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South ‘n France In The News
June 2008
Holly Would Dream, A novel by Karen QuinnDuring a hilarious press conference scene in the novel, the media is treated to “bliss inducing sushi from Masa, the most expensive restaurant in New York City, and obscenely luscious bonbons from South ’n France, the finest chocolatier in the country.”
Holly Ross often wishes she lived in a simpler time, when the clothes were glamorous, the men debonair, and the endings happy. That said, her career as a fashion historian isn't so bad. With both a wedding and a big promotion coming up, her own happily ever after seems assured... So how, in the space of one day, does it all go wrong? With the sparkling Mediterranean and the eternal city of Rome as the backdrops, Holly's adventures begin to resemble one of the 1950s Hollywood gems she so adores. Finally she must choose between her long-held fairy tale fantasy and a new, real-life dream with an ending she couldn't possibly imagine.
In July, author Karen Quinn visited Wilmington to give a reading and book signing at the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble. Jess James, contributing style columnist to The Wilmington Star News, later wrote an account of this Audrey Hepburn-inspired event. To read her article and to see photos from the event, click here.
May/June, 2008
Commercial Appeal, Article by Judy Royal for Wilmington Magazine - Architecture, Photography by Leslie Koehn
It’s been a restaurant and a grocery, but for one couple it was home at first sight—though now it’s base for their own business venture.
"After ruling out the restraunt business due to its long hours and high stress, the couple started South 'n France, an Internet and mail-order business for hand-dipped chocolate bon bons. Because the pair realized quickly that they needed to do alot of education around their product, they began doing in-house demonstrations to get the word out about their bon bons. Soon the successful events became an integral part of the business, and so they added crepe-making parties to their list of services. Entertaining, whether for business or pleasure, is a central theme in the couple's life together..."
Click here to read a PDF of the article!
March/April, 2008
Feelin’ the Burn, Article by Allison Ballard for Wilmington Magazine
One guilty pleasure is the love of foods cooked a little too long. Burnt sugar desserts are mouth-watering masterpieces. Can you feel the heat?
"We call it caramelization, but essentially it’s the same thing—the process by which cute, uniform crystals of sugar melt into luscious warm shades from amber to chestnut. 'There’s something just carnal about it,' says Charlene Dupray of South ‘n France in downtown Wilmington, makers of hand-dipped chocolate bon bons and host of gourmet parties. Perhaps it’s the combination of two things long important to human survival—fire and quick energy. Or maybe it’s just the world of flavor that opens up. Uncooked sugar is essentially odorless and a one-note taste. But when sugar is heated so the molecules of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen begin to break apart, something remarkable happens. Caramelization brings about a complex aroma and transforms sugar into hundreds of different molecules that generate tastes such as milky, nutty, flowery, fruity, roasted and rum-like."
February 14, 2008
A trip inside the bonbon factory, Article by Charlene Dupray as told to Malika Zouhali-Worrall for CNN Money.com
"Our business, South'n France, is making chocolate bonbons. When we're in factory mode, our ten-foot-long farmhouse table...becomes a production line where Pascal makes 500 bonbons a day..."
February 2008
Don't miss our recent feature in the "Where I Work" section of Fortune Small Business Magazine!
Surrounded by Chocolate
"An old diner we converted into a bonbon factory-and a home-has defined how we run our business, and our lives." By Charlene Dupray, Wilmington, NC
As told to Malika Zouhali-Worrall
February 2008
Charlene The Bon Bon Queen visits ActionCOACH Reggie Shropshire at The Business Coach Radio Show on 980 WAAV in Wilmington, NC to discuss creative and affordable small business marketing methods.
Listen to Part 1 of How to Creatively Market Your Business on a Shoestring Budget
Part 2 of How to Creatively Market Your Business on a Shoestring Budget
February 2008
People Honor Themselves, Chocolate is Honored by All, Article by Michelle F. Solomon for Aventura Magazine
" 'People are making a conscious effort to go organic, to get their food from a natural source. There’s a similar appreciation for our product', she says. The Bon Bon Queen also launched a grassroots campaign to teach people about natural, fine chocolate as an alternative to chemically produced chocolate.''The media has helped clear up the misconception that chocolate is bad for you, and they’ve done a lot to promote the benefits of chocolate and everything in moderation. Higher quality products are more satisfying, and you don’t have to eat as much. One really good bon bon goes a long way', says Dupray."
February 8, 2008
Building a bonbon business, Article by Josh Spilker for The Greater Wilmington Business Journal
"At first, Charlene Dupray’s story seems like fiction.
The Wilmington native and French aficionado goes to Paris and meets her husband, Pascal Siegler. After living for a few years in New York City, they leave lucrative careers for her hometown’s slower pace. They buy a house at the corner of 9th and Orange, paint it pink and transform their kitchen into a mini-factory producing bonbons.
They launch a company to sell the chocolate treats, naming it after their collective backgrounds: South ’n France."
February 6, 2008
The Recipe Box - Loving Life: The Chocolate Show!, Podcast for Blog Talk Radio
Blog Talk Radio interview with Charlene Dupray and Pascal Siegler, co-owners of South 'n France Gourmet Bon Bon Company.
February 1, 2008
Red carpet out for chocolate lovers, Article by Jannette Pippin for The Daily News
"This weekend's Carolina Chocolate Festival coincides with Groundhog Day, and one festival vendor will be celebrating the holiday with a sweet French twist. South 'n France of Wilmington will be offering chocolate crepes as a tasty alternative to waiting for a groundhog to emerge from his burrow."
January 2008
Dog Living - People Treats - South 'n France feature
"'Everybody knows the phrase 'sitting around eating bon bons all day,' Dupray explains, "We did the ultimate eating bon bons all day.' People are certainly enjoying eating South 'n France bon bons all day."
