Artisan Chocolate

When I was in Denver earlier this month, I became acquainted with some fairly over-the-top artisan chocolates -- all handmade to order in antique candy molds, gorgeous ingredients, and so on. The company is called Wen Chocolates. I've ordered a small box since returning home, and I'm only allowing myself one every other day, to make them last.

Anyway, what I want to know is (as I have not done any real research into the over-the-top artisan chocolate scene in Chicago), is there somewhere here that I can get something comparable. I love this company, but the cost of shipping makes confections that seem reasonable for what you get suddenly become extravagant.

https://www.wenchocolates.com/

Look under truffles: dark chocolate, to see what I'm currently swooning over. (So far, Violette is my favorite, but I still have 10 more to try.)

Let me know if there is somewhere in the Chicago area that I can find anything comparable.

Thanks.

My favorite around here is Piron/Belgian Chocolatier in Evanston. Great place. It's at 509 Main St., just east of Chicago Avenue; the phone is 847.864.5504. Well worth the trip from wherever you are.

I gotta tell you that Wen Chocolates is by far the most off-putting name I have ever, ever heard for a food producer. Eeeuuugh!

sundevilpeg wrote:I gotta tell you that Wen Chocolates is by far the most off-putting name I have ever, ever heard for a food producer. Eeeuuugh!

Wen is Egyptian for "to exist," and the symbol is a rabbit, and the rabbit appears on their site and boxes. So some thought was given to the name. That said, I do agree that it doesn't exactly scream "exquisite delicacies."

Thanks for the tip on Piron. I'd forgotten about them. I've actually had their "seashells" with the hazelnut filling. Really lovely. I just checked the site, to see what else they have, and there's not really much that's as over-the-top as at Wen, but their chocolate is beautiful -- and Evanston is certainly more convenient than Denver.

Vosges has some good truffles, though I prefer their bars for the price/taste ratio.

They do some innovative things with flavours. I think you'd like them.

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/
Vosges
520 N. Michigan Avenue (North Bridge Mall)
Chicago, IL 60611
Ring: 312.644.9450
Hours: Mon-Sat. 10-7, Sun. 11-6

or

951 W. Armitage (at Sheffield)
Chicago, IL 60614
Ring: 773.296.9866
Hours: Mon-Wed. 10-8, Thurs-Sat. 10-9, Sun 11-6

Thanks. I looked at the Vosges site, and they have some great looking chocolates. However, I was surprised to see that, even with shipping, the Wen truffles cost less. Probably has something to do with being in Denver, rather than Chicago. But it does make me want to compare the tastes, to see if I'm paying for Vosges' higher rent, or if anything really could be that much better than the Wen chocolates.

sundevilpeg wrote:I gotta tell you that Wen Chocolates is by far the most off-putting name I have ever, ever heard for a food producer. Eeeuuugh!

I have to put Bleeding Heart Bakery at the top of that list. ... Irrespective of their mission and the quality of their products, the word "Bleeding" just doesn't work for me. Second on the list, Komb's Beef in Countryside and other nearby location(s). Komb ---> Comb ---> Hair in my food. No thank you.

Hi,

Bleeding heart is the name of plant with flowers shaped like hearts. You can see one here.

Regards,

Teuscher has a store on the Mag Mile. While they're not "over the top," they have some seriously good chocolate confections.

A little far afield is an amazing chocolate shop in Rockford, Chocolat by Daniel . It is heart stopping in both taste and price. A completely decadent afternoon is to sit in his shop and have homemade hot chocolate with a piece of chocolate. He also likes to make chocolate in shapes of musical instruments, and I suspect he will make them in the shape of anything you want.

Chocolat by Daniel
211 E. State St.
Rockford, IL
(815) 969-7990

sundevilpeg wrote:I gotta tell you that Wen Chocolates is by far the most off-putting name I have ever, ever heard for a food producer. Eeeuuugh!

Maybe I'm just not getting it. Why is this name off-putting?

I think this is just what you're looking for:

http://www.canadylechocolatierchicago.com/

Jonah

I highly recommend Coco Rouge as an excellent local chocolatier. Chef/owners Jeremy Brutzkus and Erika Panther are the husband-wife team who do beautiful, modern, truly handmade chocolates. They do the bacon, chorizo, etc. but more importantly they understand the power of classic chocolate flavour.
http://www.cocorouge.com/

Also check out Patric Chocolate based in Columbia, Missouri - one of the finest chocolate MAKERS anywhere in the world.
http://www.patric-chocolate.com/store/

Llama wrote:

sundevilpeg wrote:I gotta tell you that Wen Chocolates is by far the most off-putting name I have ever, ever heard for a food producer. Eeeuuugh!

Maybe I'm just not getting it. Why is this name off-putting?

I actually had to look it up to figure out why it might be off-putting, but Webster's turns up two definitions (neither of them related to the origin of the name of the company, which comes from the Egyptian).

