Q1: Today you wanted to talk about stores that have stood the test of time and have been open a long time, a really long time - an entire century!

I have so much admiration for stores that stand the test of time. It is so hard to be in business in the retail sector and to survive through generations of changing styles, language issues, population shifts and recessions, that these stores deserve kudos.

Q2: What are some of the obstacles they have had to overcome to last this long?

There are so many things that retailers seem to think are necessary to take into consideration these days to operate a store - merchandising their wares, buying the right mix of products, the flow of traffic in and around the store, the way things are presented to grab the buyer’s attention, the amount of air and space in the store, the price points to set, colors to influence you, the right music to put you in the mood to buy, and on and on.

Q3: Is there a key thing you might say that links the different kinds of stores that have survived?

When stores are run by head offices and the owners are not there with their ear to the ground, it’s like the game of “Broken Telephone”. The retail shoppers  may be looking for one thing, but the store’s buyers are ordering out of a different catalogue. There is a lag between the customer’s wants and what the store stocks.

And probably most importantly, most stores that are open this long are family businesses. In order to keep food in the fridge and a roof over their heads, every single customer who walks in that door is crucial to them, so they must treat them right, listening to their needs and solving problems positively so they will come back again and again.

Q4: What types of stores have made it this far?

Another thing to mention is that each of these businesses is in a niche market, and one in which  there has always been a need:

Made-to-measure coffee has brought java lovers to Union Coffee, a Montreal institution since 1910. Owner Stephan Khoury, says they try to make customers feel at home.  It’s so comfortable, they want to come back, hang out at the coffee bar and chat”.

This wholesaler roasts the coffee right here, so you can choose one or custom blend from amongst the espresso, melange maison (regular and strong), french press, Kenya, Panama, Columbia Supremo, Fair Trade, decaf and Swiss washed decaf.

Those who like flavors can buy  or one of the 30 flavored syrups (vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, etc.) to add in. Coffee related products like iced cappuccino, or chai latte concentrate now line the shelves.

Free delivery is offered for 5 pounds or more. They sell espresso machines (Saeco, Rancilio, Pavoni, Breville, Quick Mill, Jura, La Spaziale) and teapots, too. Repairs to these machines are available.

Location: 148 Jean-Talon ouest
corner: Waverly
el: 514-273-5555
Hours: Mon-Fri 8-5:30, Sat 9-3
www.cafe-union.com

Don’t be put off by the location - it’s only 15 minutes across the Mercier bridge, and the sheer volume (100,000 sq. ft.) of merchandise at Tapis Lanctot is worth the ride. The Lanctot business has been around for 127 years; Now they sell floating and hardwood floors (look for the bargain bins starting at $.89) including condo solutions, ceramic tiles (starting at $1.25), about 500 area rugs, carpeting, vinyl flooring (lots of  remnants too).

Denis Lanctot told me that one thing that was impressed upon them from their elders (besides honesty and respect) when growing up in the business, was to look to the future and see what is coming. The store started out as a general store, saw the beginnings of the automobile, changed merchandise, saw shopping centers, changed direction, etc. etc. This generation built a warehouse building to include other home-oriented vendors.

They’re known for choice and service, and their prices are low all year round. Other vendors are inside their building selling wallpaper, paint, bedding, blinds, furniture, kitchen cabinets, plumbing, windows and doors.

Location: 148 Boyer,  St Isadore
corner: St-Regis
Tel: 514-875-1954
Hours: Regular plus Sun 11-5
Other location: Longueuil, 2025 ch. Chambly (450-647-1571)
www.lanctot.qc.ca

After you’ve stepped through the Art Nouveau portals of Archambault, Montreal’s oldest (1896) and largest music emporium, you can feast upon 4 floors and 45,000 sq. ft. of musical supplies, from sheet music and a grand salon of pianos to a full store of CD’s, DVD’s, books, games, office supplies and gifts

Locations: Main store,  500 Ste-Catherine est
corner: Berri
Tel: 514-849-6201
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-9, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-5
Other locations: Place des Arts, 175A Ste-Catherine o. (514-281-0367); Laval, 1545 boul. Le Corbusier (450-978-9900); Brossard, 2151 boul. Lapiniere (450-671-0801); 7500 Les Galeries d’Anjou (514-351-2230); 677 Ste-Catherine o. (514-875-5975); Mega-Centre Ste-Dorothee (450-719-2020).
www.archambault.ca

It’s summer, and that means one thing - ice cream! No matter how old you are, you succumb to the delights of it once the hot air moves in. But ice cream has come a long way since we ordered a vanilla pop or a chocolate cone from the neighborhood truck rolling past our door.

