Kathy Garver and Store Manager Jonathan Clough; Photo by Jennifer K. Hugus for the Los Angeles Beat
Sayyyy…looking for a stocking stuffer this holiday season? Or better yet, a small but significant, (meaningfully ephemeral) trinket from your favorite TV Big Sister with the best TV Mom energy never to be seen on TV?—(yet anyway…) Well, look no further than the latest creation from Kathy Garver herself, aka Cissy of the groundbreaking first all-color sitcom Family Affair to give your holiday that much more flair!!!
Yes, straight from the candy kitchen of Sweet! Hollywood delight in a confection the likes of which I have never tasted in the form the new Cissy candy bar invented by Kathy Garver herself! Rich in the darkest of chocolate, macadamia nuts, Rice Krispies and just a hint of salted caramel decadence—, this chocolate bar is just what the doctor ordered—dentist, psychologist, romantic dietician or otherwise—to chase away your winter blues and garish pre-Holiday hullabaloo! Moreover, Santa Claus only wishes it were on the hutch waiting for him on said big night. But ‘twould only be wasted as it is much too good for any rushed, fat man’s bingefest!!! (Geez!)Made with nothing but love and the finest ingredients as only Kathy Garver and Sweet! Hollywood can do, the chocolate itself is even Vegan friendly! “All of our chocolate is organic, fair trade chocolate,” declares Sweet! Hollywood’s event planner Donovan Marcotte. “And as far all the other ingredients, we try and go as organic as we can. So we make all of our caramel in house. We make all of our sticky candy here. So all of this candy over here is made in the store as well using only organic sugar.”
After establishing all this, I simply HAD to speak to Kathy Garver further and demand more details!!!
LA Beat-It’s a beautiful packaging. Is that your handwriting?
Kathy Garver– Yes. It’s kind of like the handwriting and the font that was on Family Affair and this is my new brand “C”. It goes with my candles and my lotion and then this [bar] is Cissy by Kathy Garver. So the brand is “C”!
That’s so cool. I didn’t know you had a whole new brand!
Yes! Just coming out—See? Classic stars: We never die. We just make candy bars! (chuckles) Especially for Christmas! I kind of feel like Mrs. Claus being in the candy factory, and actually I was able to make one of these candy bars at the Sweet! factory so…I went in to the candy kitchen and we put the chocolate in the mold, and then the caramel, and then sprinkled the sea salt and then put the macadamia nuts in and then I put the chocolate on top and then put it in the machine that makes it all come together and it was so much fun! I just love to cook and being the little old candy maker was really fun!
Photo by Jennifer K. Hugus for the Los Angeles Beat
This sounds like a candy bar that I would totally eat–so it’s salted caramel, chocolate, Macadamia nuts…
Yes! Macadamia nuts, and they’re very expensive but they go so well [plus] I love Macadamia nuts! Sweet! Hollywood also does chocolate bars for the Mauna Loa in Hawaii and so we’re just putting them into that. And there are two different versions: There’s milk chocolate and dark chocolate and you know how good dark chocolate is for you… It also goes with Champagne very well!
Ah Champagne!!! I wish I hadn’t quit drinking but I had to…
Alcohol is a depressant which is why I have to drink. Because I’m always so joyful, I say, “Oh come on. Let’s get a glass of wine and relax Kathy!”
How much to they run for?
$7.99. People can get them on my website and I can sign them for them… Then you can eat the chocolate which is absolutely fabulous and keep the box! And that’s the memorabilia part of it! My website’s KathyGarver.com under merchandise, so they can go there. Or they can go online to Sweet Hollywood, or they can come to the store. I LOVE this store! You know, there’s a whole Rupaul room in here, and an Elvira room!
Photo by Jennifer K. Hugus for the Los Angeles Beat
How did you come up with this idea?
Well Denise Kulp who is a friend of mine, [also] helps put together the Hollywood autograph shows. She had some kind of a deal with this company beforehand, and said “Kathy, you should get a candy bar with this company!” So my manager Ami Maning–used to be Paris Hilton’s manager so she knows how to market things–made the deal to have the candy bar. I went down and we designed it with Jonathan Clough who is the fabulous manager here—(asking Jonathan) who was it that has a candy bar here? He’s a musical fellow…?
Jonathan Clough-Manager-We have a few. We have Lance Bass, we have Steve Bradley from No Doubt and Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night. Chuck has two bars with us. He has one bar called the Three Dog Bite and then the other one is just the Chuck Negron Bar.
I haven’t met him. Denise says he’s really nice.
Jonathan Clough-Well he’s such a star, so many Platinum albums and more singles than Elvis… But, he became addicted to heroin and almost died! He donates a portion of the proceeds of the bar to the organization that got him off of drugs. But he said it got to the point where he had to make a choice: It was either his career or his life, and he chose his life!
Well good for him! …It’s so sad… A lot of my friends have died of a drug overdose, you know…the little girl on my show… ‘Course, it’s not bad to become addicted to chocolate! Now that’s a good addiction, that one is okay…
Jonathan Clough-And dark chocolate, it’s even healthier…
And there are even Rice Krispies in this bar which makes it even more healthy! So, there’s protein with the Macadamia nuts!
Photo by Jennifer K. Hugus for the Los Angeles Beat
Jonathan Clough-And Macadamia nuts are good for you now. They used to not be but now they’re good for you and it’s a good fat so… If we wait long enough everything becomes good or bad. You know, they used to say eggs were so bad for you…and now they’re saying you should have an avocado with those same eggs. I love avocado! And now they’re like, “You should have three to five avocados a week!”
I love avocado. Avocado and crackers, guacamole…Sandwiches… I can’t eat health food. Right now, as old as I am, I need all the preservatives I can get!
I think that’s what keeps you looking young I mean… Jerry Seinfeld’s 61 and he doesn’t look it! And of course, you need all the energy you can in order to keep up with all you are doing right now. So what are more of your current projects?
Well, I’m doing a new Television show…called Star Watch. I have a star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, [and I] interview two of the stars each show that have a star on the Walk of Stars. [We sit in director’s chairs over their star.] I interviewed Gavin MacLeod, Lindsey Wagner and Trini Lopez, but two days ago I was in San Francisco and I went to see this show [and] this woman who [is in it] won the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest living-still-working show girl! She is 93 and she looks great! She looks fabulous–tons and tons of energy! She’s up there tap dancing, she teaches tap dancing in Palm Springs. She was in San Francisco putting on the show with her 20 year old…well, 20 year less–he’s 71–partner… ‘Cause we’re saying people look younger you know now…and she looks fabulous. And I’m sure it’s due to chocolate! (Big Laugh)
So do you have any future plans to create more candy bars or foodstuffs or anything like that…
Well, sometimes you don’t know where life’s going to take you… I’m working on a couple projects I have my candy bars out now and my candles, but I’m starting to work on a new food show…it’s called Family Tree Recipe. People come on and they bring recipes that have been handed down to them through their family. They cook them on the show and we do parties. The person that has the recipe has the party and he or she cooks for their friends and they have a chance to come on to our show and win $1,000.00. So that’s what we’re working on now, and if that all develops we may take a special part out of one of their recipes and make it into a food stuff, a special olive oil or whatever under the guise of a family tree recipe by Kathy Garver “C”, so lots of stuff to do!
…And a true inspiration just being around Ms. Garver herself and spending the afternoon!
For more information on all of Kathy Garver’s latest ventures, along with the method by which to procure of her most fabulous candy bar (seriously, it’s like one of the best, if not the best bar I have ever tasted) please visit her website, the store’s website, or engage in a nice jaunty walk-in yourself!
