Bitzel’s Chocolate, the 7,000-square-foot chocolate factory and attraction in Suwanee, is proud to announce the addition of George Foley to its team as executive chef and chocolatier. Foley, who most recently was a Viennoiserie baker at Bacchanalia and Star Provisions, will focus on menu development, culinary training, and building relationships with local farmers and national companies.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of such an amazing concept and to work with a chocolatier like Ray Bitzel,” Foley says.

Bitzel’s Chocolate, the brainchild of chocolatier and entrepreneur Ray Bitzel and his business partner and co-founder Dave Rose, creates affordable, chef-crafted chocolate confections and offers visitors an unforgettable, Willy Wonka-style experience as they watch as various treats move through the production process.

“Of course, the chocolate is the star, but what I love is that we’re giving visitors an entire experience here,” Foley says. “We’re taking them on a journey from learning how chocolate is made to seeing the machines and the production process to tasting the different types of chocolate they may have never experienced before, such as gold and ruby.”

Foley comes to Bitzel’s from Bacchanalia, where he concentrated on croissants and pastries. He has also worked as a corporate chocolatier at Bodega Chocolates in Fountain Valley, California, as the executive pastry chef for the Dolce Group in Los Angeles, as pastry chef at Salty’s on Alki Beach in Seattle, and as the overnight baker viennoisarie at the 3-Michelin-starred The Inn at Little Washington.

Foley, who’s enjoyed a long career in the hospitality industry, says that focusing on hospitality keeps things fresh and exciting for him.

“Hospitality is the gift of making everyone feel welcomed, accepted, and comfortable in your presence,” he says. “It’s a privilege to be a part of that. And that’s especially true when working with chocolate, which everybody loves, in an environment full of wonder and excitement like Bitzel's. I’m looking forward to seeing the smiles on our guests’ faces every day.”