Sweet Style: Gourmet Chocolates
As these local companies prove, chocolate is a growth industry in B.C. – and we don’t just mean for your waistline.
(Top) For nearly three decades, Vancouver-based, Belgian-born chocolatier Daniel Poncelet has been tempting chocolate lovers across Canada with the creations of Daniel Le Chocolat Belge. danielchocolates.com
(Middle Left) The purple and gold colours of Vancouver-based Purdy’s Chocolates – founded in 1907 on Robson Street by Richard Carmon Purdy – tempt chocoholics from B.C. to Ontario with time-tested favourites like Fruit Jellies (top right) and new sensations such as the pyramid-shaped Mayans created by head chocolatier, Gary Mitchell. purdys.com
(Middle Right) Known around Vancouver as “Saint Thomas” for his powers of chocolate persuasion, Thomas Haas is a fourth-generation pâtissier whose impressive resumé includes a stint as executive pastry chef at Daniel Boulud’s five-star restaurant, Daniel, in New York. Today his delectable wares can be found at his two Vancouver area cafés and pre-packaged (like the Dark Bark medallion, bottom right) in gourmet stores such as Urban Fare. thomashaas.com
(Bottom Left) A relative newcomer to the retail game, maître chocolatier Thierry Busset opened his first storefront a few months ago in Vancouver’s high-end restaurant row on Alberni Street. Hailed as “the best pastry chef in North America” by none other than Gordon Ramsay, he’s best known for his macarons (top left), for which three round-the-clock shifts are required to keep up with demand. However, his decadent chocolates are also gaining in popularity. thierrychocolates.com
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