Category Archives: chocolate travel
places to go to find and experience the best chocolate
exploring chocolate in Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia is one sweet city. Gorgeous views and vistas at every turn. But how does it measure up on the chocolate scale? As someone who’s been scouring the world in search of the best chocolate for the past 3+ years, I felt compelled to thoroughly explore the chocolate scene in Vancouver am pleased to report … it’s excellent! Vancouver is home to worldclass chocolatier, Thomas Haas, rated by some as Canada’s very best. I would definitely put this amazing chocolatier in the top tier in Canada. Originally hailing from Germany, Thomas Haas has European training and experience to his credit, and combines his youth and creativity with traditional old-world flair to bring you an excellent assortment of European-style pastries as well as a scrumptious selection of chocolate bars, treats and truffles. The bars have extremely creative packaging, taste fantastic and make an excellent gift grouped in six-packs for $33C. That’s just $5.50 a bar for quality that you’d pay $10/bar for at many of the finer chocolate houses around the world. Now with two locations (the original at 128-998 Harbourside Drive in North Vancouver and a second location at 2539 West Broadway in Kitsilano) Thomas Haas Chocolate has a devout following that will beat you to the punch and snap up the delicious double-baked chocolate croissants if you’re not quick on the draw. I was stunned at the line-ups on a Saturday in May when I visited the North Van location – particularly as it’s in an industrial area where the rest of the surrounding buildings are not open on weekends. Do call ahead or check the website when you’re visiting to be sure you’re not disappointed as Haas respects “family hours” and is not open evenings, Sundays, or Mondays in order to give his hardworking staff well-deserved time off …
Chocolatour Goes Indiegogo
Thanks to everyone who’s been with me on this wonderful journey of chocolate exploration over the past 3+ years. We have a lot more chocolate to discover! As most of you know, I’ve been writing the first edition of “Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate” over the past year. I had no idea at that point in time that the book would take so long to write, or the breadth and magnitude of the research I had accumulated. I soon realized that this was much more than one book, and so the plan was transformed into a trilogy that would be published in a series of three distinct volumes that would divide the world up geographically. The 1st edition of Chocolatour will focus on Europe and the UK. Within that region, I have spotlighted six European countries that to me, epitomize the best that Europe has to offer in the world of chocolate. I have chosen Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Holland as each of these countries has played an important role in the modern evolution of chocolate. And I’ve included the British Isles (UK) in this volume as it is my opinion that Britain is making the best chocolate on the planet, and that Scotland and Ireland aren’t far behind. Chocolatour has selected a small number of chocolatiers, chocolate makers and chocolate companies to profile from each of these countries. My goal has been to give you some travel tidbits on each location, and then introduce you to the men and women of chocolate who are doing something special. Those who are the most innovative. Those who are worth checking out –whether you decide to plan a trip and head overseas, or whether you decide to order some fine artisanal chocolate online and open your chocolate-loving …
Chocolatouring: enjoying the chocolate tours at Hotel Chocolat Boucan
Our time on St. Lucia was a week of utter chocolate bliss. As mentioned in the previous post, we had three glorious days at Hotel Chocolat Boucan, a boutique property owned by British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat and situated on the 140-acre Rabot Estate, the island’s longest-producing cacao plantation, operational since 1745. We toured the estate with cocoa production manager, Cuthbert Monroque, who explained that unlike nearby South America, the biggest problem his cacao-growing team has to deal with is rats. Yes, there are so many rats trying to bite into the sweet pulp of the ripening cocoa pods that Monroque has had to establish a rat-drowning regiment to keep things under control. This photo shows how a rat chewed his way into a pod and ate the flesh and cocoa beans from within. Another challenge for St. Lucian cocoa growers are mushroom spores, which spread the fungus that has been destroying some of the crop. As Rabot Estate is an organic property, no pesticides or fungicides are used. The resort offers a “Tree to Bean” tour as well as a “Bean to Bar” tour to help chocolate lovers understand how cacao is grown and how the beans are harvested, cleaned, fermented, dried, and processed to make chocolate. We grafted seedlings and put our name on them so that we could return in future and see the cacao tree that we helped create. Cuthbert makes a special tea that he uses to fertilize the seedlings, and that, combined with a special manure mixture help make the cacao trees strong and healthy. Grafting the seedlings helps reduce the time it takes for them to bear fruit. Without grafting it may take up to three years for a cacao tree to produce pods. With grafting, that period may be reduced to as little …
cacao cuisine is king at Hotel Chocolat Boucan
