Contact
The Editorial Desk
Where we are, who writes here, and the fastest way to reach a human being about a flavor.
General & editorial
Letters, corrections, tasting suggestions and permissions all land in the same inbox and are read by an editor.
Tasting table submissions
Send a short description of the candy, its ingredients and how it is made. We reply to every submission within ten working days.
Studio & post
Our tasting kitchen and writing room share one converted mill studio. Visits are by appointment only.
The Candied Compass218 Riverton Mill Road, Studio 4
Asheville, NC 28801
United States
Desk hours
Monday to Thursday, 9am–4pm Eastern. Tasting sessions run on Tuesdays; the inbox is quieter that day.
Reply window: 2–10 working days
Masthead
Who makes the Compass.
A small permanent desk with a rotating panel of working confectioners, pastry cooks and food writers. Everyone who scores a candy has made candy.
- EditorDelphine MarchettiFounded the Compass in 2019. Writes the flavor theory column and runs the Tuesday panel.
- Tasting leadRowan VasquezFormer pastry chef. Owns the thermometer calibration and the blind-tasting protocol.
- Contributing confectionerMarguerite OkonjoTwenty-two years at the copper pot. Advises on technique features and the Craft Lab.
- BotanicalsInes HalvorsenHerbalist and grower. Writes about steeping, infusions and restraint with florals.
- Art & illustrationTeodor BranniganDraws every illustration on this site by hand, in vectors, from real batches.
- Reader correspondenceThe desk teamCorrections, permissions and privacy requests. Reachable at the address above.
Tuesday panel, batch eleven: spearmint and basil pastilles, scored twice before lunch.
“Send us the odd one. The candy nobody else knows what to do with is usually the interesting one.” Delphine Marchetti · Editor
Before you write
What helps us help you.
Submitting to the tasting table
A useful first email is short: what the candy is, the full ingredient list, the cooking temperature, how it is finished, and where it is made. Photographs in daylight help. Please do not send perishable samples before we reply — chocolate and cream-filled pieces rarely survive the post in summer.
We do not accept payment for coverage. Offering it will not offend anyone, but it will not change the outcome either. Samples are logged, tasted blind where possible, and never returned.
Corrections & privacy requests
For a factual correction, use the subject line “Correction” and include the page and the sentence in question. For a privacy request, use “Privacy request” — the process is described in our Privacy & Cookie Notice. Licensing and reprint questions should be marked “Permissions”.
Visiting the studio
The mill studio in Asheville is a working kitchen, not a shop. There is nothing to buy at the door and no retail counter. We host a small number of appointments each month for makers and researchers; write ahead and we will find a slot.
Postal address: 218 Riverton Mill Road, Studio 4 · Asheville, NC 28801 · United States. Email is always faster.
One inbox, real people
Tell us what you are tasting.
Every message reaches the desk in Asheville, North Carolina. No autoresponders, no ticket numbers, no forms — just an editor who likes candy reading your email.