“Sunday mornings, he’d play old-school R&B, that Teddy Pendergrass,” Justin Christopher Ross says of his father, James. “And waking up and smelling the bacon — that’s how I kind of fell in love with being in the kitchen.”
While weekend rituals and the wafting aromas of breakfast are where it all began, the owner and pastry chef behind JC Desserts says he’s always had a sweet tooth and that his adoration for the post-dinner treats eventually led him down a sweeter path.
“The dessert part was always my favorite,” Ross says with a child-like grin.
Having originally studied landscape architecture at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Ross says soul-searching eventually led him to culinary school. Post-graduation from Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, North Carolina, the 30-year-old settled at The Greenbrier, a luxury resort in West Virginia.
“I always worked in a high-end type of atmosphere or establishment — that’s how I got my niche,” Ross says, noting that these experiences laid the foundation for his attention to detail in the culinary realm.
But it was a stint at the original Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, Florida, a chocolate-making institution internationally renowned for its edible artisan creations, working alongside master chocolatier and pastry chef John Cook, where Ross first fell down the chocolate-making rabbit hole.
“I walked in and said, ‘This is it, this is exactly the kind of business I want to run and have for my future,’ ” Ross recalls. “The level of excellence — everything was high octane, very precise, very demanding. That drew me to it and was what I envisioned for myself. My goal was to bring whatever I learned or gained there back to Richmond.”
Alternating between gigs at The Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte and The Greenbrier for years, it was during the pandemic shutdown that Ross had the space to focus on building his own business, refining his recipes and molding his concept into reality. Earlier this year, Ross launched his namesake online artisan chocolate and cake shop on one of chocolate’s biggest holidays of the year: Valentine’s Day.
Orbs of bright color, Ross’ chic chocolates are miniature works of art, their shiny shells created with precision. Elegant, jewel-like treats, the crisp exteriors of the candies are available in white, dark or milk chocolate, while inside, the smooth ganache can range from a citrusy mango-passionfruit to hazelnut cappuccino made with Rostov’s Coffee, classic caramel and a crowd favorite, strawberry cream.
“They love the strawberry — it looks like a cartoon mushroom, and customers are drawn to it,” says Ross.
While Ross says he views himself as more of a pastry chef and originally wanted to offer chocolates simply because of their nostalgia and familiarity, it seems his culinary path may have chosen him.
JC Desserts is “transforming into me becoming a chocolatier, whether by accident or fate,” Ross says with a laugh, “but I definitely see myself as a pastry chef and also have wedding cakes, travel cakes and an assortment of different things to come.”
Ross, who is colorblind, says making the chocolates, typically a two-day process from start to finish, requires him to be meticulous, patient and precise. And while the work is time-sensitive, it always pays off.
“There’s something about it that's therapeutic when you’re making it, especially with a mousse — whipping the cream, molding the cream into the ganache,” he says. “It’s a very hands-on process; it really takes you to different places.”
Currently, JC Desserts offers six- and 14-piece boxed chocolates, along with chocolate bars, cakes and pastries. In the future, Ross says he plans to offer snack-sized versions of the bars, and he hopes to land his products in markets, wineries and retail shops around the region. Operating from Hatch Kitchen, JC Desserts products are available for local delivery on Fridays or pickup on Saturdays.
As far as the playlist when Ross hits the kitchen? “There’s a little bit of hip-hop; I love old-school R&B, and it’s something that has to be played when in the kitchen. I’m an old soul,” he says. “And definitely some Teddy Pendergrass.”
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