Mr. Martinetti was surrounded by boxes of high-grade Ecuadorean and Venezuelan chocolate, hazelnut paste from Piedmont and Madagascar vanilla.

Through friends, they determined that it might be possible to obtain enough Venezuelan chocolate to meet their standards so that he and his wife could set up shop in Caracas.

"It was what I wanted," he added, "because European chocolate makers can get only a very small amount of Venezuelan chocolate, and I would be able to work with it 100 percent."

"Most Venezuelan chocolate is conched for four or five hours because there is not enough competition for any one of the companies to demand better quality," Mr. Gillis said.

At Chicama, the South American restaurant at ABC Carpet & Home, Douglas Rodriguez makes a thick drink with dark, bitter Venezuelan chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, allspice and cloves.

Tariq is known for his unique pairings of exotic ingredients including these Sicilian pistachios, candied rose petals and violets, and Venezuelan chocolate.

Ms. Presilla is especially proud of her tea selection and labor-intensive hot chocolates (importing Venezuelan chocolate is a side business of hers).

Venezuelan Chocolate The International Association of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs will present an in-depth seminar about Venezuelan chocolate, which is prized by connoisseurs for its flavor.

Valencia has some 20 different juices and batidos (fresh fruit blended with milk), plus mango iced tea and Venezuelan hot chocolate, all but the chocolate served with a sugar cane stick.

Her chocolates are handmade and hand wrapped, using Belgian Callebaut and Venezuelan chocolate.