Chocolate is the answer, whatever the question, and local artisan chocolate gets full marks for flavour, quality and creativity.
Romance and love should be celebrated every day, not just once a year, and the same goes for chocolate. Having said that, there’s nothing like Valentine’s Day for pushing the boat out, and some of our local artisan chocolatiers are meeting the challenge with a host of creative ideas to wow the most discerning chocaholic.
My Sugar has quickly made a name for itself with its inventive, fun and delectable handmade chocolates and decadent milkshakes at its quirky Sea Point cafe. For Valentine’s Day all the most popular flavours are recreated as hand-painted hearts, so choose a box of assorted hearts (include the mouth-watering gold miso caramel, and do your detective work if your beloved is a regular as there are so many stunning combinations it’s difficult to choose). The exciting addition of the gift boxes and cakes in collaboration with Laura Mitchell Cake Couture, my favourite being the iced sugar cookie piñata filled with My Sugar chocolate hearts, definitely puts the fun back into romance.
Saying it with chocolate is made easy with Le Delizie’s special milk chocolate bars which have “I Love You” written across them in English, Italian, French and Spanish. Le Delizie is a little piece of Italy in Newlands’s Dean Street Arcade, where Adriana and Massimo create the traditional flavours of their native land in the form of gelato, nougat, and handmade chocolates using the finest ingredients, including hazelnuts and almonds from Italy. There are gorgeous beribboned boxes of all their creations for that special someone, and don’t miss their luscious gianduiotti filled with a rich hazelnut paste.
If you both love chocolate, treat yourselves to a special bonbon workshop at Honest Chocolate’s Wale Street cafe on the morning of Valentine’s Day, where you can sip glasses of bubbly as you learn about chocolate, then taste, dip and make your own box of bonbons to take home. This is pure, raw organically produced dark chocolate at its very best. Honest Chocolate is also partnering with some local brands to put together a proudly local Valentine’s Day gift package that will be on sale at the cafe and at the Woodstock Exchange shop.
Taste for yourself:
My Sugar
021 433 2335
mysugar.co.za
Le Delizie
062 034 2732
facebook.com/ledelizie.newlands.capetown
Honest Chocolate
Wale Street Cafe and Shop, 076 765 8306
Woodstock Shop, 021 447 1438
honestchocolate.co.za
This article originally appeared in Neighbourhood, Sunday Times.
