Category Archives: Chocolatour
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 …
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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exploring chocolate in Missouri
I was really pleased with the chocolate findings in Missouri. Considering Branson is a small community of less than 10,000 permanent residents, they are very lucky to have an innovative chocolatier offering a very creative range of chocolate treats. Chocolat Hand Crafted Artisan Chocolates is owned and operated by April and Shane Heaton, who in themselves, have a fascinating background. Shane is originally from British Columbia, Canada, and chief chocolatier, April, was born in Korea. April’s Asian heritage can be felt throughout the shop, which is stylish and somewhat Zen. Her chocolates offer a wide range, from the playful (inspired by the fact that the Heaton’s have a young daughter who can often be found playing in the shop) to the serene. I would have liked to have seen more dark chocolate offerings, but April confessed that it’s been a hard sell converting the sweet tooth of Branson residents and visitors from milk to a darker chocolate. Even the dark chocolate at Chocolat at 60% cocoa is not quite dark enough for me. But that’s not to say I didn’t like it most of it. I was inspired by April’s playful approach to chocolate and you can’t help but feel good when you’re admiring the playfulness of her creations. There are gourmet Smores, a variety of chocolate covered pretzels, and about 20 varieties of Bella rounds that sell for just $1. So a trip to Chocolat won’t break the bank! A word of caution: I find the Mayan variety of Bella Bar to be much too peppery for my taste. The packaging says “an infusion of spicy chile and cinnamon in dark chocolate.” I could hardly taste the cinnamon and the chile pepper was far too hot for my taste, but for the most part, I’m not someone who likes …
Puyricard: makers of perfect chocolate in the French tradition
I’m told by the folks at the Quote of the Day service that it’s “National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day!” That immediately brought to mind my visit to the Chocolaterie de Puyricard in the tiny village of Puyricard, France, as Puyricard is famous for its Mendiants — magnificent dark chocolate disks covered with nuts and raisins. They are delicious and not sweet at all. One of my favourite chocolate treats! Have you had the pleasure of sinking your teeth into a mendiant? This post is a nice transition from our last few focusing on Belgium, as Puyricard Chocolatier was founded by a Belgian couple who had moved to the south of France in 1967 to pursue their dream of opening a chocolaterie. Chocolaterie de Puyricard now has 17 locations in France plus a New York-based exclusive order service for North American clients under the name of Puyricard Signature. Puyricard’s Signature is an online club we chocolate lovers can join to gain access to a limited line of exquisite French-tradition chocolates produced under the direction of master chocolatier, Tanguy Roelandts, son of the founders of the company, Jean-Guy and Marie-Anne Roelandts. The creative team at Puyricard are masters at what they do: combining fabulous French chocolate with the best fresh ingredients to enhance it. That includes cherries they grow themselves, apples grown just 70 miles from the plant, the very best almonds from Spain, hazelnuts from Italy, vanilla from Tahiti – all fresh and used without preservatives. So only a small selection of the 100 different confections made in France are available in North America, giving you more of an incentive to head to France and taste and enjoy the best of the best right where it is made and created. The packaging at Puyricard is just as elegant as the chocolates …
Sophisticated chocolate for the refined palate: Let me introduce you to Jean Galler
I met Jean Galler, The King’s Chocolatier, at his office in Liege, Belgium and was immediately enamored with his charm and style. And that was before I’d tasted the chocolate of Galler Chocolatier! Galler emits passion and excitement in his every word, movement and action. He is without question the most elegant and sophisticated chocolatier on the planet and there was no doubt that he would deliver that passion and elegance in his chocolate creations. We were not disappointed. Galler’s chocolate is complex and multi-faceted. He has something to please everyone with a discerning taste for fine chocolate. He is all about freedom to choose. So from Galler, you can expect a wide variety of chocolates to please virtually any palate. Galler has been making chocolate since 1976 and in 1993, was the first of Belgium’s chocolatiers to launch a 70% cocoa chocolate in which he found the perfect blend between bitterness and sweetness. In 2008, he launched a series of four blended chocolates. It is a very similar technique to blending grape varietals for wine such as Bordeaux, says Galler, whose passion for chocolate focuses on the finest quality. Today’s reality is that the consumer wants excellent quality but a small quantity. So Galler launched a series of mini gourmet chocolate bars that have become extremely popular. He also has a series of products for children. What does chocolate symbolize to the man who makes chocolate for the King of Belgium? “For me, chocolate is freedom. So in the box, I put freedom to choose and to change.” Galler Pure Cocoa has more than 40 chocolate shops around the world, including the Grand Place in Brussels and eight shops in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2008, Galler launched Chocolat-passion, a wine-matching concept in which he employs a sommelier …
Belgian chocolate at its best
