But what’s sweeter than the sweets themselves is the story of how Mignon came to exist – and survive – despite life’s twists and turns."Everything we do here, it's from scratch. Following the family tradition and the recipes," said Joe Terpoghossian."I was the first grandson of the family, so I knew I had to do something about it. And it worked out. I like chocolate," said Terpoghossian.
"One thing we never changed, and we will never change is when we never had any chemicals or preservatives to extend the shelf life of the chocolates," said Terpoghossian. "The communist regime came through, and they expected him to give up all his gold that he accumulated throughout the years. He gave them part of it but kept most of the gold buried in his backyard. Then somehow they found out and he got arrested. He was sent to Siberia for six years," said Terpoghossian.
Mignon became very popular in Tehran – Terpoghossian’s father Ruben was called the "King of Chocolate." He ultimately caught the attention of the Shah and the Royal Family. This is Queen Farah cutting her custom-baked birthday cake in 1969, which Ruben personally delivered to the palace. "We can sell over 2000 pieces a day, sometimes during summer time when it's wedding season. So the demand is there, the machine is there. All we need to do is sell it," said Terpoghossian.