When life is less than ideal we look for a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate for comfort. The last week or so has been less than ideal and for me it is time to eat more chocolate bars! That and vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate sauce....

Just arrived - Andres and Sabrina ARA Chocolate and Joan's Chocolat Moderne bars are here! Meet them below.

First some famous positive quotes about chocolate to give us hope. (lightly modified)

"No rain. No chocolate." - Proverb

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, eat chocolate" - Maya Angelou

"Chocolate is a superpower." - Ellie Kemper

"Chocolate does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." - Annette Funicello

"Every morning is a fresh start. Wake up with a hot chocolate" - Kristen Butler

"To infinite chocolate and beyond!" - Toy Story

"All we have to decide is what to do with the chocolate that is given to us." - Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to have a bar of chocolate and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"A laugh and chocolate can be a very powerful thing. ...sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have." - Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Sometimes making chocolate sauce is almost as rewarding as eating it. This is just a few ingredients and you'll have a delight that will pour or squeeze over whatever you think of!

Ara Chocolat was founded in 2015 by Venezuelan couple Andres and Sabrina. Andres was born with a culinary passion which led him to study the culinary arts, first working as a pastry chef in Venezuela and then in London.

Ara Chocolat is one of the very few bean-to-bar makers roasting their own cacao in France. Everything is made from scratch in their Parisian workshop—fresh, with no frozen ingredients, no additives, and no preservatives.

For Ara Chocolat, choosing heirloom cacaos is everything—varieties that are unique and have a story behind them.

France has more than 3,000 chocolatiers, yet fewer than 2% are genuine bean-to-bar artisans who roast their own cacao. And within that already small group, the number who do so with true philosophical purity is smaller still. This matters because "bean-to-bar" has no legal distinction in France.

There is a clear line between those who roast their own beans only to then add lecithin or vanilla, and those who practice an entirely purist approach from bean to finished bar with minimal ingredients.

By that stricter standard, in Paris there are perhaps two or three and ARA Chocolat is one. What Andres and Sabrina have built is all the more remarkable for it.

Andres transforms the cacao beans to create unique origin chocolate bars, pralines, and confections.

You can visit them at 41 Bis Rue Condorcet, 75009 Paris, France when you are in town.

After a complete day of work, flying all night to make the late-night connection in JFK to Charles de Gaulle made for a very long day!

Facial recognition made going through customs a breeze, thank goodness. And then they headed for the center of Paris to the barge.

The barge belonged to a long-time friend from school who had a moorage in the heart of Paris just off the River Seine.

To board the barge, one had to cross this very narrow 4-inch-wide "pathway" to get on board.

What a wonderful way to visit Paris, the Ville Lumiere (the City of Lights), and chocolate!

There was lots of food eaten and shops visited looking for amazing food.

On one day, planned well in advance before setting foot on French soil (concrete), was a trip to visit Andres and Sabrina, Chocolatiers based in the heart of Paris!

They departed early in the morning, with the mist brushing gently on their faces, crossing the 4-inch-wide gangplank hanging tightly to the metal rail landing on the shore. A short quick walk to the Metro, and 2 stops later, they were in the 9th arrondissement.

Coming up from the underground, the mist had changed to rain, not enough water to be drops, certainly not enough for an umbrella, just wet enough to be noticed...enough to add to the charm of the adventure.

A quick walk and then there it was, on the right: ARA Chocolat. With its small window, you could steal a look inside to see the freshly made truffles and bunnies and eggs all ready for Easter.

Eliza and the actress walked in and were greeted by Andres and Sabrina, the chocolatiers. In a word, they were wonderful! Transplants from Venezuela via a London Michelin-Starred restaurant, they had settled in Paris with their family.

The shop smelled of rich chocolate with a fruity note.

The conversation covered all things chocolate, from the tasting of newly made bars to some amazing olive oil-infused chocolate truffles!

