and Rebecca Welch take their task very seriously.
Their job today is to continue perfecting the recipe for the next addition to their line of specialty fudge. As the talent behind the flavors at The Lexington Fudge Company, Kellum and Welch are beginning to reap the rewards of a labor of love.
The idea to start a fudge company came as an offshoot of a catering company founded by the two women. Kellum grew up with an innate love of cooking and baking, which inspired her later pursuits of catering and fudge making.
"My grandmother ran dining halls, so it was just something we did. At Christmas time, you made cookies and cakes," she said.
Type A Catering began as a pet project when Kellum, a self-described "foodie," was looking for caterers for her wedding. Unable to provide the food herself and after discounting several caterers in frustration, she finally turned to Welch, a close friend who shared one significant criterion in common.
"We're both picky," said Kellum with a laugh, and Welch nodded her head in significant approval.
After Welch, a pastry chef by training, agreed to provide the catering for Kellum's wedding, others began asking the two women to cater more events. The catering company was born, and the name came naturally. As more and more dishes became part of the menu, a frequent addition to dessert trays at holiday parties was a white chocolate fudge that contained pieces of peppermint - better known as Candy Cane Crunch, the first flavor of fudge sold by the Lexington Fudge Company.
The fudge received great reviews and sparked the idea that it could be sold independently of the catering business. The women quickly found the tins and liners for packaging, and things seemed to come together serendipitously. The Lexington Fudge Company was born, selling fudge directly to friends and family and through word of mouth.
"We sold 300 tins last year, but we didn't have it in the store," Kellum said. "We just had to sell it directly. Then we thought, 'We should sell it online.'"
They set up their Web site and began selling online, adding two more flavors of fudge - Bourbon Toffee and Espresso Bean Crunch, both including a signature type of crunch in the recipe - to their lineup this past fall. The true transition to market, however, came at The Incredible Food Show, presented by Kentucky Proud in early October.
"It was a coming-out party in a lot of ways for us," said Kellum. "The goal was Ö to get all the kinks out. You go from being somebody that makes fudge at Christmas to someone who makes fudge on a wholesale and retail level. This is really our first Christmas season where we're going to have been a real wholesale candy manufacturer."
This may be the first real Christmas season for The Lexington Fudge Company, but it will be getting an auspicious debut through two high-profile retail outlets. Great Harvest Bread Co. will be including the fudge in gift baskets, while Joseph-Beth Booksellers will be selling the tins individually. Part of this push stems from the decision by Kellum and Welch to hire extra help in marketing the fudge.
"That's the hard part. You can have a great product, but if you can't get it to the market, you wither and die," said Kellum.
In addition to the fudge itself, the presentation is an important part of how The Lexington Fudge Company plans to distinguish itself. The fudge comes in labeled tins with corrugated liners, differing from the way fudge is usually presented in plastic wrapping or in slabs sold through candy store. This packaging is an important part of the appeal, as it makes the product more readily accessible to a high-class boutique market, according to Welch and Kellum.
"Even the packaging is more upscale from what you would expect of fudge," said Welch.
As for the future, Welch and Kellum have a few surprises up their sleeves. They plan on debuting two new flavors in the Kentucky Proud section of the Kentucky Crafted Market the first weekend in March: Lemon Drop, a combination of white chocolate and lemon candy; and Peanut Butter Brittle, peanut butter fudge with bits of peanut brittle. Not content to rest on their current successes, they also hint at future holiday-themed flavors and bold fudge-making ideas, and they even continued brainstorming new flavors while being interviewed. These are clearly two people who enjoy what they do.
They also intend to turn this small Nicholasville-based fudge company into a national sensation, or at least a regional success, allowing them financial freedom.
"I would love to be able to Ö do this full time," said Welch, who has a full-time job in addition to both Type A Catering and The Lexington Fudge Company. "Would I like to make millions? Yes, I would, but I would be completely happy to make a decent living."
With this season's release of fudge into the retail market, the proprietors of The Lexington Fudge Company are hopeful that they will begin to taste some sweet success.
Fudge from The Lexington Fudge Company has a suggested retail price of $9 to $10 and can be purchased through their Web site, www.lexingtonfudgecompany.com. Other retail locations will be posted on the Web site as they become available.