Looking to impress this Valentine’s Day? It’s just three sleeps away, and if you’re planning on getting chocolate for that special someone this year, you may be wondering where to go.
To ensure a gift of quality, freshness and creativity, you should never buy chocolate for someone from the drug store. Vancouver has an abundance of local and talented pastry chefs and chocolatiers whose passion is all things chocolate — so there’s absolutely no excuse to not go full out, no matter how small or large your budget.
Here, we’ve scoured the city and rounded up some of the best edible gifts for you and your partner to enjoy this Valentine’s Day.
Chez Christophe
Valentine’s Day Sculpture by Chez Christophe
Chez Christophe is passionate about Swiss Milk Chocolate from Germany, and it’s this enthusiasm and creativity that lead him to receive an award at The Chocolate Awards in 2013 for his Mango Milk Chocolate Bonbon. This year, Chez Christophe will be offering a variety of Valentine’s themed heart showpieces at different price points
- $18 for a small single heart with your choice of three handmade chocolates
- $29.50 for a large single heart with six handmade chocolates of your choice
- $38 for a large dual heart with six handmade chocolates of your choice
“Valentine With Love” – Gluten-Free Dessert by Chez Christophe
If you’re special someone happens to be gluten-free (or even if they’re not) you’ll definitely want to check out Christophe’s incredibly luxe heart-shaped Valentine’s dessert, made with raspberry and milk chocolate mousse, a gluten-free brownie and dark chocolate ganache ($5.20).
Address: 4712 Hastings Street, Burnaby
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Temper Chocolate Pastry
Chocolate Heart Sculpture by Temper
Pastry Chef Steven Hodge has gone all out with his gorgeous new shop Temper, which recently opened in West Vancouver’s Dundarave Village. We recently did a guest post on Sean’s Adeventures In Flavor Town about our experience, where we had the pleasure of taste-testing just about everything in the shop.
Temper are offering small and medium sized Chocolate Heart sculptures at $25 and $35, and Valentine’s Bears for $45. Or, choose from their wide selection of truffles and chocolates and put together a box for your sweetie.
Assorted Chocolates and Truffles by Temper
Address: 2409 Marine Drive, West Vancouver
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Beta 5 Chocolates
Valentines Chocolate Collection by Beta 5
Award Winning Beta 5 have quickly become a favorite for many thanks to their beautiful design, eye-popping colors and lust-worthy flavor combinations courtesy of Pastry Chef Adam Chandler. If you’re looking for instant brownie points from your significant other, then this is where you should be doing your V-Day shopping.
There’s a lot to choose from at Beta 5, including:
- ‘Queen of Hearts’ Polygon Bar freeze-dried raspberries and candied earl grey tea in white chocolate. ($10/75g)
- Mango-Passionfruit Caramels cooked in small batches then cut and wrapped by hand, these soft, buttery caramels are a great balance of sweetness and acidity ($12/13pcs)
- Strawberry Pebbles freeze-dried strawberries coated in 63% dark chocolate ($20/140g)
- Signature Valentine’s Chocolate Collection – a collection of six different hand-crafted chocolates – the whole cherry, passionfruit and coconut praline, matcha and meyer lemon, 66% dark single plantation ‘mokaya’, sparkling praline, hot heart ($30/12pcs)
- Hand-Crafted Chocolate Box filled with hand-rolled truffles made from a 66% dark single plantation chocolate from the Mokaya plantation in the Tabasco region of Mexico ($50/packaged in a 4” cube, box measures 4” x 4” x 1.5” and is filled with 16 hand-rolled truffles)
Hand Rolled Truffle Box by Beta 5
Image: Beta 5
Address: 413 Industrial Ave, Vancouver
Phone: 604-669-3336
Hours:
Tuesday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: info [at] beta5chocolates.com
East Van Roasters
Mayan spiced hand-dipped truffle by East Van Roasters
East Van Roasters is located in the heart of Gastown and is a not-for-profit organization designed to provide training and employment to the women residents of the Rainier Hotel. For Valentine’s they are offering a mixed Limited Edition Heart Box of truffles and mendiants, Valentine’s Day Bars and Truffle Boxes ($14) which consist of four Mayan spiced hand-dipped truffles, and four Morello cherry heart truffles.
The Limited Edition Heart Box ($50) includes
- Mayan spiced buddha truffle x 1pc.
- Morello cherry heart truffles x 4pc.
- Hand-dipped mayan spiced truffles x 6pc.
- Hand-dipped single origin truffles x 8pc.
- Fruit & nut mendiants x 7pc.
- Ginger mendiants x 3pc.
They’ll also have a Valentine’s Day Bar ($7.50 each / two for $14) available in two flavor combinations — pistachio and rose, or cayenne toffee and fennel. Both are made with a single-origin 70% chocolate.
Address: 319 Carrall Street, Vancouver BC
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: info [at] eastvanroasters.com
Chocolate Arts
Studded High Heel Shoe by Chocolate Arts
Image: Chocolate Arts
Chocolate Arts is best known to us for their unique collaborations with local First Nations artists. In the past we have tasted nothing but intruiging flavors from Chef Greg Hook, and his chocolate work is bound to impress your special guy or gal for this Valentine’s Day.
Love Bear by Chocolate Arts
Image: Chocolate Arts
This Valentine’s see Chef Hook going glam with a Studded High Heel Shoe ($70), an edible shoe made with Dark and Milk Chocolate filled with Chocolate Arts seasonal selections of chocolates and truffles. Go old fashioned with their Love Bear ($24.95, photo above), made of dark or milk chocolate with a red cocoa butter heart. Their Chocolate Lover’s Box is another option ($8.95-$32.95), filled with a selection of seasonal truffles & chocolates.
Address: 1620 W 3rd Avenue, Vancouver
Hours:
Weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: [email protected]
Thomas Haas
Valentine’s Chocolate Heart Collection by Thomas Haas
Image: Thomas Haas
Likely known as one of the city’s most popular destinations for Valentine’s Day, we had to include Thomas Haas in the mix. They simply have too many items for us to list here, so you should go check out their order sheet for detailed information.
North Shore:
North Shore: Unit 128, 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver
Phone: 604-924-1847
Kitsilano:
2539 West Broadway Avenue, Vancouver
Phone: 604-736-1848
Hours for both locations: Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Each month Jeremy and Adrian from The Food Gays bring you Vancouver’s Best eats and treats right here on Vancity Buzz. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and check out their blog.
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