There are the well-kept secrets, the mandatory stops and the ones worth seeing. There are especially essentials of all kinds that it is good to share. For the pleasure of your palates, The duty has therefore imagined a meeting in the form of a gourmet notebook, one theme at a time. To mark time in autumn and warm up November, we are starting with a special treat: hot chocolate. By Sophie Grenier-Héroux.
Carleton-sur-Mer | Quai burner
A stone’s throw from the Baie des Chaleurs and in the room adjacent to the Brûlerie du Quai, the Chaleur B Chocolat team, in Carleton-sur-Mer, roasts cocoa beans and refines the paste to make it the ultimate. organic chocolate. “It’s an approach that starts with the farm, with the pickers that we sometimes know personally,” says project manager Dany Marquis. According to him, quality chocolate makes his drinkable version incredible. Fans can therefore choose between different densities and origins. The terroir, the percentage of cocoa and the rate of sugar give them different personalities. No wonder to learn that there are no additions, except milk!
200, rue du Quai Carleton.
Quebec
Érico Chocolate Factory
Emblematic in the Capitale-Nationale for more than 30 years, this artisanal chocolate factory produces several hot chocolates which are as much for the reputation of the establishment as its fine chocolates. If some go there for the Érico without ever deviating from it – a drink made with chocolate from Ecuador containing 71% cocoa -, the owners of the Chocolaterie Érico also offer a delicious version with vanilla and cinnamon, inspired by the time of the first hot chocolates, in the XIXe century.
634, rue Saint-Jean.
Champagne Chocolatier
The Champagne Chocolatier boutique in Quebec City is reminiscent of the chocolate factory in Charlie and the chocolate factory. For the owner, Natalie Déchène, hot chocolate is synonymous with pleasure. Whether black, white or milk, we are here in a comfort zone. Options with spices or caramel are available for those who want to take the daring a little. Do you prefer to prepare a hot chocolate at home? The “melting ball” version flies off quickly. Some 15,000 are sold each year, we are told.
525, rue Saint-Joseph Est.
Montreal
Patrice Pastry Chef
Patrice Demers has established a reputation for pastry in Montreal. Turns out he’s just as staple when it comes to hot chocolate. As with his desserts, the chef behind Patrice Pâtissier only uses his favorite ingredients: a Valrhona chocolate – an Andoa containing 70% cocoa -, cocoa powder and Henrietta milk containing 3.8% fat. He adds some aromas, including a hint of chili to nod to the Aztec origins of hot chocolate. “There are recipes that you can’t really play with, such as Bordeaux cannelés,” emphasizes Patrice Demers. With hot chocolate, you can go in many directions, and it allows you to understand the work of the pastry chef on simple things. “At the right time, we dive!
2360, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, room 104.
The mist in my glasses
When he opened his café in Little Italy, Luc Sénéchal quickly thought he had to put hot chocolate on his menu. According to the inspiration of the moment, he mixed up dark chocolate drops, water and “whatever spices there was” in the cupboards. Long pepper, Aleppo pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon unfold in a tasty ganache where a touch of espresso amplifies the chocolate flavor. The hot milk adds to it all in a well-balanced drink that appeals to the fauna of students, families and seniors who have frequented The Mist in My Glasses for the past six years.
378, rue Saint-Zotique Est.
Ernestine
Ernestine is the name of the grandmother of co-owner Véronique Éthier, a woman who taught her granddaughter her secrets to keep her child’s heart. Certainly part of the formula is good hot chocolate. Address previously known as NOIRCHOCOLAT, rumor has it that children from the nearby school lined up to taste its sweet, sweet nectar. That says it all! While the brand image has been changed, the chocolate drink has kept the same attractions: dark chocolate drops containing 64% cocoa and cream. In addition to gourmet children, adults also stop for a few sips of chocolate in this comforting landmark in the Plateau Mont-Royal. It’s Ernestine who must smile!
1827, avenue du Mont-Royal Est.
Bakery Hof Kelsten
We frequent Jeffrey Finkelstein’s bakery in Montreal for its croissants and panettones, but those in the know also go there for hot chocolate. At Hof Kelsten, we do it the old-fashioned way, with a creamy dark chocolate ganache – the same as that used in babkas – which is extended with hot milk. On the menu since the beginnings of the bakery, the drink plays on the notes of childhood. It is tasted with, in the background, the scent of freshly cooked bakery. If your senses are ever numb… this is the place to come to wake them up!
4524, boul. Saint Laurent.
At Babette’s Feast
What is the secret ingredient behind the hot chocolate that has been making Au Festin de Babette for 20 years in Montreal? ” The know-how ! We are told in the hollow of the ear. But still ? ” The simplicity. “And for good reason, we play with a traditional base: Barry or Valrhona chocolate and milk. From this mixture, Babette has fun: Espelette pepper here, hazelnut milk there. She even dares the orange juice squeezed in a dark hot chocolate. Here, classic flavors unite and feast without embarrassment!
4085, rue Saint-Denis.
State of shock
The State of Shock specialty store in Little Italy takes hot chocolate seriously… and with fun! After the store opened in 2019, the owner, Maud Gaudreau, organized a competition with her customers to determine which were the best drinks among the eight prepared. Of the number, four have earned their place on the menu: the dark hot chocolate, the one with milk, the one with hazelnuts and the one with dark milk and spices. The element that tipped the scales? “We use very, very good chocolate,” including those from Chocolat Monarque and Chaleur B, two Quebec companies that work from the cocoa bean rather than from processed cocoa products. Note that hot chocolates are only served on weekends.
6466, boul. Saint Laurent.
Rouyn-Noranda | Le Gisement – Bistro and chocolate factory
As soon as we ask questions to discover well-kept secrets in Quebec, voices are raised to talk about the delicious hot chocolates of this Rouyn-Noranda institution. This is because, apart from the classic chocolate, it is the alloys of flavors that make the crowds run to the Gisement. Chocolate and star anise, with fleur de sel or rosemary, or even with white tea, wild pepper, raspberries or spices… We aim for all tastes. It is even said that some hot chocolates cannot be removed from the menu for fear of disappointing many customers! Most popular of the lot? White chocolate and banana. And to think that at the beginning, there were only three proposals on the menu!
57, avenue Principale.