Fran's Chocolates

Fran Bigelow opened Fran's Patisserie and Chocolate Specialties in Seattle's Madison Valley in 1982. She came to it after a business degree from the University of Washington and a trip to Paris, then training at the California Culinary Academy. Cakes and pastries came first. The truffles she handed to customers waiting in holiday lines soon became the centre of the business. Her Gold Bars reached the original ten Starbucks stores in 1986 and Williams Sonoma in 1989, and Julia Child visited the shop in 1988. The Gray Salt Caramel introduced in 1998 was followed by the Smoked Salt Caramel, each winning an Outstanding Confection award. Production moved to Pike Street on Capitol Hill in 1992. In 2014 it moved again, to a LEED Platinum building in the old Rainier Brewery in Georgetown. There the retail shop at 5900 Airport Way S shares the building with production and a viewing area. Many products carry Organic and Fairtrade certifications. Bigelow wrote the cookbook Pure Chocolate and was inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame in 2018. She has since received the association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Her daughter Andrina is CEO and her son Dylan is Director of Chocolate.