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I was visiting families and friends this past holiday season and I had the chance to check out several chocolate shops in town. The chocolate scene in Vancouver is definitely booming. New stores and more convenient branch locations for some famous names are blooming to the excitement of the coming Winter Olympics/ Valentines Day combo. Although I wouldnt advise anyone to go for a Vancouver chocolate tour during the Games unless thats what they are also there for, the huge infrastructure upgrade on the citys transit systems certainly makes it much easier getting around to these fabulous chocolate locations. Here are a couple of my favorite spots. There are definitely more places to check out. A more complete list can be found here http://www.poifriend.com/poigroup.php?poigroup_id=29639 , with their GPS locations, thanks to 8chocolate.com . Fellow chocolate lovers and Vancouverites are more than welcome to add to the list and share their chocolate experiences in Vancouver.

Xoxolat:
A new store in Vancouver that sets out to explore both the fun and the serious aspects of gourmet chocolates. In the store, you can always expect the most unexpected and refreshing combinations of chocolates and just about anything that's edible -- from the Pop rocks candy to bacon/espresso to freshly shaved Italian black truffles. Everything made in the store is without artificial flavoring and with no emulsifiers! Their own 71% dark chocolate offers a unique flavor profile, an interesting departure from the more widely used Callebaut and Valrhona. My favorite is their sour cherry and chili bar. They also make special occasions extra special by making truffles with ingredients that you bring to the store.

On the other hand, this is also THE place in Vancouver to replenish the stock on the best artisan chocolates from around the world, to name a few: Amano, Amedei, Claudio Corallo, Cluizel , Pralus, Theo, Valrhona, and the largest collection of chocolates from the Austrian company Zotter I've seen. They also carry products from Terra Nostra -- a Vancouver a based organic/equitable trade chocolate company owned and operated by fifth-generation chocolatier Karlo Flores. The staff in the store is definitely knowledgeable to back this selection up. However, it's a special treat if you happen to catch their resident chocolate expert Ethel Makon who is able to break down flavors in a chocolate according to the terrain and climates of its origin.Xoxolat is also working closely with local wine, Scotch and tea experts to come up with new flavor combinations and uses of chocolates. A trip to the store will fill you with feelings of warmth and satisfaction that fine chocolates never fail to incite. The closest transit stop is at Burrard Street and Broadway Avenue by the No. 9 bus. The store is just one block north.

XOXOLAT
http://www.xoxolat.com/
2391 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC V6J 3J2 Canada
Phone: 604.733.CHOC (2462) Fax: 866.795.8412

Thomas Haas Patisserie:
Vancouverites arelucky to have a world renowned chocolatier -- Thomas Haasright in their backyard. Thomas has been chosen to be one of the top10 chocolatiers in North America by the Dessert Professional magazine in 2009. The only one in Canada! He has two store locations in thegreater Vancouver area. Hisflagship shop is in North Vancouver and actually requires a short journeyto get to. But his chocolates and the scenery along the way make it more thanworthwhile to embark on this half day trip.
The best way to get to North Vancouver is to take the seabus at the Waterfront Station which can be reached by either taking the northbound Canada line or the 98 B-line. The station itself is a heritage building built in 1910 located within walking distance to the historical gas town district. The boat ride offers a panoramic view of the Vancouver harbor-- the gateway to Asia. As the boat pulls away from the dock one gets the a beautiful snapshot of the Canada place with its unique architecture. Alsocoming into sight, a stretch of emerald green, theStanley Park, stands in serenity against the turquoise water that extendswestward under the Lions Gate Bridge and then to the horizon and beyond. While I was still immersed in the beauty of the North Shore mountains my attention was quickly snatched away by the bright yellow pyrmiads of sulfur, momentos for the times when they played amajor role igniting the citys development. Cargo ships and cruises crisscross the waters weaving the picture of a vibrant and diverse economy for the region's future. While the picturic scenerygives the monstrous cargo ships from the Far East a chance to temporarily surrender their weariness,it also makes the perfect pre-course for the visual and gastronomic feast tocome.

Off the boat at Lonsdale Quay, where one can savor the freshest seafood cooked on site, here is the connecting point to various popular tourist destinations including the Grouse Mountain hiking trail. A15 minute ride on the 236 bus to its last stop will take us to the backyard of Thomas shop. The boat/bus ride takes about 45 minutes provided smooth connections. Upon entering the store I was immediately drawn to the dazzling array of luxurious creation by this fourth-generation chocolatier. Truffles, pastries and desserts,each hand crafted and elaborately decorated, resemble pieces of artworkstimulating both imagination and salivation.