Our worldly travels or restaurant forays have taken us far afield when it comes to flavors, types and creations that we now eat. Do we want the full 35% butterfat of the denser, richer, creamier premium American ice creams or have we gotten used to the smoothness of Italian gelati or the icy freshness of a French sorbet?

Gelati is made smooth with milk and/or cream and in the best of all worlds, fresh real fruit. Each store, restaurant or bakery has its own secret recipe of combinations using (hopefully) fresh fruit and not powdered flavors or frozen fruit. Sorbet (or granita in Italian lingo) is made with only water and fresh fruit.

Flavors must blow our minds away. Chocolate is no longer good enough, it has to go beyond to hazelnut chocolate or chocolate chocolate fudge. Fruits have evolved from the fridge, like lemons and oranges, to the wilds of cassis, papaya, mango and even lichee.

Head to some of these fun ice cream parlours around town, where these flavors are layered into parfait glasses with some extra fruit syrups, whip cream or nuts, and they can be frozen into cake creations or actual fruit shapes. And yes, you can still get a plain vanilla cone or chocolate cup.

Gelateria La Bella Italiana is the cafe of the wholesaler Ital Gelati (found in supermarket freezers) and they create about 34 flavours of gelati (1/2 litre to go $5) in mocha almond, noisette, baci, granita, mango, raspberry, watermelon, orange, spumoni, pistachio or sorbets ($5).

Incredible creations such as gelati forma di frutti (in the shape of apples, bananas, oranges) or fruits that have been “emptied” and refilled with sherbets: melon, lemon, pineapple, orange, papaya, raspberry and coconut are here along with coppa di gelato, which is ice cream mixed with fresh fruit topped with whipped cream or coppa fragola, a strawberry dessert with 3 scoops of vanilla gelato, strawberry syrup and fresh strawberries.

Or you can ask for a tartuffe, a ball of vanilla covered by chocolate,  or share a chocolate hazelnut cassata log or gelato cake in mocha almond fudge, pralines and cream and chocolate mousse.

Location:  5884 Jean Talon St. East at Valdombre St.,  St. Leonard
Phone: 514-254-4811
Hours: Daily 8am-midnight
Other location (it’s the office, but you can buy for the freezer): 8390 le Creusot, St-Leonard, open Mon-Sat 9-5.

Save yourself a trip to Italy if you yearn for real gelati. Roberto’s Restaurant and Gelateria is a pretty ice cream parlour which entices you with flavours:  zuppa inglese, baci, amaretto, noisette, tiramisu, mint, chocolate, coffee and pistachio.

If you want some fruit sorbet, don’t worry - there’s watermelon, blueberry, lemon and more. The menu goes on to spumoni, mokador (coffee, nougat, hazelnut), sundaes, fantasie di fruita, gelati with liquors, igloos and sliced cake creations.

2221 Belanger St. East at Sagard St.
Phone: 514- 374-9844
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

La Brioche Lyonnaise, The French are known for their perfection of ice known as sorbet, and this establishment is known for its preparation of that treat in many natural fruit flavours (pear, mango, raspberry, lemon, strawberry, black currant). People have been coming for years to taste them, as well as the homemade ice creams ($3 scoop in cone or cup). It’s a cafe too.

Location: 1593 St-Denis at de Maisonneuve.
Phone: (514) 842-7017.
Hours: Daily 7:30am-midnight
www.labriochelyonnaise.com

At Pile ou Glace, you can find out how Italian gelati blends the richness of ice cream with the iciness of sorbet to give you a refreshing summer treat. You can choose from a daily assortment of 18 gelati flavours (could be cappuccino, nougat, chocolate, roasted almond, hazelnut, amaretto, lemon, caramel, banana, coconut or even vanilla), or 4 sorbets (always lemon granita and perhaps dark chocolate, grapefruit, orange, mango). You can eat it outside or take it to go

Location: 7084 boul. St-Laurent at Jean-Talon
Phone 514-277-3301
Hours: Daily 11-11

Well the words St-Laurent pop up again for yet another street sale this weekend. The sale is a mix between the merchants on the street who put out tables to sell overstocked items and also one where residents can rent a space at Beaudet Park (corner of Du College and Decarie, next to the Metro entrance).

This part of it is called  “Marché Urbain” and it is a community garage sale where residents display their wares and used items in order to sell them (cover charge is 20$ per table).  The merchant association also hires jugglers, clowns, painters, inflatable games and musicians so families can have a fun time.

