Wicked Bold's hazelnut squares are made with three ingredients: organic cacao, organic sugar and organic hazelnuts. Courtesy of Wicked Bold.

Feb. 10, 2023

Dallas-Fort Worth is known for its cowboy cuisine, but like other metropolitan areas, it has a growing vegetarian scene.

Today, you can find vegan versions of diner food, deli fare, baked goods and taco shops in North Texas.

Now a vegan chocolate company in Flower Mound called Wicked Bold is raising the bar on how chocolate is made.

CHOCOHOLIC'S QUEST

Wicked Bold features a spicy chocolate square flavored with cayennne pepper. Courtesy of Wicked Bold.Wicked Bold features a spicy chocolate square flavored with cayennne pepper. Courtesy of Wicked Bold.

As an admitted chocoholic, I’m fascinated by the many different ways it can be produced and served — milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mixed with pecans, walnuts, peanuts or cayenne pepper — and even served as a drink. In fact, for much of its history, drinking chocolate was the norm. 

According to Wikipedia, “The first chocolate drink is believed to have been created by the Maya around 2,500–3,000 years ago… by which they referred to as xocōlātl.” Early records indicate that chocolate was usually prepared vegan and was often simply mixed with water or chili peppers.

As a chocolate lover, I am always on the lookout for new plant-based chocolate brands so I was pleased to discover Wicked Bold, a fresh-looking, hip new company on the block.

The Flower Mound based company was created by husband and wife team Deric and Brooklynn Cahill, recent transplants to Texas.

Promo Vid

Wicked Bold's coowners Brooklyn Cahill and Deric Cahill explain their company's vision. Video courtesy of the Cahills.

“We launched the company in 2019 after moving here from Florida — we actually decided on it during the cross-country drive!”  Deric Cahill told Green Source DFW via email.

Their inspiration for the business arose after searching for a tasty chocolate product free of any strange or suspect additives. 

“My wife and I are huge ingredient readers and after struggling to find a quality chocolate that was free of any dairy or ‘BS’ ingredients, we decided to start making our own.” 

The Wicked Bold name is a nod to Cahill’s Boston roots where everything is described as “wicked.”The “bold” comes from his family’s first initials: wife, Brooklynn, daughter, Ophelia, son, Landon and Deric himself.

SIMPLE SUSTAINABLE INGREDIENTS

Wicked Bold's sea salt chocolates are made with organic cacao, organic sugar and organic sea salt flakes.Wicked Bold's sea salt chocolates are made with organic cacao, organic sugar and organic sea salt flakes. Photo courtesy of Wicked Bold.

Wicked Bold is vegan, gluten-free, with no artificial ingredients and made with cacao that is strictly from sustainable and ethically responsible suppliers. 

“We source cacao that is certified fair trade and from areas of the world that are not leveraging child labor or slave labor. We strive to ensure our chocolate supply chain is good for the customer, good for us and good for the farmers,” states Cahill.

Wicked Bold produces four bite-sized varieties: Cayenne Dark Chocolate features, you guessed it, cayenne pepper, which adds a little spicy kick. Classic Chocolate is for the choco purest. Hazelnut is for those who like a little crunchy flavor in each bite. And last but not least, Sea Salt satisfies both your sweet and salty cravings. 

A truffle from Wicked Bold. Courtesy of Wicked Bold.Truffles from Wicked Bold made with organic cacao, organic sugar, organic coconut flakes, organic coconut cream​. Courtesy of Wicked Bold.

All contain 70 percent dark chocolate, are prepared in small-batches right here in the Lone Star State and can be found at all 14 Dallas-Fort Worth area Whole Foods with plans to expand across Texas later this year. 

Wicked Bold also offers a variety of cacao-based sweets on their website including coconut-flake-covered Mylk Chocolate Truffles and scrumptious Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and a few more sweet surprises.

Use the Wicked Bold store locator to find a Whole Foods nearest you that carries their products. Or shop at their online store at WickedBold.com.

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