A young man becomes a World-class Chocolatier

The magic all began in the year 1919, in the little known and relatively small capital city of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Victor Clyde Cummings was 15 years old and was looking for a way to meet girls. With his ulterior motive in mind, he decided the best way to achieve his goal would be… to register for a high school class which was often filled with girls, but still allowed boys. The young Mr Cummings decided to register for a Home Economics class and as expected, he met lots of girls. Yet, as fate would have it, he learned how to cook and manage a kitchen, as well, V. Clyde also discovered a talent for making irresistible chocolate creations and realized he had a passion for making people happy with his delectable creations.

After completing the Home Economics class, V. Clyde continued experimenting, working with and developing his chocolate recipes. Eventually he developed a unique process which produced light & airy, creamy smooth and soft candy centers, which made his chocolates “the best in town”.

For several years he worked out of his mother’s basement, developing his burgeoning business, selling his chocolate candies to friends and neighbors. However, as the demand for his chocolates grew, the small studio space was being overwhelmed with orders and production. He knew it was time to move. In 1924, the perfect building became available. The former home to the Cleveland Candy Company was located on a premier corner in Salt Lake City, across the street from Liberty Park, on the corner of 700 East and 900 South. Thinking it was an excellent location and facility, Cummings made an appointment with a local banker to secure a loan and purchase the building. Even though Cummings knew it would be a stretch for him, at 20 years old and with no assets to guarantee payment, he showed up with the next best thing to collateral: boxes and boxes of chocolates! The banker was so convinced by the quality of the candy that Cummings was awarded the loan and moved into the location.

While much has changed since 1924, one constant has remained… the formula for Cummings Studio Chocolates. From the very beginning, V. Clyde Cummings’ motto has been:

I will spend whatever time and money it takes to find and buy the finest ingredients available and expend whatever time and money it takes to make them into the finest candies possible.”

Being true to his motto, Cummings studied and researched chocolate producers throughout the world to obtain a variety that met his high standards of taste, texture and reliability. His dedication and determination has secured the Cummings Studio Chocolates legacy for over 90 years. It is a tradition that is proudly honored by each of his successors, and has created a loyal following of customers who have come to rely on the Cummings Quality for all of their Chocolate cravings.

After V. Clyde Cummings’ unexpected death in 1959, his son Paul took over the family business. Building on his father’s legacy, Paul improved standards of production and made important changes in the company’s marketing. The secret processes used to create the chocolates remained the same, and have been shared only with select family members who carry on the traditions today.

 

Marion Cummings, Paul Cummings’ widow, proudly maintains the Cummings tradition, she says the following:

My father-in -law found this particular chocolate and built the business around it. We carry on the traditions he established years ago by using only the world’s finest ingredients.”

When traffic backs up in front of the Cummings Studio building at Valentine’s, it’s evident that continuing to source the special, unique and quality Chocolates and maintaing quality processes, fuels a tremendous loyalty. Demand for Cummings Studio Chocolates among local Lovebirds is so intense that police officers are required to direct traffic around the Cummings Studio Chocolates location.