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Can you imagine baking a product and then having the owner of the company that makes the key ingredient showing up for a taste test? Talk about pressure! But that's exactly what happened Friday morning to Lori Mae Reynolds who, along with husband Alan, owns and operates Chocolatopia of Minot.

At the request of the Hstfest committee, Reynolds was asked to whip up a special truffle using Bache-Gabrielson cognac as the featured flavoring. After six or seven attempts she came up with a tasty truffle. It was good enough for the Hstfest to supply special boxes for the chocolate and cognac treat in appreciation of Bache-Gabrielson cognac appearing at the Hstfest.

What Reynolds didn't know was that Christian Bache-Gabrielsen, the owner of the company that sells a million bottles of his cognac in Norway every year, would walk into Chocolatopia for a personal visit. Bache-Gabrielsen greeted Reynolds with a smile as big as France, long known for producing cognac, and announced his approval for the wonderful little truffles made in Minot.

"Excellent. Yes, the truffles are excellent. They are well balanced between chocolate and cognac," announced Bache-Gabrielsen. "We have had truffles made in France. They use the cognac at the highest strength and the product is not as well balanced."

"My heart is still pounding a mile a minute. It's the biggest compliment I could have," said an excited Reynolds in response to Bache-Gabrielsen's hearty endorsement. "I didn't know in the beginning that he was going to be here. That was probably a good thing. I'm so excited to meet him. It's wonderful."

Bache-Gabrielson explained that his grandfather moved from Norway to Cognac, France, in order to form a partnership with a fellow Norwegian. Together, they purchased an existing company and began producing a special cognac destined for the Scandinavian market.

"Today we are a medium-sized company," said Bache-Gabrielson. "We have, however, a lot of cognac to produce, especially for shipping to Norway. Norway is our main customer and we've been able to keep the quality coming."

The quality is obvious in the Minot-produced truffles as well. During the gathering Friday morning at Chocolatopia, the truffles drew rave reviews from the small crowd in attendance. The reaction of the taste-testers was very similar to what has been occurring at Hstfest where visitors to the Bache-Gabrielsen display can sample and purchase truffles and cognac.

"Our agent is there. We have six different samples or flavors and give a brief history of cognac at our booth," explained Bache-Gabrielsen. "We are presenting our cognac. They can taste it. We have lines at the booth. I think we've made big progress in the Scandinavian community here in America."

Bache-Gabrielsen wasn't certain what he'd discover at Hstfest, but he has been more than pleased with his experience at Minot's annual fall festival.

"I think it's really a very nice exposition and a big one," said Bache-Gabrielsen. "It's remarkable and it's very pleasant to find the Scandinavian atmosphere."

The cover of the specially designed boxes containing the truffles bears the Bache-Gabrielsen logo and the inscription, "Created by Chocolatopia for Norsk Hstfest." To Reynolds, the recognition on the label is just part of her reward.

"The presentation adds a lot to it," stated Reynolds. "It's very exciting. We felt very honored to be able to come up with something. I'm glad we were able to do it."