Berry, Berry Good

Attivo Gourmet Confections

1165 Park Ave.

Emeryville, Calif. 94608

(800) 3-ATTIVO

MasterCard, Visa, American Express

“About a year and a half after my California-born wife dragged me out here,” says ex-New Yorker Chuck Siegel, “I made caramel apples for a Christmas party, and everybody said, ‘These are great, you should sell them.’ ” Siegel took their advice, quit his job and started selling apples. “I was still young enough not to know any better,” he says.

That was six years ago. These days, Siegel’s Northern California company is selling a whole array of confections to more than 1,000 stores. He’s even sending them back home to some of the best food stores in New York--including Dean and DeLuca and Balducci’s.

Siegel’s latest creation is a combination of chocolate and raspberries that is absolutely irresistible. Other people make chocolate-dipped fruit, but Siegel takes perfect berries, grown nearby in Watsonville, and coats them in a silky, bittersweet chocolate made especially for him. (Most domestic bittersweet chocolate contains 35% chocolate liquor; Siegel’s contains more than 50%). The minute the confections are dry, they are packed in a plastic container and sent out air express. A 9-ounce pack of chocolate-covered raspberries costs $13.50; shipping adds an extra $7.50.