I
recently visited Victoria, British Columbia for the first time, and
in my first couple hours there I spotted a tourist magazine with a
cover article about Victoria-area chocolatiers! My free-form trip
suddenly had a focus;
I cross-referenced the chocolatiers described
in the article with Yelp reviews and my ability to get around, and ended up at three
shops—and,
sadly, forgot to take photos. So here are my reviews of three shops,
albeit in pictureless
form.
Of
the three shops, one is
all over Canada and has a
U.S. presence as well, one is a Victoria-based chain
that also sells online, and one is for local patrons only, which
hopefully means there's something of interest here for everyone.
International:
Chocolaterie Bernard
Callebaut
Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut is based out of Calgary, Alberta, was founded in 1983, and otherwise doesn't go into much depth on its site. According
to Wikipedia (and the Chicago-area Bernard Callebaut site),
Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut was founded by a
descendent of the more
famous Callebaut, he
of the Belgian company
that is now part of
multinational Barry Callebaut. Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut
currently operates under the corporate name Cococo Chocolatiers and
has
stores (some
corporate-operated, others independently owned) all
across Canada, one in the Portland, Oregon area, and one in the
Chicago, Illinois area.
The
store I visited in Victoria was spare, with a long confections
counter and shelves for bars, bags of chocolate shavings, and other
creations. I ordered about a half-dozen chocolates, including the
cinnamon ginger, trio, and bernard. So how were they? Nothing blew me
away, but all were pleasant, with fine molding, creamy fillings, and
subtle flavors. High-end but not all that interesting, though I had
no problem finishing them off. Yum.
Order
Online:
Rogers'
Chocolates
Rogers' Chocolates is totally Victoria: It
was founded in 1885 in Victoria, and Rogers' eight stores are all
located in British Columbia. I
visited the
“heritage storefront” on tourism-friendly
Government
Street and found it charmingly packed with confections
and boxed items in an old-fashioned, wood-paneled setting. And the
chocolates? Eh, they were okay, large and too sweet, so that divorced
from their setting, back in my hotel room, I ate only bites of
several before deciding I'd rather spend my calories on something
else. But I would return to Rogers' for the ambience, focusing my
purchases on the things I expect to be big
and homey,
like brittle and the turtle-like “Empress Squares”. So...meh.
Locals-Only:
Chocolat Chocolatiere
de Victoria
Chocolat Chocolatiere de Victoria's website just says that the company was founded in the
1990s nearby,
then moved to
downtown Victoria in 2004. Other articles note that the chocolatier is
Helene Pappas, though I also found an April 2011 obituary for a
Helene Pappas, though no other articles about her
death
(in,
say, local business news),
so perhaps that Helene is a relative. Regardless, Chocolat's
storefront on a busy street had a family vibe, with an older
gentleman (founder? father?) speaking familiarly with two women at
the counter (daughters?) and with several visitors of various ages
and appearances as they walked past the counter and chatted in a
hallway in the back. There was
a
confections counter front and center, and to the left a case of
chocolate desserts and a smaller counter for serving various
chocolate drinks. A long set of seats along the front window and a
separate nook of bistro tables and low, cushioned seats completed the
sense of Chocolat as a great coffee-shop-like place where I wished I
could become a regular.
So
how was the chocolate? I ended up with nearly a dozen of the
intriguing-looking and -sounding confections, among them Chocolate in
the Raw, a Dark Mouse, Marzipan, Rosebud, and the wasabi-infused
Samurai, and mostly
saved
them while drinking dark, thick, milk-free Xocolatl and watching the
staff wrap red boxes in preparation for Valentine's Day. I nibbled
on a few
chocolates and
saved the
rest
to finish later, in my hotel room, where I tried
and savored them all.
Some were more to my taste than others, but I had no regrets:
Chocolat's confections look varied and interesting and taste
evocative, fun, and creative, and I'd love to return. Excellent.
Appearance: Another purple-grey brown, in Chocolove's quilted mold, with a somewhat bumpy back.
