Can you love more than one?
We’re talking chocolate makers. Even chocoholics long devoted to a particular brand know there’s always room for a new ganache-filled bonbon, a new single-origin bar or a new flavor twist.
So, for this Valentine’s Day, we offer a few new Bay Area options: chocolate bars made with a chef’s touch, Italian chocolates finally available here in California and some of Belgium’s best, crafted from century-old recipes.
And if you want to make the gift extra-special, add tickets for the San Francisco Chocolate Salon, an April 7 tasting extravaganza. Find more information and order at www.sfchocolatesalon.com.
Minée Chocolate, Menlo Park
Minée Chocolate’s bars are made in Menlo Park with organic cacao beans sourced from Ecuador. (Photo courtesy of Minée Chocolate)
Inspiration struck Menlo Park-based chef Michael Sigmon when he saw a vendor selling custom chocolate at his local farmers market. Having worked for years in restaurants, as a private chef and at his own Windmill Cafe in Santa Cruz, he was ready for a new chapter. He decided he wanted to try making his own chocolate from scratch.
Now, after a few years of experimentation and fine-tuning, Sigmon’s Minée Chocolate shop sells five types of bean-to-bar chocolates (plus coffee beans) at specialty stores on the Peninsula. The name Minée is a blend of Sigmon’s first name, Michael, and that of his partner and co-owner, Renée Fadiman.
Sigmon sources his cacao from an organic co-op in Ecuador, where the beans produce a deep chocolate with tropical fruit notes. The flavor is “the aromatic essence of what the jungle could be like on a warm day,” he says. Then he spends five days grinding the beans. The result is an organic, European-style chocolate bar, with a velvety mouth-feel, that costs less than many high-end chocolate bars.
The lovely drawings on the chocolate bar labels pay homage to different female figures. The woman on the milk chocolate bar, for instance, represents Sigmon’s mom, Marsha, who is shown holding a glass of milk because milk chocolate is her favorite. Coming this spring is a new chocolate creation, a white chocolate bar with coconut and caramel, that is named after Fadiman’s mother, Dorothy.
Details: Minée Chocolate (and coffee) available online and at Sigona’s Market, Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and 2345 Middlefield Road in Redwood City; Willows Market, 60 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park; and Windmill Cafe, 21231 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz; teamminee.com.
Chocolates and other candies available at the recently opened Venchi shop at Valley Fair include the signature Chocoviar at bottom and the layered Cremino at left. (Photo courtesy of Venchi)
Venchi, Santa Clara
Bay Area chocolate lovers may have first been introduced to Venchi on vacations in Italy or on trips to the South Bay to check out the sweet array at the Eataly food emporium. Now there’s a whole store at the Westfield Valley Fair mall devoted to these luxurious treats (plus gelato and crepes) — the first on the West Coast.
Venchi (pronounced “Ven-key”) was founded in Turin in 1878 when 20-year-old Silviano Venchi bought a couple of bronze cauldrons and started experimenting with making chocolate. Today, the company operates boutiques in 180 cities worldwide and prides itself on using less sugar than other chocolatiers and no artificial ingredients.
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Among the signature chocolates is the bestselling Chocoviar, so called because of the “micro pearls” or “chocolate caviar” on the exterior. Inside, you’ll find nutty and creamy fillings such as Sicilian blood orange, pistachio or creme brulee.
Fun new items include the Italian Dessert Collection, with Tiramisu, Caramel Pannacotta and hazelnut BacioDiDama pieces and a Cannolo, with the requisite ricotta, candied cherry and orange bits and a shell-like crunch layer, all enrobed in dark chocolate.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday near the Anthropologie store at Valley Fair, 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara; https://us.venchi.com/store/sanjose
Love + Chocolate, Walnut Creek and Oakland
Seven years ago, Kristy and Kent Lincoln created new jobs for themselves that would facilitate more time with their children: They opened a chocolate shop in Walnut Creek. A few months ago, they expanded to Oakland’s Rockridge district with a second shop. And yes, they say, there will be plenty of together time after the chocolate-centric holidays.
Heart-shaped boxes of Leonidas confections from Belgium are available at the new Love + Chocolate shop in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood and the original Walnut Creek shop. (Photo courtesy of Love + Chocolate)
Their plan all along has been to offer “excellent products that serve a unique need,” and they selected the chocolates of Leonidas, one of Belgium’s premier makers.
Belgian chocolate is known for its nutty and creamy hazelnut pieces, Kristy said, but the lineup also includes classic caramels, ganaches and butter creams. An unusual one to tuck into a gift box is the strawberry cream blended with balsamic vinegar and coated in dark chocolate.
Want to share the love? Buy one of their Youth Homes assortment boxes and the proceeds will benefit the East Bay nonprofit of that name. Kids from the program selected the goodies for that box after a tasting event with the Lincolns.
Details: To speed up your Valentine’s Day shopping, you can order order online for pickup. Open daily at both the new Rockridge shop, 6309 College Ave., Oakland, and the Walnut Creek shop, 1397 N. Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. https://loveandchocolateshop.com