From the namesake couple to a Piedmontese chocolate destination
Mandrile Melis was founded in 1986 in Fossano, a small town in the province of Cuneo in southern Piedmont. The name says it all: it bears the initials of both founders — Giuseppe Mandrile, the Maître Chocolatier, and Maria Antonietta Melis. It all started with the Cuneese al Rhum, a praline with a crunchy chocolate shell and rum filling, which has its roots in the Cuneo confectionery tradition of the early 20th century. Over the decades, this single classic grew into a wide range of products that established Fossano as a chocolate destination in the region. In the summer of 2018, the Gruppo TCN from Alba acquired the company — the same corporate group that is also behind the traditional Piedmontese confectionery brand Galup. The acquisition secured the production facility and workforce in Fossano; recipes and the artisanal character were preserved.
Piedmontese raw materials, controlled artisanal process
The heart of production beats on Via del Santuario in Fossano, where the workshop and shop are located under one roof. The most important ingredient comes from the immediate vicinity: the Tonda Gentile Trilobata, the hazelnut of the Langhe hills. The chocolatiers roast and process them themselves — into velvety paste, fine granules, or whole nuts, depending on the product. For the cream pralines, there is a strict requirement: only fresh milk and eggs from barn-raised hens go into the pastry cream, which is prepared by hand immediately before filling. Alcohol-based creams then undergo a resting period of over 96 hours at a controlled temperature and humidity — so that the aromas of the respective liqueur can fully unfold before the praline receives its chocolate coating. New shapes and recipe ideas are constantly being created, without the basic principles being negotiable: regional raw materials, artisanal processing, and modern technology only where it serves the result.
Cuneesi, pralines, tartufi — an overview of the range
The core range is divided into several lines. The Cuneesi al Liquore — the house's founding praline — is now available in versions with rum, grappa, genepì, amaretto, and Grand Orange: a crunchy chocolate-meringue shell with a spirit-based cream inside. The cream pralines (Praline alla Crema) consist of a shell of the finest milk or dark chocolate, filled with a wide selection of creams — with or without alcohol. Tartufi made from hazelnuts and chocolate, the Basin ëd Fusan (the "Kiss of Fossano," a three-layer candy made of white, milk, and dark chocolate), and the Cioccogrissino — a Piedmontese breadstick in chocolate — round off the picture of a manufactory that takes local color literally. What you will find in our range are the pralines with and without liqueur filling: melt-in-the-mouth, creamy, with a chocolate shell that brings the Langhe character of the house directly to your glass — or rather: to your tongue.
