SAVOR ENCORE
A Chocolatier at Heart
Former gallery owner finds the art in making chocolate by
JACQUELYN VINCENTA
photos byy
BRIAN K. POWERS
C
hocolatier Cherri Emery believes chocolate is healing. There are the health benefits, and there is also the simple pleasure of savoring something delicious with delightful textures. But there is even more to it than that for Emery. “For me, getting through some major losses in my life, the act of creating something so beautiful and delicious was healing,” she says. Those major losses could have been crippling. Her twin, Terri, died at 40 from an aneurysm in the wake of five major back surgeries. Emery’s son, Sean, had a rare blood disease and died just before he turned 30. 26 | ENCORE FEBRUARY 2021
Above: Cherri Emery, left, and daughter, Ashley Rafferty-Billman, in front of the unique round cases displaying their chocolate treats. Right, from top to bottom: A cutter makes short work of cutting caramels, a coffee concoction that looks too good to drink, and beautifully decorated chocolates and caramels await shoppers.
“These are the things, I guess, that make us stronger,” she says. “What are you going to do? You can’t just give up. You miss them. You remember all the good stuff. You do things in their memory.” It is clear that Emery loves and appreciates her life. She can’t wait to get to work every morning. She enters her shop, Cherri’s Chocol’art, at 101 S. Kalamazoo Mall, turns on the lights and starts brewing coffee. She wears all the hats in the company, handling the banking, figuring
