Renown Chocolate Expert, Elaine Gonzalez, Dies

Elaine Gonzalez, a well-respected chocolatier who could coax her favorite ingredient into bowls, flowers and ornaments, and who also taught local classes and led chocolate-themed trips to Mexico, died last week, according to an obituary in the Chicago Tribune. She was 79.

Gonzalez, who lived in Northbrook, was a “chocolate trail-blazer,” according to the article, who said she fell into her specialty when assigned to teach a chocolate class at The Complete Cook shop in Glenview just as the chocolate craze was taking off in the late 1970s.

You can read the full Tribune obituary, which includes many glowing tributes to her, here.