I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing I could hop the pond and be in London this week for the celebrations of Chocolate Week. As I’ve previously written on this blog, you will definitely find some of the best chocolate on the planet in the UK. But as it’s not in the cards for me to make another epic chocolate journey at this particular moment in time, I’ll just reminisce about some of the best chocolate I’ve had the privilege of tasting and introduce you to several of the charming men who are making it in Belgium. A chocolate expedition to Belgium should begin at La Maison des Maitres Chocolatiers, a wonderful shop located right in the Grand Place of Brussels which features the chocolate products of 10 of Belgium’s best. The idea behind this inspirational place of chocolate is to introduce you to selected offerings from a variety of Belgian chocolatiers, saving you time and effort. If you’ve only got a short amount of time to make your chocolate discoveries, this is the place for you! You’ll see chocolate demonstrations and have the opportunity to taste a selection of chocolate to help you find your favourite. Two of my personal favourites do happen to be represented at La Maison. The chocolates of both Laurent Gerbaud (who has a beautiful new shop in Brussels) and Edouard Bechoux, owner of Les chocolats d’Edouard of Florenville, Belgium can be found at La Maison. Upbeat and enthusiastic Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier has a strong connection to Asia, as he lived in China for two years. He takes great pride in the purity of his chocolates, with no added sugar, butter, alcohol or preservatives and offers a terrific selection of exotic fruit such as Egyptian prunes, figs from Turkey and South African apricots that are happily …
chocolate scene in Montreal worth exploring
Thanks to everyone for sharing your favourite thoughts and highlights of Montreal. If you haven’t visited the site since the last post was uploaded, please take a moment to check out everyone’s contributions in the “Comments” tab at the beginning of the last post. This week, as promised, I’d like to focus on the sweeter side of Montreal, the city where Chocolatour was officially launched back in October of 2009. There are a plethora of excellent chocolate bistros around the city that not only offer a tempting selection of handmade fresh chocolates to take home, they serve sensuous chocolate creations that can be the main focus of your meal or the perfect ending by way of a make-you-squeal dessert. I really enjoyed lunch at Juliette & Chocolat located at 377 Laurier Ouest. The atmosphere is perfect for lunch with the girls, and the menu offers some really unique offerings such as the chocolate salad! The Juliette & Chocolat Salad is served with seasonal fruit, and goat cheese with buckwheat crepe slices, topped with a chocolate raspberry vinaigrette. Delicious! Juliette & Chocolat is also famous for its drinking chocolate, offering an exotic list of chocolate origins to choose from. This picture of a friend enjoying her drinking chocolate tells the story of complete satisfaction. The chocolate selection is lovely, too, and take time to peruse the “Chocolate Bars” on the menu which provide interesting tidbits about chocolate and cocoa around the world. This is truly a place for chocolate lovers! I also enjoyed chatting with chocolatier, Marlain Jean Philippe, owner of Marlain Chocolatier, located at 21 Cartier in Pointe Claire, a suburb of Montreal. The small shop is located in a historic house and don’t be surprised if you’re welcomed by the ear-to-ear smile of the proprietor when you walk in the …
more London chocolate to help you celebrate Chocolate Day!
How appropriate that the next post on my chocolate travel blog will come on Chocolate Day! Chocolate truly is the international language of love, as no matter where you go in the world, if you arrive with a fine box of chocolates in hand, you will be well received. The British certainly love their chocolate, and based on figures detailing chocolate consumption around the world, the Brits are near the top on every list I have seen. And they seem to be willing to spend more on their chocolate, as I have found their chocolate to be quite pricey. But definitely worth it! In the last post, I introduced you to two of my favourite chocolate masters from the UK. But there are so many more! In our celebration to Chocolate Day, I’ll briefly introduce you to a few more. I was fortunate to be in London for the launch of Hotel Chocolat’s signature 66% dark chocolate, introduced at their Rabot Estate chocolate boutique in Borough Market in London. I loved exploring Borough Market and meeting Angus Thirlwell, co-owner of Hotel Chocolat and the Rabot Estate. I can’t wait to get to St. Lucia and visit their cacao plantation and chocolate spa that makes Hotel Chocolat stand out as the chicest of chocolate makers. If you’re looking for chocolate with a feminine flair, then Rococo Chocolates is the place for you. Founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady, Rococo was the first brand of luxury, artisan brand chocolate in the UK and is characterized by the labels and packaging that show off Chantal’s amazing talent as a textile designer. This is designer chocolate in a soft, subdued fashion, offering 25 flavours of fresh truffles and exotic bars with flavours such as Cardamom, Caramelized Onion and Moroccan Mint. Rococo makes some of its …
surviving London’s chocolate revolution
The best thing about my job as the author of Chocolatour is that I get to eat an abundance of tremendously wonderful chocolate and that I get to meet a lot of amazing chocolate masters who are generous with their chocolates. That is also the worst thing about my job. Once that chocolate is in my possession it is quickly eaten unless I give it away. But I can’t give it away and still get to eat it (and test it, savour it, review it, write about it.) So there is a bit of a dilemma I have to deal with, in addition to the expanding reach of my waistline. Believe me. I share as much of the chocolate I am exposed to as I can, but for the most part, the tasting, comparing, analyzing and appreciating is mine to do. It’s wonderful when the chocolate has a shelf-life of at least a few weeks. That gives me time to taste and share while the chocolate is still at full quality. But that’s not always the case. Some freshly-made chocolates, like the truffles of Paul A. Young of London only have a shelf-life of one week. It is not the kind of chocolate that you can take home and savour for awhile. It pretty much needs to be eaten within a few days of leaving the shop for optimum flavour. And it cannot be frozen and should not be refrigerated. But it’s still worth a trip to one of Paul’s intoxicating London locations, as there are other options that have a slightly longer shelf life and will better survive a journey. Just walking into his shop is worth the visit. You are nearly bowled over by the potent smell of fresh chocolate. All the chocolate sold in the shop is made on …
