Northshore Magazine

Northshore December 2019

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 24 DECEMBER 2019 PHOTOGRAPH BY AIMEE DUPRE E AT + D R I N K A nut- and gluten- free candy is a perfect holiday treat. Halvah, a Middle Eastern treat made from tahini, comes to the North Shore. BY JEANNE O'BRIEN COFFEY OPEN SESAME E AT + D R I N K Halvah is a well-known treat in the Middle East and Israel. People buy slices of the sesame-based sweet cut from wheels or loaves in open-air markets and snack on it, crumble it onto toast or yogurt, and even make it into sandwiches. Here on the North Shore, unless you grew up near a Jewish deli or have traveled afar, it isn't so familiar. But Victoria Wallins thinks it should be. Nut-free, gluten-free, and packed with protein, the crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth candy made from tahini (a paste of ground-up sesame seeds) and sugar syrup is the perfect treat. "I love it," Wallins says. "I crave it. I grew up eating it as a child, and there's just something about the flavor, the texture.… It's hard to stop eating it, even for me." And she's hands-deep in it several times a week, packaging the candy herself for her busi- ness Halvah Heaven. Obsession led the serial entrepreneur to take a deep dive into halvah, experimenting with recipes and knocking on doors for years before launching her busi- ness. "It checks all the boxes for current food trends," Wallins says. "It is a more clean candy that is addictive, gluten-free, and vegan." Previously, Wallins introduced locally roasted coffee to New England with two Beans cafes in the 1990s. She also owned home décor and women's clothing stores in Wellesley before launching into the uncharted territory of halvah. It might be kismet that enabled Wallins to turn her obsession into an international business. She relocated from Sherborn to Rockport in 2017, out of sheer love for the North Shore. After meeting with numerous manufacturers around the country and even in Canada in the hopes of getting someone to produce her candy (which is made just 18 pounds at a time), she found a perfect partner right in her own backyard at Tuck's Candy Factory. The third-generation company has

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