Location: Boul. Decarie, VSL from Cote Vertu to Du College
Dates: June 18 (only a smattering of merchants): hours vary, June 19 (main day) : 12-5, June 20: 10-4ish
Tel: 514-747-3045

Boulevard St-Laurent has been hard hit over the last few years as the city has taken it upon themselves to rip it up to renew it, over and over again. It’s time to re-learn the new shopping on the street and give these local merchants a bit of our community support.

This weekend the Boulevard St-Laurent sidewalk sale will be happening from Thursday to Sunday. The street sale begins at Sherbrooke and goes all the way up to Mont-Royale.  Some of the stores mentioned in my Smart Shopping Montreal book that fall into that section of the street:

3653 Slovenia - homemade sausages: veal knockwurst, lyoner, pariser, schnitzel, all kinds of bacon and on…
3667 Nino La Cuisinere - for all things kitchen
3843 Boucherie Hongroise - grab one of their sizzling sausages to go while you peruse the street
3885 La Vieille Europe - charcuterie and foods from all over the world
3985 Frenco en Vrac - bulk food for more natural products
4358 Schreters - best shop on the street for men’s and boys clothing and now- ladies shoes

Dates and Times: June 17 & 18: 9:30-9, June 19 & 20: 9:30-6. Some stores on the lower Main, closer to Sherbrooke may stay open later on the weekend as they are in the busy restaurant area.

Delta Dailyfood is makes prepared frozen meals for the supermarkets, schools, businesses, airlines, etc. At the end of each month, whatever hasn’t been sold to them, is offered to the public at really inexpensive prices (mostly around $2.50 or less per meal). Some of the food is in bulk and others are individual or family dinners.

They’re great for: quick dinners, after school (or anytime) snacks for kids, for elderly folks who don’t cook anymore, college students, etc. My family has been eating “frozen airplane food” for over 15 years.

If you are ordering the individual meals, they come in boxes of 10, so it works best if you form a buying group with friends and that way you can get an assortment. What you might find at this sale:  shrimp and scallops (only $3.50 per meal), salmon with fine herbs ($2.50), tandoori chicken($2), cabbage rolls ($2.50), Indian vegetarian ($1), veau blanquette, Szechuan chicken, eggs benedict with turkey bacon, lasagna, and lots more…

Location: 26 Seguin, Rigaud
Phone: 450-451-6761
Directions: Exit 9 on Autoroute 40 Ouest
Date and time:  Sun Apr 25: 10-3
You can be on their e-mail list for future sales, write to: quenneville.claudette@deltadailyfood.com
Please note that the next sale will not be until Oct 31, 2010

ENGLISH VERSION: (French follows)

VERSION FRANCAIS:

Q1: Coffee, not bread is the new staff of life. Can you tell us what makes one bean pricier than another?

The price for coffee reflects rarity rather than quality. Coffee beans proudly keep the name of the country and area that they come from (Columbian, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Hawaiian Kona). If no country is mentioned on the label, it’s probably of a lesser quality. There are 2 main kinds of beans, arabica or robusta. Arabica is grown on steep slopes in higher altitudes and is considered superior quality as it seems to have a richer flavor. Robusta beans cost less as they are grown on lower slopes. Commercial blends and instant coffee use these.

Q 2: How does the roasting affect the bean’s flavor?

The taste of coffee is highly subjective. Regular roast is lighter and perhaps reveals more of the true bean flavor; Dark French roast (which cafes mostly brew) dispenses more dense flavor. A roast can be too dark and can overpower the bean flavor or even lead to a burned taste.

Q 3: Is there anything else we should know about buying coffee?

- Most importantly, how fresh is it? It should been roasted within the week that you drink it as the flavor rapidly deteriorates after roasting.
- To use word “fresh” means: just roasted, properly stored  and packed air-tight.
-  Ground coffee loses flavor more rapidly than whole beans.
- Storing in your freezer is best.
- Don’t forget too that coffee is 99% water and how the water interacts with it matters.

Q4: Does it matter what kind of a pot we use?

Drip pots make better coffee than percolators as the water pours over the beans only once. Also your pot, filters, plunger, and all parts must be cleaned regularly as they retain residues which may not be visible to your eye.  Soak your pot in boiling water for least 5 min. and lightly scrub it (try not to use soap) and rinse well.
Coffee retains  most potent flavor for only about 20 min after brewing, so sit down immediately and have a cup.