Andres spoke passionately about how he works directly with cocoa farmers in Venezuela. From changing the timing of when the beans are picked to how long they are fermented and dried before they are bagged up to be shipped to ARA's workshop location. What might seem to be detail to the layman is critical to Andres and the final flavor profile he creates in all his chocolate!

When they left, after the short 2 hours of intense conversation, the street had come alive. The rain was gone, and the streets were packed with people walking and hanging out at the cafes smoking and playing Uno....

The Porcelana Criollo 70% is Ara Chocolat's tribute to one of the world's most prized cacao varieties. The beans come directly from the historic Cano de Tigre plantation in Venezuela's Sur del Lago de Maracaibo region, a place long associated with some of the most revered Criollo cacao in the world.

When I taste this bar, what strikes me first is its refinement. The flavor is delicate and quietly complex—soft peanutty notes with a gentle caramel sweetness that feels silky on the palate. It's not an aggressive chocolate; instead, it unfolds slowly, leaving a graceful finish that lingers long after the last bite.

Porcelana is one of the rarest and most sought-after forms of Criollo cacao, known for its pale beans and elegant flavor profile. Ara keeps the recipe simple, just cacao and unrefined cane sugar, so the character of the cacao can speak clearly.

"I often think of this as a 'slow chocolate.' It's the kind of bar I like to break off one square at a time and really pay attention to. If you enjoy discovering the subtle side of fine cacao, this is a special one to savor." - Maile

A precious bar, perfect for savoring slowly and one I love to gift to the best of friends.

The Gibraltar bar highlights cacao grown south of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, a region long associated with some of the country's most distinctive cacao. Ara Chocolat transforms these beans into a refined 70% dark chocolate that showcases the elegance of Venezuelan terroir.

"As I taste this bar, I find the flavors unfold in a sophisticated progression. Bright citrus notes appear first, followed by a gentle nuttiness and a warm hint of spice that lingers on the palate. The profile feels structured and graceful rather than bold or overpowering." - Maile

Ara Chocolat is a master of understated elegance in chocolate, and this bar is another great reminder of the quality and craft they bring to the bean-to-bar community.

This is one of the more intriguing bars in Ara Chocolat's lineup. It begins with 70% grand cru cacao from El Salvador, layered with Tanche olives from Nyons—one of France's most celebrated olive varieties.

"When first trying this bar, I was definitely curious how olives and chocolate would play together. What surprised me was how natural the pairing feels. The dark chocolate brings deep cacao richness, while the olives add a gentle fruitiness and a subtle savory, briny note that softens the chocolate and makes the flavors feel round and balanced." - Maile

Tasting this bar with customers in our shop is a delight! Olive lovers naturally gravitate to it, wanting to sample the unique pairing. There's often a look of deep concentration as they experience the layers of flavors, followed by a slow smile saying, "It works. It really works."

The olives themselves have an impressive heritage. Grown near Nyons on the Chauvin family plantation, Tanche olives were the first olives in France to receive an Appellation of Origin (AOC) in 1968, later becoming an AOP in 1996. Their delicate sweetness and soft texture make them especially suited to this unexpected combination.

I like this bar for its sense of adventure. It's the kind of chocolate that makes you pause for a moment and think about flavor in a new way—something both elegant and a little surprising.

What's Happening in the Store

Chocolate Tasting Event Bean to Bar

Come, taste our newest maker, Valley Isle Chocolate. Valley Isle is a family-owned business on Maui, focused on celebrating the flavors of the islands. They craft bars in small batches and work with local ingredients, including favorites like Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, and more.

April 11, 2026
Saturday: 12 to 4pm
ChefShop Retail Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave West, Seattle

The cacao for this bar comes from the Santa Cruz plantation in Venezuela's Aragua region, where Ara Chocolat works directly with producers to source exceptional Criollo cacao. That close relationship allows the makers to support the farmers' expertise while ensuring the beans are treated with the care they deserve.