If you truly want to become immersed in the world of chocolate while visiting St. Lucia, there is no better place to be than Hotel Chocolat Boucan, a small resort of 14 deluxe rooms overlooking the mesmerizing Petit Piton on the southern end of this delicious Caribbean island. Whether it’s “Cacao Cuisine” (a full menu created around the wonders of cocoa), the “Cocoa Juvenate” spa treatments that wrap and pamper you with cocoa-based products, or the “Tree to Bean” and “Bean to Bar” tours of the Rabot Estate plantation where cacao is grown and harvested, British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat makes sure all your chocolate dreams come true when you visit their Boucan Hotel & Restaurant. Boucan is a boutique property built on the historic 140-acre Rabot Estate, where cacao has been grown since 1745, making it the island’s longest-producing cacao plantation. For the past 260 years, cacao has been grown and exported to various countries, who have been making delicious chocolate from it and selling it abroad. All that will change in 2014, as Hotel Chocolat is building a chocolate production plant on its Rabot Estate, where chocolate can be made right from the fermented, dried, and roasted beans in the Hotel Chocolat tradition. I had the pleasure of visiting the British chocolatier’s Rabot Estate Bistro in Borough Market in London, met company co-founder and CEO Angus Thirlwell, and tasted a wide selection of Hotel Chocolat chocolate as well as a selection of its cacao cuisine. I knew I had to visit the St. Lucian property to complete the experience. I was not disappointed. “Cacao Cuisine” is a fusion-style of cooking into which cacao/cocoa is used as a seasoning or flavour enhancement. It is never over-bearing, and provides a cocoa/chocolate essence to the menu as opposed to the more in-your-face …
Chocolatour goes Zen at Jade Mountain
As a travel writer, I’ve had the tremendous privilege of being invited to stay at some amazing places. But none, like Jade Mountain. What made this St. Lucian destination resort stand out from the rest? This series of pictures should answer that. Walking into Sanctuary JE2, our home for four days, I succumbed to tears of joy. The anticipation of seeing this view in person was exciting enough, but living it every moment during our stay as part of the decor in our open-concept room was overwhelming to the point that I was brought to tears. And it’s not just a view outside of a window. There are no windows at Jade Mountain. The sanctuaries are built into the side of a hill overlooking the twin Pitons. Every public and private room at the resort has a stunning view of these captivating volcanic peaks. But Canadian-born architect-owner Nick Troubetzkoy didn’t stop there. That incredible view wasn’t enough for Nick, rightly called a visionary by many. He included infinity pools with colourful tiles made from recycled glass in the sanctuaries. And an abundance of greenery as part of the decor inside the walls of the room in addition to all the lush greenery that surrounds and is part of the setting of Jade Mountain. How did I get so lucky as to have been invited to have three butlers at my beck and call and the opportunity to enjoy the creative cuisine and enticing activities available at this award-winning property? Jade Mountain hosts a Chocolate Festival each year, during which time participants and guests can visit the Emerald Estate, where cocoa in addition to 32,000 pounds of produce is grown to satisfy the cravings of guests at Jade Mountain and its big sister beachfront resort, Anse Chastanet. Having tried St. Lucian …
back to Ecuador for more delicious chocolate travel
It’s been fun sharing stories with you about chocolate in my neck of the woods, but I’ve got much more to share about our chocolate travels in Ecuador.
We explored Old Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in this post and got detained in a mudslide in this post. You met ex-pat (American) chocolatier Jeff Stern and Elizabeth Hendley, an ex-pat (Canadian) cacao grower and owner of the Chocolate Jungle Lodge in these posts.
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North Dakota chocolatier salutes the seasons
Our last post was a salute to a Winnipeg chocolatier who really knows how to celebrate the season. Those chocolate turkeys are amazing!
Our post this week profiles the Widman Candy Company who has been making great chocolate in North Dakota and Minnesota in the northern United States since 1911 with the opening of a tiny shop in Crookston, Minnesota. A detailed story about Widman’s Candy Company can be found on my website in the story archives at this link.
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journey to the chocolate jungle
Our journey to the Chocolate Jungle Lodge near Misahualli, Ecuador was an exciting one! Where else will you find the town greeters to be monkeys? There’s a tribe of capuchin monkeys that live on the beach at Misahualli and entertain themselves by hanging out in the small town square. They’re a hilarious band of hooligans, and if you don’t give them something, don’t be surprised if they pickpocket you! No way were they getting my chocolate!
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Pairing Pisco with chocolate? You bet!
A good times gal like me would be remiss without mentioning the Pisco and chocolate tasting we experienced at Xocolatl during our chocolate travels in Lima.
I had always thought a deep dark chocolate went best when paired with a big red wine like Malbec. But I’m now learning that there are many other libations that pair very nicely with chocolate, and chocolatier Giovanna Maggiolo wanted to be sure we understood that the Peruvian brandy was no exception.
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Orquidea Chocolate from Peru: a taste & setting as beautiful as its namesake
During the past 2.5 years of my research for Chocolatour, I’ve had the opportunity to visit many chocolate factories. Huge, high tech ones in Switzerland. Tiny, hands-on ones in Peru. And everything in between.
Orquidea Chocolate
But I must say the one that has had a true impact on me in every aspect of chocolate travel is the Orquidea Chocolate factory in Tarapoto, Peru. (You’ll find more about the small city of Tarapoto in the previous post on this blog as well as from this terrific site.)
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