DIANE Pinder is an artist, and chocolate is her palette. She enjoys layering flavors, like in her balsamic truffle. The first distinguishable flavor when one takes a bite is the rosemary she infuses into the cream, followed by the duskiness of honey mixing with the chocolate. In the end, the fruitiness of the balsamic emerges. “I like to play with the chocolate,” says Ms. Pinder, owner of the artisan chocolate shop Donna & Company in Cranford. “At every interval there’s a little flavor surprise that comes to you.”

   Ms. Pinder will bring Tuscan style chocolate delights from her Donna Toscana line, which focuses on fresh ingredients with unusual flavor combinations, to the Bucks County Chocolate Show in New Hope, Pa., June 1. In addition to balsamic, her assortment includes olive oil and sea salt, blood orange, lemon basil and chestnut nutmeg. Although she mainly uses dark chocolate — she uses only the finest Belgium and Venezuelan chocolate — Ms. Pinder occasionally uses milk chocolate for items like her spicy Thai truffle. The truffle combines African pepper and coconut milk with fresh ginger and has a peanut butter truffle center.

   ”Artisan is just something in itself as far as chocolate making — it can’t be reproduced in an industrial way,” she says. “When you look at my chocolates, they’ll never look industrial, they always look handmade.” Indeed, her sinfully delicious chocolates are also a feast for the eyes, especially those with beautiful swirls of color — green in the strawberry mint, purple in the raspberry, a gold shimmer to the olive oil and sea salt.

   The Bucks County Chocolate Show is the incarnation of Solebury, Pa., resident Gretchen Tartakoff. She began exploring the world of chocolate about five years ago when the company she worked for was downsizing. Although she eventually got a full-time position with a division of Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Tartakoff still creates “chocolate parties to go” every Valentine’s Day through her company The Chocolate Bar LLC. The show, where guests can meet the finest chocolatiers, pastry artists, chefs, authors and vendors in the region, will be her biggest business venture thus far. Demonstrations include the art of tempering and the essence of infusion with origin chocolate.

   The event also ties in global concerns, with a portion of admission proceeds going toward the National Wildlife Federation. Representatives from the Rainforest Alliance will discuss their collaboration with businesses worldwide to grow sustainable practices that are pesticide free, conserve water and support the rainforest. Chocolate critic Clay Gordon will discuss the future of chocolate regarding sustainability, ethical trading and environmental stewardship.

   Ms. Pinder didn’t discover the wide world of chocolate until after her children had grown up and moved out of the house. The former critical care nurse and clinical researcher wanted to fulfill her longtime dream of having her own business.

   She decided to start a home-based gift basket company, but became engrossed with the chocolate business as she searched for quality items to include with her products. She saw that chocolate had achieved an artisan status similar to cheese and wine. Ms. Pinder became so fascinated, she enrolled in chocolate making courses at the New School in New York City, followed by an online program through Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts. She completed her studies through an internship with an established chocolatier, and earned her master’s chocolatier certificate in Tuscany, Italy. She is a member of SlowFood USA and the Fine Chocolate Industry Association.

   Ms. Pinder opened Donna & Company in 2005, and hopes to open a Tuscan Chocolate lounge within the store in the near future. She gained widespread recognition after exhibiting in the New York Chocolate Show in 2006, where she introduced her olive oil and sea salt and balsamic truffles. Thereafter, she appeared on a segment of the Today Show, along with four other chocolatiers, to share her new items, and later did a radio interview with the show’s food editor, Phil Lempert, to discuss her trip to Italy.

   ”The Tuscan region is not particularly known for its chocolate, but chocolatiers in that area are becoming more and more popular,” she says, “and they have really interesting flavor combinations there because of that.”

   Ms. Pinder and her chocolate shop also have been featured on an episode of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? on the Style Network. One of the show’s wedding planners often uses Donna & Company chocolates for her clients’ wedding favors.

