Our Story
The Origins of Wingnut Confections
Those of you who have seen Wingnut's artisan truffles throughout the Portland Metro area may be surprised to find out that the business is actually a one-person labor of love. So, allow me to introduce myself. My name is David Beer, and I do everything from ordering the organic ingredients to hand-rolling each truffle into a delicious globe of cacao bliss.
I began my professional obsession with confections in the 1980's by pursuing a career as a pastry chef in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Of course, my fascination with food started much earlier, in bakeries, candy stores, and kitchens, before I could even reach the counter!
photo taken by Lyla Emery
My work as a pastry chef and baker landed me in a number of top restaurants throughout the Twin Cities. In the mid 90's, I moved to Montana to open a new restaurant and continue my baking career. During a seasonal layoff in Livingston, I fell into a job as a web application programmer. Although I enjoyed my work, it never replaced my love for good food. After about five years, and a move to Portland, Oregon, I started to get the itch to return to the world I had left behind. As I was just starting to form an idea of a confection company that would use organic, local and sustainable ingredients, my web application job was outsourced and I decided it was time to put my dream into action.
photo taken by Lyla Emery
Using fine Belgian dark chocolate, organic soy milk, and brandy, the Brandy Nog Truffle was born! This was quickly followed by many test batches and friends eating more chocolate than they probably wanted, until I had created several unique truffles that satisfied my high standards for flavor, texture, and quality.
Since then, I've added Candied Oregon Hazelnuts, Chocolate-coated Oregon Hazelnuts, Cherry Cashew Clusters, Goji Berry and Brazil Nut Clusters, Citrus Haystacks, Lollipops and numerous seasonal items to my repertoire. I'm still working on new surprises too! (Organic vegan toffee, anyone?)
photo taken by Lyla Emery
Bike Delivered!
Besides loving chocolate, I also love my bicycle! I've been an avid rider all of my life. It's my favorite way to get around. And because of this, I knew it needed to be an integral part of my new business venture. I also believe it can and will need to be an integral part of a local and sustainable community. My bike and I regularly pick up fifty-pound orders of chocolate, deliver tasty confections everywhere from St. Johns to Tualatin, and cart around a 200 lb. trailer to farmer's markets and events.
Why Vegan?
Because I adore dark chocolate! I've found that the amazing qualities of the cacao bean as well as the flavors I added were brought out best in high quality organic dark chocolate.
In addition, many of my friends are vegan or have intolerances for dairy. I noticed there were few high quality options in the world of confections for those wishing to avoid dairy. This lead me to my first attempt at a gourmet vegan truffle.
Besides, studies have shown that eating dark chocolate can have numerous health benefits. Cacao beans are high in healthful anti-oxidants, and chocolate has long held a reputation as an aphrodisiac.
Why Wingnut?
photo taken by Lyla Emery
I'm often asked how the name of the company came about. At the very start of my career, while enrolled in a culinary arts program in Minneapolis, I became great friends with a classmate. Any time I took a risk or did something unusual, she would cry out "You Wingnut!" Twenty years later, while creating my plan for this business, I could still hear her voice: Bike delivery? Wingnut! Organic? Wingnut! Fair trade? Wingnut! Vegan?... The name just seemed appropriate.
The Wingnut name also appeals to me because it creates a sense of fun and irreverence in a field populated by companies striving to be ultra gourmet. This seemed to encapsulate my ideal that high quality food should be enjoyed, not worshiped. Everyone should have access to incredible culinary indulgences!
After five years of hand dipping my truffles, I'm still filled with delight just watching the miraculous changes that take place as fine dark chocolate moves from a liquid to solid state. I think it's quite a beautiful thing to behold.