How is it that I’ve lived in Utah my entire life and never been to Condie’s Candies? Their hand dipped chocolates have been in Utah since 1924. No excuses! My foodie friend Candice suggested that I stop by and see what the fuss is all about. I was flattered and so excited! So, after work today, I made my way over and met the Condie crew- AKA the sweetest staff in the world! They are all family (or somehow connected) and have been hand dipping chocolates since they were all teenagers.
Great granddaughters Nannette, Shelly, & Karen with Pam, the wife of a great grandson. They were kind enough to show me around their facility and explain their step by step art of hand dipping chocolates.
Geraldine (you can call her Gery). She married the grandson of George Phillips, the original candy maker, and effortlessly hand-dipped these lemon cream chocolates in the blink of an eye. Condie’s is open seasonally each year, for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
Founder George Phillips was originally from Ohio. He joined the LDS church and made his way to Salt Lake City, working for ZCMI. Phillips quickly became intrigued by revenue brought in by the candy department, left ZCMI, and learned the art of making candy on his own. Today, Condie’s Candy still uses the SAME equipment as George did in the 1920’s.
Family members that keep this business alive have a deep-rooted passion and love for preserving their chocolate dipping tradition. In 1994 a fire destroyed a significant portion of their candy shop and supplies. A fireman asked the family if there was anything he could try to salvage and, as requested by family members, was able to recover the original recipes written in the 1920’s. Nannette showed me these beautiful pages today. Unbelievable.
Although Condie’s is a Salt Lake City based company, they distribute their hand-dipped chocolates across the nation and are available for purchase online. Aside from their beautiful boxes of assorted chocolate, they are known for their hand-dipped fudge and pecan logs. I may or may not have tasted everything a few of these myself today. Rich delicious chocolate with quality ingredients, made by a group of ladies who value tradition and family. Thank you, Condies! You haven’t seen the last of me.
Condies Candies
