It's a Menorah, It's a Turkey, It's A Menurkey!

Weeks ago, when David Levine's wife Melissa realized Thanksgiving fell on the first night of Hanukkah, she called him up.

"She said, 'It's a once in a lifetime event. It's Thanksgivukkah. We have to make a menurkey. We need to get on it,'" he recalled. 

And so Levine, the owner of Illinois Nut and Candy in Skokie, which he says is the largest kosher candy store in the Midwest, created a fantasy chocolate centerpiece that is both a turkey and a menorah. It looks like a menorah with a large, three-dimensional turkey below the candelabras. 

At $85, it's kind of a luxury item, but for those who realize Thanksgivukkah will not come again for tens of thousands of years (it is said), it might be worth the splurge--especially if you want to make an impression. 

Levine created chocolate menurkey lollipops, at $3.75 each, as a more affordable alternative. He can also ship them nationwide, while the large menurkey can only be delivered within the Chicago area. 

The "candles" on the menorah part of it are actually gummy candies shaped like flames.

So could you remove them and put in real candles to light?

"You could," Levine said tentatively, "but you'd get wax dripping on the chocolate."

Levine and his employees make most of their chocolates on-site, and a mold-maker, and sometimes a sculptor, create shaped chocolates for many corporate clients.

But the store is also a delight for kids, with its bright colors and eye-popping variety of chocolates, truffles, caramel apples, toffees, and every color and shape of candy. Levine says that in addition to kosher candy, it offers gluten-free, casein-free, lactose-free, sugar-free and nut-free delights.

Asked if he has a sweet tooth, he admits he does indulge.

"It's like an alcoholic owning a bar," he admitted.

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