1. A rune adopted from the Old English alphabet with the value of Modern English.

2. A cyst formed by obstruction of a sebaceous gland.

Perhaps the person who was put off has knowledge only of the second definition, in which case, it might bring up a really distressing image.

cynthia, please check out my favorite chocolate(truffles, mostly) place-chocolate potpourri. they have a small retail store in glenview, but mainly do mail order. their truffles are fresh and wonderfully priced at $16 for 20. don't be fooled by the fact that they aren't OVERPRICED like vosges or coco rouge. i've taken 2 truffle making classes there and have tried most of their chocolates and they dont get any better, IMO, anywhere. justjoan

chocolate potpourri www.chocolatetruffles.com

Thanks for all the recommendations. It looks as though the months ahead are going to see me doing some serious research and testing!

justjoan wrote:cynthia, please check out my favorite chocolate(truffles, mostly) place-chocolate potpourri. they have a small retail store in glenview, but mainly do mail order. their truffles are fresh and wonderfully priced at $16 for 20. don't be fooled by the fact that they aren't OVERPRICED like vosges or coco rouge. i've taken 2 truffle making classes there and have tried most of their chocolates and they dont get any better, IMO, anywhere. justjoan

chocolate potpourri http://www.chocolatetruffles.com

I wish the Vosges truffles were less expensive, but the women in my life love them far too much for me to really label them as overpriced. Expensive, but worth it, would be more like it.

ucjames wrote:

justjoan wrote:cynthia, please check out my favorite chocolate(truffles, mostly) place-chocolate potpourri. they have a small retail store in glenview, but mainly do mail order. their truffles are fresh and wonderfully priced at $16 for 20. don't be fooled by the fact that they aren't OVERPRICED like vosges or coco rouge. i've taken 2 truffle making classes there and have tried most of their chocolates and they dont get any better, IMO, anywhere. justjoan

I wish the Vosges truffles were less expensive, but the women in my life love them far too much for me to really label them as overpriced. Expensive, but worth it, would be more like it.

Agreed, especially since the Vosges truffles are readily available all over the city (including at least 6-7 places that I pass on the way home from work), and in smaller boxes. The little 2- or 4-pack in that nice purple box may be rather pricey from a cost-per-truffle perspective, but in terms of scoring "I thought these would cheer you up because you were having a bad day" points, you can't beat the value

justjoan wrote:don't be fooled by the fact that they aren't OVERPRICED like vosges or coco rouge.

Fantastic! I had just assumed that all truffles were overpriced. It's good to find a place that offers them for a decent price.

Quite honestly, making truffles is a lot of work - but it's not hard by any means. So I usually just make them myself when I want a treat.

Okay -- the research has begun. My first stop was Chocolate Potpourri. For what it's worth, if you're in the area, this place deserves to be visited just because the owners are so nice. I had a lovely time chatting about chocolate while I was there.

As for comparing them to the Wen Chocolates, the interesting issue I'm facing is that, with chocolates at what seems to be equal levels of quality, there are differences that are simply differences -- not flaws or shortcomings or compromises, just differences.

The Wen Chocolates -- not just hand-made, but made to order. On the whole, more exotic and/or unusual flavors. Mouth feel is extraordinary because the outer chocolate shell is so incredibly thin it almost isn't there -- almost instant contact with ganache -- each confection just melts in your mouth. (They are so delicate, in fact, that summer shipping is discouraged.)

Chocolate Potpourri -- hand made, but made in larger quantities. I'm guessing it's because they supply high-end hotels that the outer shell is so much thicker (more handling, needs to be stronger)—you have to either bite through it or wait a while for it to melt before you reach the ganache inside. The heavy chocolate shell is of extremely high quality, so it is no hardship to have it melting in your mouth, but it sometimes overwhelms the ganache inside.

Overall, I'm more in love with the mouth feel of the Wen, but I'm also really loving the great dark chocolate coating on the CP truffles. Among individual pieces so far, I prefer the black cherry from Potpourri over Wen's "Cesnja" (morello cherry and brandy with white pepper) -- but that's probably because black cherry is one of my favorite flavors. However, the Wen "Violette" (black violet tea, dark chocolate, candied violets) was unbelievably good (if you love floral flavors, as I do) and hard to top. Each has a bourbon chocolate that is excellent, and I'd be hard to choose between the two (in fact, Bourbon-Vanille is one of the best of the CP truffles so far). The dark chocolate with rosemary from Wen was remarkable.

I still have four more flavors to try from each location, from this first experimental batch. On the really positive side, since the differences are definitely not in the arena of quality, just in texture and a couple of favorite flavors, the CP truffles will likely become my go-to truffles, as they are less expensive and I don't have to pay to have them over-nighted to me. (Plus there's that "really nice people" factor.) However, if you get to Denver and you like unusual chocolate, I'd recommend you try Wen Chocolates.

P.S. I just tried the Wen Savannah -- dark chocolate infused with honey pepper vodka, cayenne pepper, Aleppo chili, white pepper, and hot Hungarian paprika. Topped with a chili mango.

The mouth feel I enthused about above, with a more complex and lasting heat than any of the other "peppered" chocolates I've tried to date. A definite wow.


Later that same day -- (I'm trying to limit myself to one of these chocolates a day, but I must consider the research) -- just had the ancho chile Chocolate Potpourri truffle. As with all the other truffles, the chocolate is of incredibly high quality, with the 1/4-inch thick dark-chocolate shell dissolving into velvety delight. However, that said, the chile was definitely geared for hotel guests at a high-end spot on the North Shore -- which is to say, little discernible heat, at least not for someone accustomed to a bit of heat. (I'm only a "low-medium" heat person, so I'm not looking for blisters -- but there should be some sensation). So another win for Wen, at least if you like a bit of heat from your chile chocolate.

I do want to mention, howevre, that the clear, vivid flavor of the CP raspberry truffle is worth a try. (Had that yesterday, but forgot to mention that above.)