Cool Hunting

Bovetti Chocolates
Probably to quell our jealousy, a CH colleague recently brought delicious Bovetti chocolate bars back from a weekend trip to Paris. It worked. The artisan Tablettes de chocolate are wide bars of rich quality chocolate sprinkled with a single ingredient on one side. We sampled a dark chocolate with sesame and enjoyed both the complexly flavored chocolate and the subtle nutty accent of the...

Lac Chocolatier
Pascal Lac is a well known patissier, chocolatier and glacier in Nice and neighboring Beaulieu sur Mer in the south of France. Locals worship his perfectly simple confections, and some of the best restaurants in the area serve his work with pride. A visit to one of his two stores is a total sensory overload. CHHQ is very grateful that our friend Lorin, a...

Chocolate-filled Eggshells by Bonnat
The Bonnat family has been making chocolates in Voiron in the south of France since 1884. Their Hérisson (hedgehog) is a favorite of mine (a chocolate-covered hazelnut praline) and their single estate Grand Cru bars are intriguing. Our friends at Sur La Table are offering the Bonnat's chocolate and hazelnut praline-filled real eggshells-- at $35 for half a dozen eggs it's not a bargain,...

Suite 88 Chocolatier: Les Shooters
When the world's most desirable confection meets some of the finest spirits, it's bound to be a successful combination. Case in point, Les Shooters from Montreal's first chocolate lounge and boutique, Suite 88. The shooters, which appear to be average, conical truffles are actually chocolate containers filled with an assortment of 12 different liquors. To take the shooter, first bite the tip off before...

Mari's Brownies
With adventurous flavor combinations, like Thai Coffee and Fig Port, made entirely from scratch using premium ingredients and a fudgey texture, Mari's Brownies are CH's kind of treat. We also like their refreshingly small size, making them a moderate indulgence rather than a "guess-I'm-skipping-dinner" kind. Neatly packaged in their signature Pumpkin-hued baton boxes and wrapped with custom ribbon, the dense, rich squares make perfect...

Duende Collective: La Part des Anges
Duende Collective, a French design studio based in Paris, was recently commissioned by La Cuisine, an alimentary arts center in Nègrepelisse near the Midi-Pyrénées region, for a forthcoming exhibition examining the early relationship between mother and child. The exhibition, which will open this coming September, will focus on the prenatal role of the placenta and the post-natal role of mother's milk, both as means...