
There are very few people who don’t love chocolate, and a small business dedicated to making chocolate in New Jersey has been named the chocolate shop to visit when you’re in New Jersey by the staff at 24/7 Tempo.
2 Chicks With Chocolate in Middletown is owned by Elyissia Chinchilla and her mom, Barbara Ferrante; Barbara was injured in a car accident years back and couldn’t return to work, so she started making chocolate from home. As a young girl, Elyissia would take a shopping cart from her home in Queens and sell the chocolate door to door. As an adult, Elyissia was working in a telecom job before she decided to start a full-time chocolate business.
The store itself moved from South River to East Brunswick to Metuchen to Middletown, where there is currently a chocolate retail shop along with a production facility.
If you know, you know. I’ve been a huge fan of 2 Chicks since its South River days. My experience started with a Groupon for a Chocolate 101 class. It included a lesson on the history of chocolate, samples of course, and time in the gift shop.
Their artisan bonbons are beyond, with a huge selection offered year-round and many introduced seasonally. Some of the options (including wine- and booze-infused chocolates) are guava cheesecake, strawberry lemonade, mango habanero, horchata, Jameson caramel, kalamansi margarita, marshmallow fluff, cold brew coffee and cookie butter. There are also vegan and sugar-free options; plus hemp-infused options.
Some of my favorite packaged items are the s’mores, chocolate-covered graham crackers, chocolate-covered bacon and chocolate-covered potato chips. I love shopping during the holidays to get stocking stuffers for Christmas or Easter basket goodies.
This is more than a retail shop, though. I’ve taken almost every class and workshop they’ve offered: wine and chocolate pairing, tea and chocolate pairing, beer and chocolate pairing, chocolate painting, a chef’s dinner pairing, Paint ‘N Sip, and a Game of Thrones theme night. As an adult, I had a birthday party there, where we painted with colored chocolate on chocolate palettes as well as real paint on wine glasses.

They have held events at Seasons 52 in Woodbridge and Cucina Calandra in Fairfield, and appear at conventions around the state, from The Chocolate Expo to Christmas Con.
Although Elyissia and her family are now in Florida where they opened another 2 Chicks, her counterpart for years, Mary Ann Reis, leads the way for local events.
To determine the must-visit chocolate shop in every state, 24/7 Tempo consulted rankings and listings on sites including Food & Wine, Simply Chocolate, Time Out, Eater, Food Network, The Daily Meal, Yelp, and Culture Trip, as well as numerous local and regional sites.
2 Chicks With Chocolate is located at 1300 Rte. 35 in Middletown.
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