Kate Stahl | March 23, 2011 8:00 amMy favorite part of Easter is probably the candy, and you can get a head start on the holiday with new chocolate treats from two of my favorite local candy companies. Vosges Haut-Chocolat just started shipping its Peanut Butter Bon Bon Eggs (shown left) this week. Made from organic peanut butter, deep-milk chocolate, and pink Himalayan and Maldon salts, the five absolutely beautiful eggs ($22) come in a purple gift box, making them totally appropriate for a Spring present, though I don't think I'll be sharing.Read More
Kate Stahl | March 11, 2011 8:00 amWhimsical, inventive, and totally delicious, Chicago candy and chocolate company Truffle Truffle (312-860-2772) was created by Nicole Greene, a University of Chicago graduate who gave up a gig working for the US Department of Defense to attend pastry school and start her own sweet company. Greene makes all of her preservative-free confections — truffles, caramels, s'mores, and sweets like beer-and-pretzel brittle — by hand and each season introduces new flavors, many of which are inspired by childhood memories and incorporate unique spices. But some flavors ring eternal.Read More
Kate Stahl | February 14, 2011 8:00 amDreamed up by husband-and-wife pastry chefs Dimitri and Keli Fayard, Vanille Patisserie proves that an authentic French pastry shop is right at home in Chicago. After all, Dimitri is from France while Keli is a Chicago native; the two met while working at a pastry shop in New York and decided to open Vanille Patisserie in 2003. Inside the Lincoln Park shop (a second location is located in the Chicago French Market), you'll find an almost overwhelming selection of culinary delights, including petit fours, tarts, macarons, and Dimitri's specialty, entremets, or mousse cakes.Read More
Kate Stahl | February 11, 2011 8:03 amThe Grammy Awards are this Sunday in LA, and one Chicago company is going along for the rockin' ride. Sulpice Chocolat, an artisan chocolate house based in the Windy City and named for the first master chocolatier appointed by the Royal Court of France, flies relatively below the radar in the local cocoa scene, but this weekend, music royalty including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Eminem will receive Sulpice's individually painted gourmet chocolate bars, literally edible artworks, and limited-edition sipping chocolate in their gift bags.
Some of the Sulpice flavors Grammy stars will receive include Épicé, fiery dark chocolate with hints of cayenne, chipotle chili peppers, and Ceylon cinnamon; Chai, milk chocolate infused with cardamom, cloves, Ceylon cinnamon, vanilla, and Tellicherry black pepper; and Sulpice Sipping Chocolate, hot chocolate infused with pure 23-karat edible gold.Read More
Kate Stahl | January 27, 2011 8:02 amNothing says Valentine's Day like chocolate, but a box of drugstore candy just won't cut it. Instead impress the one you love with a box of gourmet goodness with unforgettable flavors.
Truffle Truffle's Nicole Greene makes all of her preservative-free confections — truffles, caramels, s'mores, and sweets — by hand and comes out with new items each season.Read More
Kate Stahl | January 14, 2011 8:01 amThis weekend, eat some aphrodisiac-laced chocolates, shop at one of the city's coolest boutiques, and go see a baby whale for free!
Stop by Vosges Haut-Chocolat (951 W. Armitage Ave., 773-296-9866; 520 N.Read More
Kate Stahl | March 23, 2011 8:00 am
My favorite part of Easter is probably the candy, and you can get a head start on the holiday with new chocolate treats from two of my favorite local candy companies. Vosges Haut-Chocolat just started shipping its Peanut Butter Bon Bon Eggs (shown left) this week. Made from organic peanut butter, deep-milk chocolate, and pink Himalayan and Maldon salts, the five absolutely beautiful eggs ($22) come in a purple gift box, making them totally appropriate for a Spring present, though I don't think I'll be sharing.
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Steve Madden