Beer & Chocolate!

Two of my much loved luxuries in life coming together! Your very own Take A Fancy Chocolate and some of our favourite beers from Central City.  
It was pure pleasure developing the pairings for the upcoming Parkinson Society Fundraiser and we can't wait to share the experience with you! Just when you thought the Gooey Pecan couldn't get any better - guess what we've paired it with?
Join Master Beer Judge Julian Zelazny on November 23rd for an afternoon of chocolate and beer at Central City Brew Pub. You can get your tickets at https://chocolatebeer.eventbrite.ca 
Participants will receive a 10% discount on orders before Christmas and an additional 10% on those orders will be donated to the Parkinson Society BC.

We had a great time in the Dominican Republic and we were so thankful to have such wonderful hosts in El Seibo and Hato Mayor. Thanks must be mentioned to Carolina, Hector Romero, Papo, Reynold and Alanna for their abundant assistance in our travels. Extra special thanks to Las Mujeres de Amor y Paz for sharing the amazing community of Los Botados with us and treating us to the incredible cuisine of the Dominican Republic! I also must give a very grateful shout out to Juan de la Rosa, whose helpful assistance with the Agriculture Office allowed me to get those beans home for us all to enjoy!
The first batch of chocolate from these beans is nearly ready! It will be available at the market this weekend. It's simply delicious!
As you can see from the photo here, there is a Chocolate Tour available in this community. You can take the tour and learn about the growing and processing of cacao. You can also stay overnight in the community of Los Botados if you wish and the local women's group will cook for you some amazing food! Please check back on my website soon for a link to the chocolate tour available through Grupo Conacado. If you are traveling to the Dominican Republic and would like more info on the tour, you can email me at takeafancy@gmail.com

Visiting Cocoa Plantations

The chocolate "shop" will be closed from March 18th-28th while we are away visiting cocoa plantations in the Dominican Republic.  Check back for updates and photos of our trip. I'll see you back at the Nat Bailey Market on the Easter weekend!

Spreading the love of chocolate

The Vancouver Farmers Market is hosting a "Meet your Maker" chocolate tour this Saturday at Nat Bailey Stadium, featuring Take a Fancy Chocolate and two other chocolate vendors from the market. To get your tickets visit http://meetyourmakerchocolate.eventbrite.ca

Website now has a shopping cart!

You can now order online directly through the website. Payments are via Paypal and orders can be picked up at the market or shipped. If you want to pay for your order in person, then it is still simplest to email your order to takeafancy@gmail.com (alternatively, you can use the shopping cart and cut/paste your order into an email).

Check it out!

www.takeafancy.ca

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Many thanks for a wonderful summer season! The winter markets are just around the corner! As I put on my toque and bundle up layer after layer, many of you will wonder if it's the same chocolate lady underneath the scarves and mittens! But Fall is my favorite time for making chocolate (and eating it too!) so I hope to see many of you out this Fall/Winter season!
You can check out our website www.takeafancy.ca for Halloween chocolate. The chocolate fancy leaves make great Thanksgiving favours. The Christmas seasonal chocolate will be up on the website soon. I am hoping to have a shopping cart up and running before December, so you will be able to order directly off the website, but for you now, you can always email me any order requests!
As an additional note: I am still working with my contacts in Belize to bring some beans up here. Keep your fingers crossed for some amazing Belizean chocolate!

Belizean Chocolate Coming Soon!

Cacao trees, Toledo District, Belize

Well, I'm back from Belize and back in the chocolate factory. Production was a bit delayed due to some mechanical difficulties, but we are slowly getting back to business and looking forward to working with these Belizean beans! We're hoping to have some Belizean chocolate ready in a few weeks. I know you are all eagerly waiting to try it!
I am grateful I had the opportunity to visit such an incredible country. Such amazingly warm people, I was truly sad to leave. I want to especially thank Abner, Pedro and Armando for spending a lot of time, with a little Canadian chocolate maker. Abelina, Ray and Gomier - it was a true pleasure to be in your company. Jo and Chris - the best reason to visit Ambergris Caye! Kate and Ian - we are still wondering why we ever left Hickatee - thanks so much for your hospitality! I am sure we will be back again soon!