Mother’s Day is almost here! And our markets are spotlighting flowers, wines, desserts, and—of course—local chocolate! Check out Farmhouse Chocolates, a Bristol, VT, chocolate maker. Their creamy, organic chocolates are the perfect sweet treat for Mom! Read on to learn more.

Q. Tell us your story.

A. Erlé LaBounty grew up on his grandfather’s dairy farm in Vermont, leaving that life at 16 to pursue his real passion: crafting chocolate. For over two decades, he’s been making old-world chocolate confections right here in Vermont, turning certified organic, fair trade, soy free chocolate into luscious truffles, salted caramels, and chocolate bars.

When Eliza La Rocca joined him in 2010—bringing experience from Florence’s specialty food markets and leading food and wine tours through Italy—Farmhouse Chocolates became a true partnership, built on shared values and complementary skills.

Q. What makes your product unique?

A. We produce everything ourselves in our Bristol, VT, factory, rejecting the industry standard of co-packing. Every confection is made by a small, dedicated team resulting in products that emphasize responsible sourcing, quality, balance, and pleasure. Our chocolate is certified organic, fair trade, and soy free.

The majority of our ingredients are certified organic; those that aren’t are thoroughly vetted non-GMO, soy-free, and corn syrup-free. We source as locally as possible, always.

Q. What inspires your work?

A. Different influences have molded us, including the longstanding European confectionary artistic tradition and Vermont grown values around land, manual labor, and being good neighbors.

Q. What do you love most about being part of the Woodstock Farmers’ Market community?

A. Erlé grew up in neighboring Orange County, and both Erlé and Eliza spent many happy years working in the culinary scene in Windsor County. We’ve been selling to the Woodstock Farmers’ Market for a long time, starting back under the original name of our business Farmhouse Truffles. For all of these reasons, we feel connected to the place and the people of Woodstock Farmers’ Market.

Q. Is there anything customers might be surprised to learn about your business?

A. After 28 years in business (11 of them full-time), we welcomed a new business partner in November 2025 so that Farmhouse Chocolates can continue to flourish and evolve.