Q 5: So many of us splurge on the coffee made in our favorite cafes, is there anyway we can get those beans to brew at home? Yes, and you can even have them delivered to your door!

Made-to-measure coffee has brought java lovers to Café Union, a Montreal  institution since 1910. This wholesaler roasts the coffee right here, so you can choose one or custom blend your own from amongst the espresso, melange maison (regular and strong), french press, Kenya, Panama, Columbia Supremo, Fair Trade, decaf and Swiss washed decaf. Those who like flavors can buy Bavarian chocolate, Irish cream or hazelnut vanilla or one of the 30 flavored syrups (vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, etc.) to add in.

Coffee related products like iced cappuccino, or chai latte concentrate now line the shelves. Free delivery is offered for 5 pounds or more. They sell espresso machines (Saeco, Rancilio, Pavoni, Breville, Quick Mill, Jura La Spaziale) and teapots, too. Repairs to these machines are available.

Location: 148 Jean Talon St. West at Waverly St.
Phone: 514-273-5555
Hours: Mon-Fri 8- 5:30, Sat 9-3
www.cafe-union.com

The Coffee Gourmet Centre can deliver to you its trendy coffee beans in over 40 flavours (Yrgacheffe from Ethiopia, Italian espresso, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Hawaiian Kona, Costa Rican, Moka Java, Panamanian, etc.) and also pure Swiss water process decaf. You can also add to your order a wide selection of tea leaves: estate, white, green leaf, herbal.

Also available are gourmet goodies (Greaves jams, dips, balsamic vinegars, extra virgin olive oils) as they stock them for their custom gift baskets for all occasions. If you order over a kilo of coffee, you get free delivery on the Island, or you can pick up your order at one of their depots. Ask about the fund raising program for your school or organization using coffee and hot chocolate.

Location: 3966 Cool St. Suite 201,Verdun
Phone: 514-369-0368
www.cafegourmet.ca

A coffee or tea addict’s dream might be to have his favourite brew at a reduced price, delivered right to his door. Brossard Freres, open over 50 years, provides this service for a minimum order of 10 lbs. There are at least 20 kinds - regular coffee ($5.90 lb.), decaf ($6.90), flavours like amaretto, rum brandy, chocolate mint ($7.80), and ground for percolators, filter, Turkish, Melitta, Bodum, or espresso, but you can buy as little as one pound if  you come in person. About a  half dozen loose leaf  (herbal too) teas are $7.90 per lb. Delivery is the next day. Can you smell it brewing already?

Location: 10848 Moisan Ave, St. Leonard
Phone: 514-321-4121
Hours: Mon-Fri 7-5
www.cafebrossard.com

The best monthly sales of linens, etc. is the one held on Louvain St. in the Chabanel area. For bedding, curtains, carpets, comforters, pillows,  shower curtains, carpets, bath towels, mats, dishcloths, oven mitts, etc.

Location: 120 Louvain
Dates and times: Fri Feb 26: 11-6;  Sat Feb 27: 8-1
www.liquideco.com

Q1: Montreal is a multi-ethnic city, and we have many places to buy authentic groceries from different parts of the world. Today you wanted to tell us a bit about East European food.
When you think of Russian or Baltic food, you think of hearty stick to your ribs dishes and that’s just about what we need at this time of year. Since these are local family businesses, much of the food is homemade so free from preservatives or additives. Their meat products are smoked naturally with wood, not injected with flavoring.

Q2: What countries are we talking about?
Russia, Roumania, Hungary, Slovenia

Q3: What kinds of foods might we find there?
Well borscht of course, chicken Kiev, different kinds cured meats: gypsy sausage or Moscow salami, goose pastrami. There’s healthy foods like kefir, yogurt drink and their smoked fishes are full of omega 3 (mackerel, herring and sturgeon). You’ll always find dumplings - my favorites are called pelmeny, little meat dumplings that I put in soup. Cabbage is good for you and they make homemade sauerkraut and stuffed cabbage. Don’t forget these stores also make wonderful desserts.

Q4: In what part of town would you find these stores?
West of the city in the Snowdon area: Sherbrooke St., Decarie Blvd., Victoria Ave.

At Bucarest Charcuterie and Patisserie you’ll find that Rumanian food and everything to make an authentic meal - meatball soup, stuffed grape leaves, naturally smoked sausages, chopped eggplant salads, stuffed cabbage, marinated mushrooms or carrots, goose, lamb or pork pastrami, fresh roe, homemade sauerkraut, pickled cabbage heads, etc. can be purchased here.

