Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Restaurateur Michele Carder uses homemade chocolate and food colors to create edible art

Adorning the main hall along with awards and accolades from several local magazines is artwork of a tasty, ornate and unusual kind. The pieces -- done in chocolate -- used to hang around the corner closest to the kitchen, but the artist-in-residence has moved them to a more prominent spot after local interest was piqued.

Michele Carder, the entrepreneur behind Michele's on Main in Salem and former owner of the sushi bar Wasabi's in downtown Roanoke, has a possible new venture on her hands.

"I can do almost anything, be it a design from the Internet or a company logo," she said. She hopes to sell the framed artwork, which ends up being about as thick as a Hershey's chocolate bar, to be eaten or to be admired -- and perhaps one day for her kids to see in an art museum.

Her artwork starts with any frame -- the cardboard back becomes an easel once baking paper is pasted to it. After that, Carder, who makes her own chocolate from cocoa beans with a coffee grinder, uses milk, dark and white chocolates to fill in a design. She uses the white chocolate and oil-based food coloring to create the various tones.

Michele's on Main grew out of a catering business that she started on her own, in the same way her chocolate frames took shape. "My husband was having to work out of town with his electrician's trade," Carder said. She was pregnant with their first child and had just left her job as manager of a local restaurant and a counselor for Youth Haven. Carder "had a hard time staying still and started a catering company out of my house." She said that it became vital to find a building for her catering when food trucks started delivering weekly loads to her home. The old post office building in Salem became available, and with that much space, it was obvious enough that she needed to start a restaurant.

With her second pregnancy, she ran into the same dilemma. "I spent a lot more time at home," she said, and as she grew she avoided the kitchen because of tripping and other kitchen hazards. Unable to sit still once again, she began to create her first chocolate work. Two years later it hangs on the wall, and while it's probably not edible, it hasn't faded and looks much like it did in the first few weeks after its creation.

She is hoping to create the artwork to sell for special events or for corporations, but she currently needs six weeks to complete a piece and doesn't have a price range yet.

Other things at Michele's on Main are in the works, along with the confectionary displays. The weekend of April 5 to 7, Carder unveiled an all-you-can-eat weekend dinner menu with table service featuring fried chicken and catfish, pot roast and baby back ribs, including sides, breads, drinks and desserts. Jumbo crab legs and steamed shrimp are an option. She has seen signs of success.

"We want to make this," Carder motioned to the seating area, "their dining room. They won't have to clean up the mess!" Carder cited the fact that local restaurants are still seeing the same number of diners, but many people are scaling back on the money they spend. "I'm hoping more people will come in," and take advantage of the amount of food for their buck, she said.