Star-Studded Chocolates

First, Oprah. Then, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Next, Diane Sawyer. The elegant chocolates made at The Velvet Chocolatier (10403 Stevenson Rd., Stevenson, 410-365-9883) have been creating quite a stir. Oprah Winfrey named them one of her favorite picks in 2011. (She’s partial to the caramel cups with dark chocolate and sea salt.) Louis-Dreyfus discovered these decadent morsels while filming Veep in Baltimore. And a crew for ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer taped a segment about owner/chocolatier Ruthie Penn Carliner’s compact storefront kitchen and retail shop for an upcoming program. It’s a sweet reward for Penn Carliner, who ran a family car dealership for years before the aroma of chocolate beckoned. “This is my second career,” she says. “This should be fun for me.”