"That started Rick's ambition to do it right," said Mary. The first thing he did was create his own recipes. "He dreams them up in his sleep," she said. First he starts with only the highest quality ingredients. "I learned early that the quality is the most important thing," explained Rick. He uses the finest essences and oils he can find, purchases whole nuts and then crushes them because they are fresher that way, and blends chocolates to create a unique and richer product. Rick said he does anything he can to make his product more unique than anyone else's. The best sellers by far are the pecan turtles. "We have a massive variation on the turtle theme," said Rick, who makes candy every day. The cases at the shop usually feature about 48 different chocolates and specialty items from his collection of about 120 different recipes. The season of the year also determines what Rick makes. In summer, white chocolate, fruit items, and peppermint flavors are popular. In fall, anything with nuts, toffees, and brittles sell well. The shop has been a success, and locals are delighted that the Hugheys got tired of the Florida hurricanes and the high cost of living and decided to move to Hermann. "We were ready to get out of the fast-paced life," they agreed. Mary said she wanted to come back home, although she had never lived here. "But, I felt this absolute pull to come to Hermann," she said, because her mother, who was born and lived here until the age of 11, talked about Hermann all her life.
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