I'll admit I haven't gotten into too many different brands of chocolate beyond Hershey's. Well, OK, I love Lindt and Ghiradelli, but those are the mainstream (yet terrific) gourmet chocolates. I'm talking about the more exotic chocolate pleasures that many of us don't try. Here are some gift ideas for the chocoholic on your list who might want to try something a little bit different.
Vosges has a rather intriguing selection of chocolates, brownies, cakes, and ice creams. At first I thought it was some sort of art site or perhaps a fashion site. Godiva has some nice baskets and other gifts.
Jacques Torres has chocolate, but they also have hot chocolate, cookbooks, clothing, chocolate by the month gifts, and other gifts. Neuhaus has a great selection of Belgian chocolates that you can ship internationally. And Woodhouse has some fine chocolates made by hand in the Napa Valley.
Looking for a different kind of hot chocolate? Check out Momma's Rocket Chocolate, which is gourmet hot chocolate made with espresso. And the Hotel Chocolat has an array of drinking chocolates that have my mouth watering.
If you're looking for a unique chocolate-related gift, Chocolate Impressions has a lot of quirky gifts, including chocolate cigars, chocolate CDs, and chocolate spoons.
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-14-2007 @ 6:34PM
Cathy said...
Vosges and Neuhaus were disappointing. My favorite chocolate is actually Trader Joe's Pound Plus bar, but I can't have it anymore because I've pledged to only buy fair-trade chocolate (turns out non-FT chocolate is the product of child slavery). This also means I can't buy myself Norman Love Confections, which my chocoholic friend raved about when I sent them to her for her birthday (she thought Vosges wasn't even as good as See's).
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12-14-2007 @ 7:10PM
sairuh said...
Recchiuti (http://www.recchiuticonfections.com/) makes excellent chocolates, based on Guittard, I believe. Chuao (http://www.chuaochocolatier.com/) and Christopher Elbow (http://www.elbowchocolates.com/) also make rather innovative chocolate ganaches and truffles. Recchiuti and Elbow make particularly beautiful ones, great for a gift.
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12-15-2007 @ 12:09PM
Jon said...
Norman Love is the ne plus ultra of chocolates. Their holiday-only Brownies a la Mode is so good fights will break out for the last piece. Candy Cane and S'more pieces are pretty darn tasty too.
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12-18-2007 @ 8:49PM
Adriane said...
This post is a bit old, but--
Check out John and Kira's chocolates. They are a bit pricy, but they look fabulous and use local farmers for their seasonal selections
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