May 13. 2007
Ladies Who Launch - These women entrepreneurs seize control of time, future, Article by Sam Scott for the Wilmington Star-News
"Charlene Dupray left a career as a headhunter in New York City to come back to Wilmington, where she grew up, to start a business and a family. But for now, developing South n' France, the bon bon company she runs with her husband, is the priority."
May/June 2007, Volume 99, Number 5
C’est si bon bon, featured in The Core, supplement to The University of Chicago Magazine
"The company, originally intended as an upscale event-planning service, has evolved into South ’n France, a chocolatier specializing in hand-dipped bon bons that marry the confectionary traditions of France and the American South. The bon bons were created as a marketing tool to promote the planning service, but soon became so popular that they overtook the business."
May 1. 2007
Candies of the South, by Col. Tamar Alexia Fleishman for Southern Fried Magazine
"Their bon bons are generously sized, filling up your mouth with a feeling of indulgence. The candies are natural tasting, not too sugary -- and very rich. Handmade without preservatives, South 'n France ships their candies in special cold-packing and recommends refrigeration."
April 8. 2007
Take them home: Knock Knock, Article on the Azalea Festival Home Tour, by Jana Clancey for Currents: The entertainment site of Star-News Online
"The great room of what once was the Tide Water Café is decorated with souvenirs from far off places – a door knocker from Venice, a mirror from Morocco, a lamp from Crete. Owner Charlene Dupray said decorating the house with pieces they’ve picked up while globe trotting adds ‘an authentic, worldly kind of character that you can’t get at Pier 1 and is easier on the eyes than T-shirts, ashtrays and snow globes.’"
February 8. 2007
How to make a culinary (and loving) impression without breaking the bank, Article by Russ Lane for the Wilmington Star-News
"If your date leaves work late, keep the meal simple with a light dessert with a few bites of intense flavors. We went with a few bon-bons from South 'n France and some raspberries in a bowl."
February 1. 2007
Chocolately goodness coming to area , Article by Tom Mayer for The New Bern Sun Journal
"Wilmington-based chocolatiers South 'n France Inc. sold its first hand-dipped bonbon at the 2006 event. Seven months later, those bonbons from the husband-wife team of Charlene Dupray and Pascal Siegler were voted Best New Chocolate Product at the Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet show. That national show draws more than 4,000 worldwide buyers and retailers."
February 1. 2007
Chocolate to Reign Supreme , Article by Jannette Pippin for The Jacksonville Daily News
"Charlene Dupray and Pascal Siegler launched their South n' France, at the 2006 festival in Morehead City and went on seven months later to take top honors at the Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet show, the largest confectionary trade event in the country."
January 30. 2007
Sweet Spots For All Things Chocolat, Article by Sandra Chambers for Wrightsville Beach Magazine
"Want to visit a grown-up version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory? You won’t even need a golden ticket. Simply gather a group of 10 to 16 friends and head downtown to a little pink house on Orange Street for light hors d’oeuvres, champagne, a tour of the kitchen and a bit of chocolate history. Then don a head scarf and dig those hands into homemade dough, roll it into bite-sized balls and learn the perfect dipping technique as you plunge the dough into a pool of dark chocolate, creating the most exquisite chocolate bonbons this side of France."
January 21. 2007
Chocolate: Good for you and the community, too, Article by Liz Biro for the Wilmington Star-News
November 01. 2006
Bon Bon Vivant!, Article by Allison Ballard for the Wilmington Star-News
"This wasn’t just any cocktail party or neighborhood gathering. The friends were meeting for an indulgent evening of sipping champagne cocktails and making bon-bons. South ‘n France hosts the events for small groups, combining candy-making demonstrations with drinks and a few nibbly bits. Already, buzz is starting to build for the parties, which guests see as a different and unexpected way to have fun. (Or, joy of joys, a party they don’t have to clean up after.)"
September 09. 2006
Radical Sabbatical, Article by Matt Born for the Wilmington Star-News
"The couple - a Frenchman and a Southern belle - have found common values in their cultures.
"There are huge similarities between the French tradition and Southern tradition," Dupray said. "It's all about quality of life, family and food.
"We had the idea of marrying the best of the South with the best of France," she said."
July 12. 2006
Shake Your Bon Bon, Article by Allison Ballard for the Wilmington Star-News
"The couple own South ‘n France and create four flavors of bonbons available for mail order – chocolate chip cookie dough, coconut, fudge brownie and peanut buttah (a unique chocolate-coated blend of crunchy and smooth peanut butter, chopped dates and cherries). They also do event planning, host bonbon-making exhibitions and even offer singing telegrams from 'Miss Charlene, The Bon Bon Queen.'"
July 27. 2006
WECT, Carolina in the Morning, Bon Bon Making Demonstration: Charlene, The Bon Bon Queen and Chef Pascal join the lovely Christine Miles on Carolina in the Morning on July 27, 2006. Click here to watch Charlene and Pascal show Christine how we hand-roll and hand-dip our delectable chocolate covered creations! Visit the WECT website to find the Tiramisu Bon Bon recipe we shared with this great local television station!
Click Here to watch a sample video clip of Pascal and Charlene making hand-dipped bon bon with WECT morning anchor, Christine Miles (Size: Small 5 megs Quick Time)
Click Here to watch a sample video clip of Pascal and Charlene making hand-dipped bon bon with WECT morning anchor, Christine Miles (Size: Medium 28 megs Quick Time)
Foz and Nikki in the Morning, Z107.5 FM
Click here to listen to a sample radio clip of Charlene The Bon Bon Queen performing a singing telegram for radio personality Foz - As featured on Z107.5 FM
Foz loved his singing telegram so much that he asked for one for his girlfriend's 25th birthday celebration!