Russian foods to try would be sprats, sturgeon, whole herrings, smoked eel and mackerel, kefir and pilmeny (meat dumplings and others), chocolates and homemade cakes. Their canned groceries cover more of Eastern Europe, and include: sour tomatoes, white cherry or walnut preserves, chestnut puree, Hungarian paprika paste, pumpkin seed oil, black currants in syrup and yummy juices (pomegranate, red currant, blackberry).

Location: 4670 boul. Decarie at Cote St-Luc Rd. Phone: 514-481-4732

Patisserie et Charcuterie Bourret - The Roumanian, Hungarian, Slovenian, Swiss, German take-out foods in this 40-year-old business include zakuska, smoked eggplant, fish egg salad, goose pastrami, salamis, stuffed cabbage, pickled whole cabbage, fresh and smoked sausages, head cheese and Bulgarian sheep feta.

Bakery specialties to try are kifli (almond and apricot), poppy seed bagli, the 7-layer dobosh, cozonac, and torte wafers ($3.99). There is a wall of grocery products like gooseberry jam, chestnut puree, letcho, Hungarian noodles.

Location: 5771 Victoria, Snowdon  Phone: 514-733-8462   www.bourretinc.com

St. Petersburg Russian Delicatessen - If you’ve ever wanted to try gypsy sausage or dried Moscow salami, you’ve found your spot. Russian yummies include smoked trout and mackerel, salmon caviar, borscht and chicken Kiev of course, but also spicy carrots, pickled mushrooms, herring with beets and potato, pelmeny, 10 kinds of pierogies and varenikas in the freezer, lots of jarred and canned veggies, and after you’ve had your pickled tomatoes, grab a piece of halvah or a  few cookies from the 75 bins and wash it all down with strawberry soda, sour cherry tea - or kefir.

Location: 5584A Sherbrooke ouest  Phone: 514-369-1377

For my appearance on CBC, I will be enlightening the audience Valentine ideas beyond the usual chocolates and flowers.

Here are the stores mentioned:

For Monogramming:

Monogrammes Plus (514-695-8647) for teddy bears, bathrobes, boxer shorts, t-shirts, cosmetic bags, aprons, etc.

Creations Personelles (Fairview Pte-Claire, Tel: 514-695-3636) for ID bracelets, wine glasses, albums, hip flasks and much more.

For a Tea Party:

Bramble House (57 Donegani, Pointe Claire, Tel: 514-695-3636) has  Price of Wales’ Duchy Originals organic cookies, shortbread cookies, Gardner’s of Scotland coffee fudge, heather honey fudge and of course, teas from England:  PG Tips, Taylor’s of Harrogate, Brodies and Typho to Bewley’s from Ireland and the tea pots and tea cozies to make that perfect cup. www.bramblehouse.net

Clarence & Cripps (71 Cameron, Hudson  450-458-4073) also has your teas and snacks are there too: Walker’s chips (steak & onion, prawn cocktail), Maynard’s wine gums, Galaxy minstrels, McVities digestives and Marks & Spencer ginger snaps. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to scoop up some real Devonshire table cream for your scones. Delivery is available, even to downtown. www.clarenceandcripps.com

Le Spa Book www.lespabook.com 450-424-8716, 877-537-7201 and at Jean Coutu, Pharmaprix, Uniprix, Multimags, Chapters (Pointe-Claire and Ste-Catherine) is a discount coupon book for 150 promotions in 106 spas in Montreal and surrounding areas, West Island, Laval, Laurentians, Eastern Townships, the region of Quebec.

For racy chocolate ideas and yummy chocolate:

Divine Chocolatier (2158 Crescent Tel: 514-282-0829).  Take Callebaut dark chocolate and wrap it around orange or ginger slices, blueberries, orange peel or praline and you have divine confections (100 gr/$9.95). Sure there’s healthy 72% dark with orange and ginger but look for the fun items: the chocolate shot glasses, body oil, caramel or chocolate hazelnut spread, and molded shapes like a computer, tennis racket or kama sutra poses. Seasonally you might get cinnamon or allspice in your chocolate or flavored hot chocolates.  wwww.divinechocolatier.com

For green gifts:

Coccinelle Jaune, 4236 Ste-Catherine e Tel: 514-259-9038
Boutique Artistri, 5319 ave. du Parc

Les artisans du meuble Quebecois, 88 St-Paul est, Tel: 514-866-1836
L’Empreinte Cooperataive 272 St-Paul est Tel: 514-861-4427

Q1 - With Valentine’s Day coming up, let’s start with the basics, what is the difference between dark, milk and white chocolate?

