About The-Candy-Guy.com

About Us

About The Candy Guy

	The-Candy-Guy.com was born out of the founder's desire for returning to his roots in the candy business. As a high school teen, Ray Kuhlmann's first ever job was making candy in the "dungeon" of a small Chicago candy retailer. Ray made caramels, fondants, Terrapins (their version of chocolate covered caramel and pecan clusters). He also made many ice cream creations, washed the dishes and windows, eventually leaving that part time job to move into other business areas, including but not limited to several years experience in fund raising programs for a Georgia candy company. Here he developed some creative ideas to help smaller groups achieve much better than expected results. Ray eventually moved on to other opportunities after college but always maintained an interest in candy making, usually making his creamy chocolate fudge during the cooler winter months and delectable chocolate covered strawberries during the Spring and early Summer. Out of frustration with buying his beloved chocolate caramel clusters, he began making his own "Terrapins" once again - initially by just using inexpensive grocery store chocolate, then upgrading, making them with fine couverture chocolate for himself, his friends, and family. Soon he found himself getting requests to buy his candies. At first he continued giving it away; later exploring the use of commercial kitchen space for candy making. Having been a retail business operator for some time, Ray did not want another retail shop so he looked at alternative ideas to get re-involved in the candy business. He looked at possible wholesaling of finished chocolates, at offering training classes, and at offering chocolate equipment and supplies for rent or purchase. Presently, chocolate candies for sale are offered on a pre-order basis only, since kitchen space is rented on an as needed basis. Plans are to shortly develop a regular production schedule compatible with market needs and the planned candy classes. These are available at rented facilities on Saturdays (various locations to be announced) and during the week on site at school or office locations having groups of six or more interested in candy making. There are four classes making up the course. Taking all four classes will give participants a solid foundation in basic techniques, some nifty tricks, and enough understanding to figure out what to do if something goes wrong with a batch and how to remedy common problems. Go to the Candy Classes page for class details and course options.