Chocolate Trust

Philip Fincher loved sweets since he first set foot in Shipley's Donut Shop in his hometown of Fayetteville, Ark.

But he suppressed that passion for a career in law, helping wealthy people manage their estate planning. “How much more of this do I want to see?” he wondered while drafting yet another trust document one day.

So in 2008, after more than a decade practicing law, he enrolled in a six-month program at Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando. Run by the famous Swiss pasty chef Ewald Notter, Fincher graduated first in his class.

Fincher's wife, Stephanie, was supportive while raising their four children. “I didn't want him to have any 'what ifs,'” she says.

“Nobody thought I was crazy,” he laughs. In fact, he says it was his mother-in-law who encouraged him to follow his dream.

But the program wasn't cheap ($19,000 at the time) and Fincher spent weekdays in Orlando and commuted home to Naples on the weekends. “You gut it out,” he says.

After graduation, Fincher applied for a pastry chef position at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Resort in Naples. It was a long shot, but he got the job showing off his organizational skills and attention to detail, fine-tuned during his legal career. “It was very nerve wracking,” he says.

It was at the Ritz that Fincher discovered his interest for chocolate. Chocolate can be manipulated, allowing chefs' creativity to shine. “There's more science to it,” Fincher says.

In 2009, Fincher heard that Belgian chocolate chef Ingo Wullaert was considering leaving Naples to return to Europe. “I heard it from the baker up the street,” Fincher says. Many chocolate connoisseurs considered Wullaert a finer chocolate maker than better-known competitors.

But Wullaert's facility was in an industrial park near U.S. 41, off the beaten path. “He made me a very, very good deal,” Fincher says, declining to be more specific. While the location wasn't ideal, “he had a very loyal clientele,” Fincher says.

In November 2009, Fincher reopened Wullaert's shop as Royal Palm Chocolates with his wife and daughters Brittany Mateika and Melissa Fincher. Customers' most frequent question was: “Why did Ingo change the name?”

But disappointed clients were reassured that Fincher promised to use the same Belgian chocolate, which is rich but not too sweet or acidic. It's all in the way Belgians stir the chocolate in the process to achieve a distinctive flavor. Fincher recently ordered a one-ton block, a four-foot cube that cost about $7,000 including shipping from Belgium.

Roughly half of Fincher's business is retail and half is wholesale. “We're kind of at a crossroads,” he says, declining to share specific sales figures. Partly because of the shop's location in an industrial park, Fincher didn't expect to get as much of a retail clientele at the 2,000-square-foot warehouse on Collier Center Way as he does.

For one thing, Fincher doesn't have a big advertising budget necessary to target retail customers. He shoots his own food photos, for example, a skill he learned in culinary school.

The company's retail prices range from $1.45 per chocolate truffle to $6 to $14 for confections like chocolate bars and $19 to $110 for gift boxes.

Fincher recently signed a deal with AES Group of Palmetto to distribute his chocolates to independent gourmet shops. Already, Royal Palm Chocolates are available at Wynn's Market in Naples (on aisle five).

Because of the success of the business so far, Fincher suspended work on the Web store. Most of his customers, many of whom are women aged 35 to 50, still prefer to order by phone. And Fincher doesn't want a crush of orders he can't handle with his three employees. “We don't want to compromise quality,” he says.

Fincher also doesn't want to sacrifice the quality of life he's created since launching the business. “We're a closer family,” he says.