Iris Delights Others with her Chocolate Creations

By Mimi Pollack

SAN DIEGO — Chocoholics and gluten free chocoholics can rejoice as there is a chocolate shop in Tierrasanta that makes unique, gluten free, and delicious chocolates. The place is called Iris Delights. In July 2021, Iris Meyers took the plunge during the pandemic, and opened her chocolate store. Since then, she has been living her dream of sharing the joy of chocolates with others.

Although Meyers has always loved chocolate, she says that this dream began ten years ago when she was on a plane watching a video about sculpting in liquid chocolate. She saw a life-sized grandfather clock being made. She thought it was amazing and was absolutely mesmerized. When she got off the plane, she called her husband and told him, “I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a chocolate school, but if there is, I’m going!” A month later, she enrolled in an online course, Ecole Chocolat, a Canadian chocolatier program. She says that she never got into the sculpting aspect of chocolate but rather found her groove in the area of bonbons and confections.

She began by making chocolates out of her home kitchen and then moved into a commercial kitchen, and in 2021 opened Iris Delights. She started out small and worked her way up to a bigger scale while honing her skills and expertise. She believes that her palette has developed, and she thinks the flavors produced by the shop reflect that. She is all about bold flavors, and she loves to experiment with new, exciting creations, while still providing classic flavors as well. In the future, she wants to grow Iris Delights and become the premiere chocolatier in San Diego and everybody’s go-to for artisanal chocolates. In addition, she would love to develop the business-to-business aspect, getting into luxury hotels, event spaces, corporate events, etc.

Before getting into the chocolate business, Meyers worked as a computer programmer, and she has an MBA, so she is someone who uses both the methodical and artistic sides of her brain. When I asked her about this, she agreed. “Running a business requires a methodical side, for sure! There’s actually a lot of science and math built into the creation of our delights. I get to use my creativity to come up with new flavors and designs, and I get to use my more logical brain for many of the day-to-day tasks of being a business owner. I’d probably prefer to do more of the creative stuff, given the choice, but there’s always going to be a mixture of both.”

As to the name of the store, like Meyers, I believe that chocolate can bring delight to others. Thus, I asked her about how she thought chocolates brought delight to others and if it was her way of practicing, Tikuun Olam.  She replied, “My favorite part of being a chocolatier is getting to see the look on someone’s face when they try one of my creations. Having a bad day? Have a piece of chocolate! Want to celebrate something with your loved ones? Do it with chocolate! I think bringing beauty and joy into this world is a mitzvah, and we do that with our chocolates.”

Meyers says that the community of Tierrasanta has welcomed her with open arms and she is grateful.  She also ships online to all 50 states. Because small stores like hers tend to be seasonal, she is hoping to build up corporate accounts.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I asked her which chocolates she might recommend. With an enthusiastic smile, she replied, “Oh, tough question! We have so many amazing Valentine’s flavors! Our Passion Fruit Hearts are always a hit. They’re beautiful and our passion fruit ganache is loaded with tons of passion fruit puree for an intense passion fruit flavor.  I love our Lavender Caramel. I know people get wary when they hear lavender. Maybe they’ve been burned by something that tasted like soap, but our lavender caramel has the most gorgeous, soft, lavender flavor. I always tell people it tastes like a warm hug. For our cinnamon fans, we have our Hot Stuff, which is our take on a hot tamale. The newest addition to our Valentine’s lineup is our Guava Caramel broken hearts. Inspired by a cocktail I had last year, it’s a soft guava and lime caramel, and the balance of flavor and tang is perfect, plus people love the broken heart design. I could go on all day. You can’t go wrong, no matter what you choose. There’s something for everyone.”

I tried several of her bonbons and a Mexican chocolate bar. The bar was crunchy and delicious with cinnamon and a hint of cayenne.  I also liked the fruit filled bonbons, especially the intensely flavored passion fruit. However, my favorites were the chocolate peppermint marshmallows which were the best marshmallows I have ever eaten. I finished the bag in two days. A delight indeed.

Iris Delights is located at 6030 Santo Rd in the Tierrasanta neighborhood of San Diego.

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Mimi Pollack is a freelance writer based in La Mesa, California