My friend Chantal and her daughter Maryse joined me for brunch last Mother’s Day weekend and I got the chance to show off the breads that I made especially for them: a raisin one with the usual cinnamon swirl and a round challah with finely diced red pepper and green onions stuffed inside. But I’ll leave my recipes for those breads for a later blog.
What I wanted to share with you today was the box of chocolates that Chantal and Maryse gave me – sheer delight! They had the perfect combination of a very subtle hint of sugar and a smooth texture – the kind that does not stay lodged in your throat. Some chocolates seem to linger heavily in your throat probably because of the amount or type of sugar used. These chocolates by Christophe Morel did not have that effect.
Curious, I read the small piece of paper that was tucked neatly inside the box. Their web site is www.morelchocolatier.com and they are based in Boucherville, in Montreal’s south shore. I had not heard of Christophe Morel chocolates before so this was a pleasant discovery.
About Christophe Morel: he makes artisan chocolates and won first prize in the Coupe de Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon and ranks fourth among the World Chocolate Masters in Paris. His chocolates are a collection of pralines, ganaches, caramels and what he calls “les doubles textures.” The ones I received from Chantal and Maryse were caramels in a lovely and solid black box; inside were glazed half balls made with roses, raspberries, lime and maple.
The way a box of chocolates should look and feel: classic, solid
9 colorful half balls of rose, raspberry, lime and maple blended with fine chocolate!
The web site shows that most of their stores are in the province of Quebec, Canada, although they have branched out to Toronto. With Morel’s credentials and his chocolate formulas, it’s only a question of time before he conquers chocolate lovers in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Sotsil 