SIESTA KEY – For Fudge Factory Owner Benjamin Kaminecki, it’s a labor of love.
“I’ve always had a passion for candy; I love candy,” Kaminecki said.
He learned from a friend in the business twenty years ago.
“I went there with my camcorder and took a two-weeks crash course of how to make everything,” Kaminecki said. “It was the hardest two weeks of my life.”
Now in Siesta Key Village, he makes it all from scratch.
“We whip the fudge in a copper kettle; we beat it on a marble slab,” Kaminecki said. “Everything’s done by hand. Nothing’s done by machines here.”
Popular items range from chocolate brownie fudge to chocolate covered bacon. The milk and cream he use are from a local farm. Kaminecki says he never adds preservatives.
“Everything in small batches,” Kaminecki said. “I’d rather do less production and have everything be fresh.”
That requires a lot more work, but to him, it doesn’t feel like work.
“I love that people walk in with a smile and walk out with a smile. I make people happy,” Kaminecki said.
The Fudge Factory is on Ocean Boulevard right across from Daiquiri Deck.