Although everything is sublime, here are a few things that stood out during my visit. His line of chocolate caramels are testaments to their skills at confectionery. These pockets of amber colored delight conveythe subtle balance between sweetness and smokiness. Thomas and his team further add newdimensions by introducing unusual ingredients such as balsamic vinegar/ honey,merlot, and tropical fruits to his caramel . The perfect consistency andtexture allow the flavors to tango and swirl on the palate but with a clean, polite exit. The fruity flavored truffles boast dense and full-bodied texture while the flavor isdelicate and bright. The cassis cake made with both cassis jam and cassis infusedwhite chocolate mousse is my favorite. And their double baked almond croissant stillmakes me drool whenever I think of it. This location often hosts pastry chefsfrom restaurants and hotels experimenting with their latest inspiration. Sometimesthe customers can have a taste of these new creations for a fraction of thecost when they make it to the menu. Reluctantly leaving the store, I found a stroll along the harbor and on to the piers, enjoying the Vancouver skyline from another perspective a very good way to wind down from such adecadent banquet.

Haas' second shop is conveniently located in the Kitslanoarea in the lower mainland, nestled between some of the best restaurants in Vancouver.It can be reached by simply taking the 99 B line to Broadway AvenueandMcDonald St. A short 200 m walk to the east, you are in chocolate heaven.

Thomas Haas Patisserie
http://www.thomashaas.com/
North Vancouver Store - 604.924.1847998 Harbourside Drive, Unit 128
Kitsilano Store - 604.736.18482539 West Broadway, Vancouver

to me, the chocolates from both Xoxolat and Haas' are able to reflect Vancouver's colorful and diverse culture and they also embody the people's friendliness and hospitality. As any good chocolates should, they absorb qualities from the surroundings and merged with their own unique abilities to inspire passion and creativity in all of us who take a bite in them. I hope your Vancouver chocolate experience is just as good as mine if not better. Happy eating!!

I love brownies, but they must be perfect! I do not like cake-like brownies (does anyone?). The gooier the better! In order to get perfect brownies, you need to do 2 things. Stop stirring when *most* of the dry ingredients are mixed in (using a spoon, never a beater). And undercook them. Don't take them out when they're absolutely still uncooked (when wet batter comes off on your fork or toothpick). But take them out when some sticky crumbs come off on the fork. If the fork is clean, your brownies are toast. This gets particularly tricky when you have pieces of chocolate in the batter that melt and pretend they are uncooked brownies. That's why mine always have a ton of poke marks.

**Disclaimer - it may be very, very dangerous to undercook brownies, because they have eggs in them. Eggs are always a potential carrier of salmonella. If you are concerned about this, you can always buy pasteurized egg substitute. Still tastes good, and healthier too!

If brownies are not like this, it is not worth eating them.

And brownies are best 20 minutes after coming out of the oven.

That being said, my sister and I had an awesome brownie sunday at Chili's the other day! The brownie was molten and slowly flowing under the melting glaciers of vanilla ice cream. So good! We both ate more and more far beyond when we were full because it was so good. It was worth wishing we would explode for the rest of the night.

It's about to snow pretty bad this weekend. Usually I like to make a box of Ghiardeli Double Chocolate brownies when I'm snowed in, but I have no eggs. I'm trying really hard to fight the urge to go to the grocery store, but I'm going to miss my snow brownies.

Desmond says: There has been a demand for luxury chocolates for centuries, "From the foamy drink of the Aztecs to the rich confections of Europe, chocolate has long been celebrated as an indulgence fit for Kings, Desmond says ;
"We feel that other than celebrating the wondrous cocoa plant, International Chocolate Day brings the opportunity to celebrate everything chocolaty," he says. "A little bit of decadence never hurt anyone, so we are encouraging people to celebrate this day by joining in the merriment by gorging themselves silly on the dreamy stuff without needing an excuse."
While chocolate has long been considered a great indulgence, recent studies have also shown that there may be reasons to feel a little less guilty about eating chocolate and it can actually be beneficial to your health.
"Researchers have found that certain chocolates and cocoa contain flavonoids, or anti oxidents that may help reduce the risk of heart disease," he says. "Chocolate also contains potassium, magnesium and calcium, and recent studies have shown that chocolate contains a substance called catechins that could help prevent cancer and heart disease."
In addition, with its reputed aphrodisiac qualities, chocolate with a high cocoa content has for centuries been associated with the simple sensual pleasure of its consumption.

