Christine Moore first sunk her teeth into a Brittany sea salt caramel when she was training as a pastry chef in France in the early ’90s. She was smitten by its delicacy— by the faint trace of salt that emerged from its chewy sweetness.

When, in 1999, she quit her pastry job in Los Angeles to take care of her first daughter, she found those caramels haunting her. Could she recreate them at home? After experimenting with 10 types of sea salt and a dozen recipes, she finally came up with a satisfyingly chewy caramel that struck just the right balance between salty and sweet.

She began selling these caramels to local stores, working out of her home. As word of her delicious candies spread and business grew, she rented a small professional kitchen in Hollywood and started the Little Flower Candy Company.

With the help of her staff of two, Christine makes and wraps her caramels by hand, packages them in small plastic bags bearing labels she designed herself, and personally delivers them to 40-odd stores around L.A. (She also sells them online.) “Business is brisk,” she says. “We can barely keep up with demand.” Although her offerings now include vanilla and lemon caramels as well as homemade marshmallows, it’s her sea-salt caramels that sell the best. She’s planning to open a store in Los Angeles but has no intention of changing her approach. “I’ll keep making caramels by hand,” she says.

To order, visitLittleFlowerCandyco.comor call 323-551-5948.