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Vosges Haut-Chocolat founder Katrina Markoff is more than just a chocolatier—she is a storyteller. Her sweet creations, which feature such ingredients as wasabi, chipotle chili and curry powder, are inspired by her travels and each exotic bite is informed by a discovery she made along the way. Her Italian Collection, for instance, reinvents italiano staples in truffles made with Sicilian salt, wild Tuscan fennel and aged balsamic vinegar; her Macha chocolate bar recalls a Kyoto tea ceremony; her Aztec Collection grew out of a fascination for xocatyl, the original chocolate brew that the conquistadors brought back to Queen Isabella of Spain.

“Each flavor tells a tale,” says Markoff, who launched Vosges in 1998 after receiving a degree from the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Indagare spoke to the thirty-four-year-old entrepreneur about her ever-growing company—her fifth boutique opened on New York’s Upper East Side in the fall 2007—and recent travel finds (for her insider suggestions, click here).

What impressed you the most about Paris’ culinary scene when you studied at the Cordon Bleu? I gained tremendous respect for Paris and France as a food culture. Paris exemplifies how culture and cuisine are woven together so tightly. You go to any grocery store and chances are you’ll come across an excellent bakery. Good food is appreciated on every level and at every price point.

You’ve said that you had your first real “chocolate moment” in Paris. Can you describe how it happened? When I was a student at Le Cordon Bleu in the mid nineties, a group of us became obsessed with dining at Michelin three-star restaurants. The Michelin system was huge at that time, especially in France, and we were so curious as to what made a three-star ranked restaurant. One evening we went to the famed L’Ambrosie at the Place des Vosges and at the end of the meal, Chef Pacaud brought out these very particular bonbons on toothpicks. He had frozen ganache truffles, dipped them in beignet batter and deep-fried them to golden perfection. One bite and the experience began: a sweet crunchy l’attack en bouche followed by a burst of molten liquid chocolate. It was nothing less than life-altering for me and it’s why I decided to name my company Vosges.

What inspired you to work with chocolate? Chocolate is an incredibly versatile ingredient that comes in many shades, textures, states of matter and forms. I find it a perfect medium for story-telling. Of course, the product has to be delicious and the packaging beautiful, but there’s intention in everything I create from the spice to the story. For me, the objective is to give people an experience that opens their mind to new ideas.

How do you go about innovating new flavor combinations for Vosges? It always begins with me falling in love with either beauty or a cause. Often this happens when I travel. For example, visiting Gaudí’s Sagrada Família in Barcelona for the first time, I came up with the Collecion Gaudí, in which dark chocolate truffles are made with Spanish saffron and rolled in sugar crystals that symbolize the detail of the church’s incredible mosaic work. When I was in northeast India and met the Nagaland tribes, I invented a milk chocolate bar made with sweet Indian curry and coconut. I try to tell stories of different cultures through my medium, which happens to be chocolate.

What are some of your favorite chocolatiers in Paris and beyond today? In Paris I love Jean-Paul Hevin and La Maison du Chocolat (www.lamaisonduchocolat.com) if you’re in the mood for something more traditional. I also have great reverence for the amazing Pierre Hérmé. No trip to Paris would be complete without gong to his beautiful little store. I also like [Belgian chocolatier] Pierre Marcolini (www.marcolini.be) and Michael Rechiutti (www.recchiuti.com), a small artisanal chocolate maker who is based in San Francisco. Also, there’s a Tokyo-based company called Chocolat de H (www.lcdh.jp) and they make an incredible black-sesame, cream-filled cake that comes in a box resembling a lipstick tube.

What was the response when you first opened your boutique in Chicago? Honestly, people thought I was nuts. I was the crazy girl who used spices, paprika, curry and wasabi in chocolate. I had to cajole customers into trying them. But once they did, they changed their minds quickly.

How do you plan trips in terms of where to find the best food? I always track down a local foodie and get recommendations for places that are really authentic. I try to avoid tourist towns or at least not have great expectations. For example, on my trip to Croatia, we could not get a great meal in Dubrovnik. The food wasn’t bad, but it’s such a huge tourist destination that a lot of restaurants have dumbed down their menus to appeal to the masses. In my experience you have to get out of the big cities to have truly outstanding food.

What is next for Vosges? I’m really involved in the green movement; our goal is to have 80 percent of what we buy come from renewable resources or recycled materials whether it’s a chair in my office or the gift-wrapping ribbon. Our plant is already powered by 100 percent renewable energy and all the boxes are made of recycled board. A grand experiential collection will launch next year, I am keeping a surprise and we’ll open a boutique in Los Angeles and hopefully in London.

If you were to open a boutique in Paris, what would be your dream location? The Marais. I love it there, and it’s where the idea of Vosges was conceived.

For Markoff’s recent epicurean discoveries around the world, click here.