I need a foot print lollipop mold about 2" to 3" long ASAP.Stan

Does anyone have the geodesic chocolate mold from jbprince? Does anyone know the candy weight of it. I know other websites like pastrychef.com has them but with less cavities. I tried contacting their customer service 4 TIMES but no responces yet.

This is the dumbest question on this blog but I can't find the answer anywhere here.Date of next large trade(?) show in San Francisco?

I finally managed to find a Whole Foods that was convenient for me to visit. I must say, I'm hooked on that store now. They had beautiful flowers, and I heard my favorite music in there that I never hear anywhere else!But onto the chocolate... I went to the chocolate section, and was overwhelmed by brands that I never heard of. Someone reccomended that I try Kilari, but they didn't have any of that. So, I picked up a small bar of Lindt 70%, and they had tiny squares of another brand that I'm blanking on. I ate the square, and enjoyed it, but I'm waiting for the right moment to try the Lindt.That brings me to a question: How do you clense your palate before eating chocolate? Too often I eat fast food, and I figure I need to refresh my tongue before trying chocolate that I spent good money on.Then I decided to look at these websites that you have suggested, and I saw more chocolate and concepts that I am unfamiliar with. I'm sure the more I see it all, the better grasp I'll have of it.But I discovered this (scroll to the bottom): Venchi Gianduja Chocolate Spread I was drawn in by the packaging. What is this beautiful chocolate? What does one spread it on? Fancy bread? Yellow cake? My tongue?I'm so glad I have found this community! I'm very excited to be embarking on a new Chocolate Life!

In November we were invited to take a tour of my favorite creamery, Straus Family Creamery near Pedaluma. Although we didnt get to see any actual cows, the pasture was too wet, we did get to observe a family-run business and try some of their tasty experimental ice cream flavors!I was particularly excited as I have been using Straus cream in my truffles since I started my business. It really does make a difference in the taste and texture of the ganache. Most people I talk with know of the Creamerys ethical reputation and rich history but Im always willing to educate them if not.Im very fortunate to live in a place where I have easy access to such a quality product made by artisans.Interestingly, I often get questions about the glass bottles. Certainly an unique feature, it also serves a practical function. Glass is inert and produces no off flavors, not to mention that it recyclable and reusable. I pay a $1.50 deposit on each bottle that is refunded when I return the bottles. Im usually buying more cream at the same time so the deposit is in constant rotation.Please take a look at some of my pictures of our creamery tour.

Vintage glass milk bottles lined the conference room where we were greeted by Rich Martin, VP of Sales and Marketing, AKA our tour guide.

We were provided with clean suits, which included baby-blue booties.

Wendy from Socola Chocolates adorning the fashion of the tour.

Birds eye view of the surprisingly small facility.

Many metal pipes crossing every which way above our heads. These two taking raw milk from pasture to bottle.

Line em up and ship em out!

Each bottle is inspected before leaving the building.

Pasteurized not homogenized so the cream floats to the top. Made the old-fashioned way in small batches.

We got to see plain, vanilla and maple flavored yogurt in the process of heating and cooling. So tempting to stick a finger in the cratered surface!

Only four yogurts across being filmed at one time.

Amazing to see the yogurt go from the vats to the containers.

Only one guy filling the ice cream containers.

Today it was the Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Flanking Albert Straus in front of the two-story high signature red Straus milk crates. We proudly display our canvas goodie-bags.

This months cooking with the Choc-a-holics group: Chocolate With Francois we had an excellent opportunity to create little fried donuts. The name Pets De Nonne literally means nuns fart. That really doesnt sound very good to me but ignore the name, take a bite and all skepticism melts away. The pick was by Maggie of The Other Side of 50. Great pick Maggie!

I dont like to fry. I dont have a deep fryer and I am afraid of hot oil. The result of my fears was a very ugly looking fried lump of very dark (some might say black) dough. I thoughtwho the heck is going to eat these.The only major change to the recipe, other than not deep frying, was my use of Schokinag Drinking Chocolate instead of cocoa.

