Category Archives: Canadian chocolatiers & chocolate makers
I love travelling the world and sampling chocolate from far flung corners, but as this is a chocolate blog in Canada I of course make sure to sample the delights on my doorstep too. This page is an archive of all of the posts I have written about Canadian chocolatiers and Canadian chocolate makers.
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 …
Winnipeg’s artisanal chocolatier
This is Thanksgiving weekend in Manitoba, Canada where I live, and keeping in tune with our last post about Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on the Canadian Prairies, I thought I’d indulge in a post in a post about my hometown and one of the most spectacular things about it for anyone interested in chocolate travel.
Artisanal chocolate in Winnipeg
If you do a google search on “artisanal chocolate” you’ll be surprised to land on the site of Winnipeg’s own Constance Popp Chocolatier, the Manitoba capital’s only award-winning artisanal chocolatier. Good on Constance (whose last name is Menzies) for scooping up that sought-after URL, as the quest for excellence in artisanal chocolate is a growing global phenomenon and the reason I am writing Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate.
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enjoying a chocolate piece of The Rock
I’ve recently had the pleasure of receiving some amazing chocolate from Brent Smith, “Chief Chocolate Officer” at the Newfoundland Chocolate Company in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The chocolates were not only good and highly creative, they reminded me of the love I have for Canada’s most easterly province, Newfoundland & Labrador. Canadians (or anyone) can’t really feel they’ve seen our great country until they’ve spent some time on The Rock. It’s different than any other part of Canada. In a really nice way. People speak with quite an accent, especially “the townies” from St. John’s. They almost have a different language! In fact, when writing the first edition of the Frommer’s Guide to Newfoundland & Labrador in 2003, I often referred to my trusty massive 770-page Dictionary of Newfoundland English for insight and guidance. The Newfies (I’m told by a Newfoundland friend that it’s OK to call them that) have their own words, terms and phraseology for just about everything. But they speak the universal language of friendliness. Coming from the province of Manitoba (whose nickname is “Friendly Manitoba”) I’m used to a friendly, smiling people and can honestly say I feel right at home when I’m among friends in Newfoundland. I think it was because our first-ever hosts in the province were Don & Yvonne Bradbury, a lovely couple who ran the Maunder Manor B&B until recently when they officially retired. They were the ultimate B&B hosts and became good friends of ours. But back to the chocolate. The Newfoundland Chocolate Company is located in the heart of St. John’s and justifiably considered the best chocolatier in the province. What I really like about Brent’s chocolates is that they come with a map of Newfoundland! The “Lighthouse Series” is named after villages, sites and outposts where you’ll find the province’s …
chocolate appreciation opens you to flavours of the world
I had the pleasure of spending several days over the past week in Toronto. A highlight of my recreational time (most of my time was tied up in meetings) took me to SOMA chocolatmaker’s new location at 443 King Street West. In addition to SOMA’s unique chocolate creations which I’ve previously written about here, what I really love about SOMA is the fact that they carry a small selection of premium chocolate bars from around the world. As I’m heading on a chocolate expedition to South America next month, I was particularly looking for bars from Ecuador and Peru and I wasn’t disappointed. SOMA had bars from Kallari and Republica Del Cacao of Ecuador as well as bars and chocolate treats of their own made from exquisite Peruvian chocolate. I was ecstatic! All were delicious and unique in their own chocolate profiles. As I’ll be getting into the details of those South American chocolate flavours in future posts, I won’t get into them now. I will say that SOMA’s own Twilight Forest Bar made from Peruvian chocolate, Maldon salt, pumpkin seeds and local honey is worth a trip of any length. One of the best chocolate bars I’ve ever had, and it’s made in Toronto, Canada and available online for those of you who can’t get to Toronto via the online product list. The purpose of this post is indeed to encourage you to look for new and different chocolate flavours wherever and whenever you travel. You’d be surprised where you might find them! We had a lovely Italian dinner at a small bistro at 147 Spadina Avenue called Fusaro’s Kitchen Italian Eatery where I purchased a Perugina chocolate bar made in Perugia, Italy and imported by a company in New Jersey, USA … which somehow ended up in a …