After cocoa beans are dried and roasted, they are then ground into a liquid consistency known as chocolate liquor. If this base is hardened, it becomes unsweetened baking chocolate. If you have ever tasted this, you will know it is very bitter.

To make it palatable, sugar and extra cocoa butter are added, and then it becomes what we know as semi-sweet chocolate. For milk chocolate, the world’s favorite flavor, milk is of course added along with sugar, extra cocoa butter and vanilla.

Q2 - We are lucky to have artisanal chocolate boutiques in Montreal, what makes them worth the extra few bucks?

Each piece is hand dipped with ultimate quality chocolate be it Valrhona, Callebaut or variety ones from  around the world: Costa Rica, Madagascar, Tanzania,  Domincan Republic, etc. Their treats go way beyond your caramel and chocolate turtle into complex gourmet tastes

Q3 - Okay, let’s go through a few of them and explain what they each specialize in:

At Chocolats Privilege you can be wowed by the original chocolate combinations. Their signature one is called “Privilege”, and is a crowd pleasing dark chocolate and coffee combo, but they sell lots of ganaches ($9.50 per 100 gram) combined with: green tea, basil and lime, LBV porto, rosemary and cream, coriander, or a raspberry/blueberry/strawberry combo.

Another idea is making chocolates with beans from around the world: Costa Rica, Madagascar, Tanzania, Domincan Republic, etc. There’s a caramel line, pralines and specialties: almond paste with walnuts, rum,  half-coated orange slice and a couple of sugarless options.

First Location: 1001 Fleury est at St. Charles
Phone:  514-385-6335
Hours: Mon-Wed 8:30-6, Thurs & Fri 8:30-8, Sat 9-6, Sun 9-5:30
Other locations: Jean Talon Market, 7070 Henri-Julien (514-276-7070); Kirkland, 3602 boul. St-Charles (514-694-2261); Marche 440 (450-682-3666)
www.chocolatsprivilege.com

Divine Chocolatier takes Callebaut dark chocolate and wrap it around orange or ginger slices, blueberries, orange peel or praline and offers up divine confections (100 gr/$9.95). Sure there’s healthy 72% dark choclate with orange and ginger but look for the fun items: the chocolate shot glasses, body oil, caramel or chocolate hazelnut spread, and molded shapes like a computer, tennis racket or kama sutra poses. Seasonally you might get cinnamon or allspice in your chocolate or flavored hot chocolates.

Location: 2158 Crescent Sherbrooke
Phone: 514-282-0829
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5 (closed Sun. in winter except holidays)
www.divinechocolatier.com

In Les Chocolats De Chloé it’s the ambiance here that keeps devoted clientele. The open kitchen makes you feel like you are part of the chocolate-making process, and the staff is so accommodating when asked questions. You will have some, because the originality of the flavors (lemon chocolate, Earl Grey tea, salted ganache, Illy coffee) will perplex you. Valrhona chocolate is all they use, and no extracts - rum is rum - and fruits are made in season and every candy is dipped by hand. Popular hot chocolate mixes come in vanilla bean and cinnamon, and there could be turtles and chocolate covered marshmallows.

Location: 546 Duluth est Berri
Phone: 514-849-5550
Hours: Tues & Wed 10-7, Thurs & Fri 10-9, Sat 11-5, Sun 11-7
www.leschocolatsdechloe.com

Q4: Let’s get back to the history of chocolate, how did we find out about it?

Columbus brought the beans back to King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492, they didn’t know how to process them. Explorer Hernando Cortez had spent some time among the Aztecs in 1519, and had been able to observe the processing technique, so he took this knowledge and some more beans back to Spain.

Q5 - I understand that it was kept as a secret potion?

Members of the Spanish court fell in love with it after they discovered that by adding sweetener it became a wonderful drink. It was so favored that it was kept a secret amongst the nobility for almost a century. With the marriage of Louis XIII of France to a Spanish princess in 1615, the scrumptious secret was let out and dispersed throughout Europe almost as fast as an Internet virus.

Q 6 -  How is the cocoa bean turned edible and delicious?

To make chocolate, the football-shaped pod is opened and the cacao seeds found inside are fermented in the sweet pulp from the pod for days. When the pulp rots and falls away, the beans are dried and roasted, removing the shells. They are then ground into a liquid consistency known as chocolate liquor.