Lisa Bleicken is our company founder and chief chocolate lover. It was her passion, vision and inspiration that gave Ballotin Chocolates its life and direction. Motivated by a forever dream of owning a chocolate boutique and sharing the wonder of chocolate with others, Lisa left the corporate world to begin her chocolate adventures in France.

After studying in Paris at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu and traveling extensively throughout the French countryside visiting patisseries and chocolatiers large and small, she honed her dessert-crafting skills in fine restaurants, including Boston’s No. 9 Park and the Kiwi Grille in Newburyport. The Ballotin adventure began in 2007 when we opened our first store in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Since then our passion for fine chocolate has only continued to grow.