Business & Tech

WGN, Spicy Peppers Make Mokena Chocolatier One of 'Chicago's Best'

The Sweet Company's chocolate-covered jalapeño and serrano peppers earned the Mokena candy shop a segment on WGN.

Want something sweet, silky and more than a bit spicy for Valentine's Day?

in Mokena has you covered with the chocolate-covered hot peppers that earned it a spot on WGN's Chicago's Best over the weekend.

The chocolate-dipped and peanut-butter-injected jalapeños and the chocolate-dipped serranos, available with or without peanut butter, are a new treat by owner Jeffrey Matson.

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Matson created the treats on a whim, publicizing them through the store's website and its Facebook page. Word got back to WGN, which contacted the store.

"I guess we got lucky," Matson said.

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Watch the WGN TV segment about the Sweet Company's chocolate-covered jalapeños.

Matson routinely tinkers with different candy oddities. Some—like the chocolate-covered bacon he created last month—earn a spot on the menu.

Matson said he still has to see if the peppers will be a big enough seller to become permanent. He's seeing brisk business, but a lot of that might be publicity from the show.

Michael Lange, a chef from Tinley Park, was one of the folks who saw the peppers on TV and had to try them.

"I couldn't wait," Lange said after buying a bag at The Sweet Company on Monday. "I'm a pepper-head. I love hot peppers. I've never had them chocolate-covered before, so I thought, 'What the heck?'"

Watch the attached video of Patch editors' reactions to the hyper-spicy treat.


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