We enter the chocolatier’s workshop, the scents of hazelnut, orange, and rich cocoa filling the air. Chocolatier Nancy Tannir Tabbara is working intently, sculpting a perfectly smooth form and carefully painting to reveal a perfect figure of a chicken with a festive baby-pink plume sitting in a nest of woven chocolate, surrounded by a mix of vibrant solid and patterned eggs. She gives the figurine a few last-minute touches and carefully places it in its custom showcase-style packaging, ready to grace a very lucky Easter basket.

Nancy, a third-generation chocolatier in the family, applies the same care to every handcrafted chocolate she creates for Tabbara. Tabarra Chocolates originally opened in the 1950s in Beirut, Lebanon during the Golden Age of the nation. Civil war brought the family to the United States, and Tannir has revived the family’s pride and joy in her East End studio.

“Chocolate is a celebration, a show of gratitude, and a messenger of joy that truly serves as a reminder of all that is good in life,” says Tabarra. “I always keep these qualities in the forefront of everything I do. They are just as important as my dedication to working with only the highest quality ingredients and maintaining the standards that are our family tradition.”

She continues, “This Easter holiday collection is the embodiment of that joy and focuses on tradition as well as the flavors and colors of Spring.”

The Easter holiday collection includes a 20 piece Easter assortment of chocolate eggs with seasonal flavors like citrus, mint, and strawberry along with Tabbarar’s classic flavors of praline and gianduja — a smooth and creamy chocolate hazelnut. The assortment is also available in a 6-piece. Tannir has also crafted chocolate lollipops in two distinct flavors, a Milk Chocolate with crispy pearls and dried strawberry and a Dark Chocolate with caramelized hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, and orange peel. And, of course, the crown jewel of the collection— the Chocolate Easter Chicken Figurine which includes an assortment of 4 small chocolate eggs from Tabbara’s Easter collection.

Tabbara’s handcrafted chocolates and the special Easter holiday collection can be ordered online at www.tabbarachocolates.com or at select locations in Pittsburgh, PA.

Images by Brittany Spinelli