I’ll admit, I am biased because I absolutely love chocolates from Bernard Callebaut. If you’re a Calgary resident, you know all about this chocolaterie, along with all of the recent press and drama surrounding the man who founded the company. Well now the company is in the hands of new owners, and I thought I’d pop in to see if any of my long-time favorites have changed with the change of ownership.
I popped into their 17th Avenue location not too long ago, and picked up a small bag of two favorites along with a new seasonal treat. I also was brave and asked permission to take photos – so got some decent photos for Happy Sushi Belly instead of my shy-fueled gurrilla-style iPhone photos.
For those of you who are new to Bernard Callebaut, you can go in and simply pick up a pre-packaged box (done in their signature copper box, or seasonally wrapped for a slightly higher price) in several sizes – or you can also make up your own box. This is what I almost always do for close friends or relatives, so I can get the chocolates that I know they’ll especially like. (They’ll wrap up the signature box for you as well.) You can also pick out individual, freshly-made chocolates from the display case and have them put together a small bag for you to eat on-the-go if you would prefer. Bernard Callebaut also sells ice cream treats in the summertime, shavings for hot chocolate, baking chocolate, and a few other chocolate-based treats.
First up – one of the summertime Fresh Fruit Creams – apparently they have been doing this for a few years now, but I must have missed it! Every few weeks its a new selection – this time around it was a mango – the mango was delicious – fruity but not tart, in a little milk chocolate basket, topped off with white chocolate shavings. It won’t become my next top-five (thank goodness, if it’s only offered for a few weeks a year!) but it was delicious!
Next up, one of my all-time favorites – the Leaf – this one is a milk chocolate, filled with milk chocolate ganache, and a black currant. The current is like a little surprise within the chocolate -you never know where it will be hiding! Yummy!
And finally I also picked up the Canadienne truffle – a milk chocolate shell filled with white chocolate ganache and maple syrup. Melt-in-your-mouth goodness!
I always pick up two (erm.. at least!) of each flavor at a time – that way I can really savor it, and don’t get that “awww, is it all gone” disappointment after tasting one.
There were two staff people working while I was in the shop (they have way more during the holidays) and both were extremely helpful and friendly. They gave me the impression of a husband-and-wife shopkeeper pair, though I have no idea if that impression was accurate or not. When I told the woman about our blog (and hence my desire to take photos) we engaged in a lovely conversation about local sushi opportunities too! It would seem as though they’ve kept the recipes and ingredients the same (or at least no noticeable differences) which is fantastic – when the shop was in danger of closing, I know many people were worried about the lack of their favorite go-to gift-giving resource if nothing else!
To be a bit self-indulgent – if you’re ever thinking of getting ME some chocolates, here are my favorites, in no particular order
- Canadienne truffles
- Leaf chocolates
- Sambucca chocolates
- Manon chocolates
- Ginger Milk chocolates
- Honey chocolates
- Cinnamon Ginger chocolate (which, if I was ordering the list, would come lower down I’ll admit..)
- … and I also love the raspberry milk chocolate hearts that come out at Valentines day!
If you’re looking for a new favorite, Michael has a chocolate-by-chocolate review of one of the copper boxes in Chocablog. (Though clearly I like the sweet chocolates more than he does!)
So, what about you – is Bernard Callebaut your favorite chocolate in Calgary – or do you have a preference for something even better? Let us know in the comments below!
You can find Bernard Callebaut stores all over Alberta, with additional stores across Canada and even a few US locations. The shop I visited was at:
847 – 17 Avenue SW