Aarti Khosla of Weston has opened Le Rouge Chocolates and Cakes, a new chocolate shop in Westport.

Just in time for holiday gift giving and festivities, Aarti Khosla of Weston has opened Le Rouge Chocolates and Cakes, a new shop featuring fine handcrafted chocolates and decadent desserts.

The shop is at 190 Main Street in Westport, and began its soft opening “sneak peek” Saturday, Nov. 15.

Over the upcoming week, the public is welcome to stop in and sample the shop’s array of chocolates, cakes and desserts. The shop’s official grand opening is scheduled for “Black Friday,” Nov. 28.

Because this is Ms. Khosla’s first retail shop, she is having the “sneak preview” she said, in order to gauge the public’s reactions to her products, and to make sure things run smoothly.

While this is Ms. Khosla’s first retail venture in a storefront, she has been making a unique and exotic line of chocolates and selling them online for more than a year.

A certified chocolatier, Ms. Khosla uses top quality ingredients for her confections, including fair trade vegan Belgian chocolate, Turkish figs, and mangoes and cashews from India. She makes all her candy in small batches, and her confections have been featured as favors for weddings and corporate events.

“Everything is freshly made, European freshness,” she said.

Ms. Khosla is a world traveler, and her chocolates reflect her Indian background, global experiences, and life in Connecticut. Her chocolate flavors include Intense Raspberry (a raspberry-infused soft caramel), Apple Pie (apples with cream), Kesar Pista Delight (pistachio and saffron), Wasabi Ginger (wasabi infused ganache with candied ginger), and English Toffee and Orange Clusters.

For the holidays, she’s making gelt coins, chocolate disks resembling gold coins.

Le Rouge is featuring a line of desserts such as this Almond Crunch Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake, and gelt chocolate coins for the holidays.

Prices at Le Rouge range from $5 for a two-piece box of chocolate up to $100 for larger assortments.

Ms. Khosla’s desserts are also special, and include Grand Marnier Orange Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake, Preserved Rose Petal and Fennel Cake, and Saffron Pistachio Cake.

She does custom work for weddings and special occasions.

At the shop, customers can enjoy a plated dessert, mini cakes, and a selection of chocolates, along with espresso, cappuccino, and hot chocolate.

A full description of the chocolates and desserts at Le Rouge is available online at lerougebyaarti.com.

After Black Friday, Le Rouge will be open Saturday through Sunday, and closed Mondays. Hours are 11 to 5, with longer pre-holiday hours. The shop will be closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Ms. Khosla did substantial renovations to the space at 190 Main Street to reflect the shop’s bold character. The color scheme is red, white and black, the same as the boxes for her products.

On Sunday, Dec. 14, Ms. Khosla is participating in Shop 203, a charity event in Westport to promote small businesses. A percentage of everything Le Rouge sells that day will be donated to local charities.

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