WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 9, 2017 21
Ridgewood fi lmmaker made sweet
documentary on local chocolate shop
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
A local filmmaker recently
highlighted the owners of a
Ridgewood hardware-storeturned
chocolate-shop in her independent
fi lm that recently debuted at
a neighborhood bookshop.
Hanna Utkin randomly came
across husband-and-wife duo Constantine
and Rubi Kalpaxis at their
Ridgewood Chocolate shop, located at
60-02 Catalpa Ave., and immediately
fell in love with their chocolate-making
operation.
“I was walking around the neighborhood
with a friend, a musician that
also lives in Ridgewood, one evening
when we passed by a storefront with
what looked like two huge jars full of
cocoa beans in the windowsill — which
is defi nitely an unusual sight,” Utkin
said. “My friend didn’t even believe me
that the jars were full of cocoa beans.
Even though it looked like they were
locking up, Constantine got us to come
inside to try some chocolate and I got
hooked right away.”
Constantine Kalpaxis previously
owned the American Houseware shop
that was formerly on Fresh Pond Road,
but moved to the Catalpa Avenue location
two years ago. He and his wife continue to
sell home goods at the shop, but recently
began making and selling their handmade
chocolates out of their store.
“The whole setup is here. Half of
the store is devoted to making chocolate,”
Constantine Kalpaxis told
QNS in a February interview. “We do
everything, with the exception of the
roasting of the beans, which we still
do at home because Rubi likes to
experiment with diff erent roasting of
the beans.”
Since then, the couple has been making
their own chocolate, and experimenting
with diff erent cocoa beans
and roasts to create truly unique
fl avor for Ridgewood.
It is their love and passion for making
chocolate that lit the fi re in Utkin to
shine a spotlight on the neighborhood
chocolate makers.
“I think Constantine and Rubi were
really what inspired me. They’re both
really humble about it but they know
a lot about chocolate and you can tell
right away that they care a lot about
how it’s made,” Utkin said. “They’ve
done something really diff erent by
creating an unique, authentic and
quality product and it drives them. I
feel like they’re kind of on a mission to
introduce people to the real chocolate
and it’s nothing like the sugary soy
lecithin stuff you can get at a supermarket.
I wanted to share the spark
they showed me with others as well as
introduce people to the world of fresh
chocolate — which is remarkably, right
in Ridgewood.”
So Utkin enlisted the help of Andrew
Alvarez and Christian Payment
to do the cinematography for the
5-minute fi lm aptly titled “Ridgewood
Chocolate.”
Utkin then had her fi lm screened
at Ridgewood’s Topos Bookstore on
Oct. 19.
BUZZ
Screenshot via "Ridgewood Chocolate” documentary by Hanna Utkin
Constantine and Rubi Kalpaxis, owners of Ridgewood Chocolate.
Glendale church celebrates a special Oktoberfest
Redeemer Lutheran Church
in Glendale enjoyed a day
of good food and company
during its Oktoberfest celebration
on Oct. 29. This year’s celebration
was extra special because the
congregation marked the 500th
anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
Guests at the Oktoberfest
are pictured with Pastor Thomas
Dorsey.
Photo by Dean Moses