   The chocolatier’s most recent endeavors include collaborating with Chef Craig Shelton, owner of the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, to create a new line of artisan chocolates. “I don’t think I’ve seen any of the combinations he’s asking me to do,” Ms. Pinder says. The line should be ready in time for holiday gift giving, and the selection might incorporate flavors like mocha using products from Mr. Shelton’s Chef’s Coffee Company. She has also been working with Mediterranean food merchant O&CO, most recently creating a Mother’s Day selection using their olive oil, balsamic and sea salts.

   Chocolatier Jeremy Wasserman, owner of Prestige Chocolates in Phoenixville, Pa., will bring a variety of his handmade dark chocolate truffles to the Bucks County Chocolate Show. His chocolates are made to order and flavors include almond, mocha, hazelnut, honey jasmine, Earl Grey and balsamic with fleur de sel. Although he has a few flavors that are out of the ordinary, Mr. Wasserman likes to stick with the basics that the majority will enjoy.

   ”I try to keep everything within the realm of confectionery,” he says. “There are some people who are putting so many outlandish things (in their chocolate), just to see what kind of combinations they can use.”

   He combines farm fresh butter and cream with imported couverture chocolate, enhancing flavors with liqueurs imported from Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and France, as well as teas from around the world.

   Mr. Wasserman has worked in the food service industry since age 16, and previously owned a wholesale food distributing company before launching Prestige Chocolates. He first began making truffles as a gift for his customers during the holiday season. They were so well-received, he eventually sold the business to make truffles his full-time job.

   ”Everything is a learning experience,” he says, “There’s a curve, you learn to work with the particular products you have and once you get the basics, that’s when you can experiment and get into the nuances of flavor.”

   Laura Klimitas, an independent chocolatier with Dove Chocolate at Home, has been conducting in-home chocolate tasting parties since last July. The relatively new company, which is a division of Mars Inc., offers a line of chocolate creations that can’t be purchased in stores.

   ”You get friends and family together and have a fun time... eat and just enjoy yourself over chocolate,” she says. Visitors at the Chocolate Show can sample products and book a party if they wish, and there are also opportunities for people to become chocolatiers.

   Ms. Klimitas, a resident of Feasterville, Pa., says her biggest seller has been the dark chocolate martini mix. Other products include mixes like frosty white chocolate smoothie, double chocolate chip cookie and double chocolate truffle fondue. They also offer ready-to-eat giftables and chocolate-making tools and accessories for those who want to make their own tasty treats.

   During the in-home parties, Ms. Klimitas can show guests how to make various desserts, such as chocolate mousse. “If you’re not a foodie like me, you can really look like you’ve baked and done a lot,” she says, “when it’s really only taken a few minutes and it looks great.”

   Anita Palazzo Serratore, owner and operator of Nita-Baker?, will bring an array of her chocolate baked goods. Attendees can purchase brownies, chocolate cakes, candies, cookies, twice dipped chocolate pastries and more. If experimentation goes well, she might even offer chocolate beef jerky.

   The Warrington, Pa., resident has been in business for seven years, and specializes in homemade Italian and Polish pastries and sweets. She also has an entire catering menu, with everything from baked ziti and chicken parmigiana to strombolis, wraps and hoagies.

   Ms. Serratore, the fourth generation baker in her family, has a hectic schedule. She meets directly with customers during the day to discuss their needs and also sells at farmers markets. At night, she bakes.

   ”I might start anywhere from midnight to 2 in the morning,” Ms. Serratore says. My product is fresh-baked, I’m not baking it on Monday and delivering it Friday. That’s a no-no. I make fresh baked products every night.”

   Surprisingly, Ms. Serratore is not a chocolate lover. “I don’t like chocolate whatsoever, I’m more of a gummy worm person,” she says. “I tend to please people though, so I must be doing a good job.”

The Bucks County Chocolate Show will be held a the New Hope Eagle Fire Company, 46 N. Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa., June 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $7 seniors/students and can be purchased at the door (cash or check only); Ticket stubs give attendees a chance to win a Chocolate Buffet Spa Treatment, donated by Skin ‘n Tonic; www.buckscountychocolateshow.com