After cooking, I sprinkled on the confectioners sugar. That made them look a little better. Then I approached my resident guinea pig taste tester, Ted, and he said Sure! Ill try one. He bit in and mumbled something. I said Pardon? is it ok? He said Yeah. Its good. I just cant tell what it is.At that point I didnt declare Its a Nuns Fart! Since on a previous day I had baked a carob-honey sponge for diarrhea and he was certain to begin wondering where my baking was going. Ted came in the kitchen, hovered over the brown-black lumps of fried dough and said I want another. I pointed out a smaller one and he said too small. He went for a bigger one, sprinkled on the sugar and said Its a good thing we have the gym or youd be looking at Two Ton Tony! I guess if he gained an exorbitant amount of weight, hed change his name to Tony.

My Pets De Nonne are not pretty as they flattened out because I didnt deep fry. In fact I initially had the oil too hot (suppose to be 350F). But the taste.the taste IS feather light and they are sinfully delicious. A nun would NEVER indulge in such an extravagance. Orwould she?Wonderful recipe by Francois Payard from his book Chocolate Epiphany. Go to this link for all the details: Apple Crumbles

Joanne

More than 600 purveyors of gourmet foods sought the attention of buyers, brokers, shopkeepers, party planners and journalists this month at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. And plenty of them were stretching the definition of "gourmet."Retail shops and supermarkets from around the country sent their buyers on a mission of taste to this semiannual trade show Jan. 17-19, sponsored by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Among the products they encountered: a meatball mix (which was surprisingly good), countless crackers, kosher sparkling water and even Bacon Marshmallow S'more Kits (unspeakably bad).Even in the recession, food-makers created lavish booths and flashy installations. Costumed ladies passed out penny candy like old-fashioned cigarette girls, and the bowls of free food samples seemed bottomless.Blood Orange Marmalade and Triple Nut Kentucky Bourbon Brittle were among recent winners of the Sofi Award, a spotlight for excellence. Bacon Popcorn made the San Francisco Chronicle's list of highlights. On the darker side of the spectrum were big, clumpy chocolates designed for shelf stability (meaning, no cream, butter or any ingredient demanding freshness) and price point (cheap). The result: bad bonbons.Savor California, a collection of gourmet artisans, sent its members out to roam the floor in search of the unofficial worst-in-show product. The dubious honor went to a bag of truffle popcorn. When opened at the Savor California booth, heads turned, brows wrinkled and a chorus of "What's that smell?" resounded. At this show, popcorn served as a vehicle for both the sublime and the malodorous.Can't miss: 'Hippie Chips' and tequilaEvery show has big spenders whose booths draw a crowd of shoppers, gawkers and swag-seekers. Stubb's, a prominent Texas barbecue sauce-maker, wheeled in a full-size trailer replete with smoker, grill, front porch, rocking chairs, red gingham tablecloths and overall-clad salesmen. Freshly barbecued ribs and a smart lineup of tasty products delivered on the promise of the presentation. Another dazzler was Rock 'n' Roll Gourmet, sellers of "Hippie Chips," whose booth became a surf shack where loud music, psychedelic lights and free-flowing shots of tequila -- a winning combo in any trade show setting -- accompanied their products.But it was chocolate maker TCHO that stood out for presenting substance, not just style. The craft batch manufacturer of premium chocolate based on San Francisco's Pier 17 started five years ago as a marriage of high-tech and food cultures. Founder Timothy Childs, a former NASA engineer, pioneered the flavor wheel -- a way to organize chocolate's flavor profiles beyond the standard description of cacao percentages, such as "72% cacao."

TCHO's chocolate flavor wheelIn September, TCHO launched an organic, fair-trade chocolate line that stands out in a slim field. Most organic chocolates are limited in flavor depth because they are limited in bean selection; only a small percentage of the world's cacao beans are organically grown and fair-trade certified. TCHO passed out its flavor wheel to visitors, and they were donned by chocolatiers who support the brand, and by extension, the effort to make chocolate as ethical as it is delightful.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Susie Norris is a chocolatier, TV producer and author of the new book "Chocolate Bliss."Photos, from top: Buyers and journalists tried out the latest offerings from more than 600 gourmet food makers at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. Credit: National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Bottom, the TCHO chocolate taste wheel. Credit: Susie Norris.