"For lovers of Ara's Porcelana bar, this one is a must-try. The flavor opens with warm nutty notes and gentle fruitiness, creating a profile that feels both vibrant and comforting. Like the Porcelana, there's a silky melt that rewards those who can place a square on the tongue and just wait." - Maile

This bar was recognized at the 2025 International Chocolate Awards, a testament to the quality of the cacao and the care taken in crafting it. It's a wonderful example of the distinctive character of Venezuelan cacao—pure, expressive, and satisfying.

A true rarity in the world of chocolate, Ara Chocolat's Bernabe bar is crafted from cacao grown in Martinique, a French Caribbean island with a long, but often overlooked, cacao tradition. The Bernabe family and their cooperative, VALCACO, work to preserve native cacao varieties while farming in ways that respect the island's ecosystem.

When tasting this bar, the first thing I notice is how expressive it is. Bright fruity and floral notes rise immediately, followed by hints of almond and a subtle touch of spice and wood. It's a layered chocolate that feels lively and complex, and to me it captures something unmistakably Caribbean in its character.

Bernabe 70% is also a milestone for Ara. It's their first 100% French chocolate: cacao grown on French soil in Martinique and crafted into chocolate in their Paris workshop. From plantation to bar, it brings together local agriculture, careful fermentation, and the quiet precision of French chocolate making.

I find this bar especially fun to taste slowly—the flavors keep evolving as it melts, revealing new little nuances with each bite!

Make this recipe your own!

This flavor-filled white chocolate bar is one joyous delicious bar!

It is gorgeous to look at and each cube is beautiful in its own right. You might feel compelled to put this bar in a shrine to chocolate art mastery...but resist, it is meant to be eaten!

The first bite is a surprise! Pierce the white chocolate with your teeth and boom-smoosh and a wonderful surprise of passion explodes! Passion fruit puree is wonderful and Joan has made it special!

The very first feel in your mouth is this wonderful dark chocolat. And then next you get this flood of memory of the maple syrup and caramel and blended together. It is remarkable that a little square of chocolat can evoke so much feeling!

It finishes nicely with the taste of the chocolat that you first started with, like a full circle. It makes you happy!

The first bite and the chocolat breaks away.

The caramel is just as you want, sweet and smooth. The salt brings out the chocolat character and allows the caramel to sing together.

It all finishes with a nice dark chocolate dryness.

Valley Isle Chocolate is a young bean-to-bar chocolate maker rooted in the lush landscapes of Maui.

Founded in 2021 by Samuel Schwartzkopf, Susan Schwartzkopf, and Sam Phillips, the company began in the most humble way possible with small experimental batches made in a home kitchen, driven by curiosity, friendship, and a shared love of working with plants and food.

After years of living and working apart, the founders all found their way to Maui, drawn by the island's natural beauty and the opportunity to build something meaningful together. What began as a passion project quickly grew into a serious pursuit: crafting chocolate that highlights the remarkable flavor of Hawaiian cacao and the vibrant ingredients of the islands.

Today, Valley Isle Chocolate remains deeply hands-on and proudly small-batch. Their bean-to-bar process allows them to oversee every step of chocolate making from roasting and refining to tempering and molding.

By working directly with carefully sourced cacao from Hawaii and select origins around the world, they create chocolate that reflects both, the character of the beans and the care taken in every stage of production.

The company's roots are firmly planted in Maui's local community.

Early support from customers at the Ko Mahi'ai Makeke farmers market in Kīhei helped the brand grow from a kitchen project into a chocolate maker now found in stores across Hawaii and the mainland United States.

Even as their reach expands, Valley Isle continues to invest in the island that inspired them, building relationships with Hawaiian cacao growers and planting their own orchard in Hana.

For Valley Isle Chocolate, great chocolate is about more than flavor, it's about place, people, and stewardship. Each bar reflects a commitment to thoughtful sourcing, careful craft, and the vibrant spirit of Hawaii.

Our 24 to 36 month aged Mountain Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP cheese comes from Cows that live and graze in the high slopes of the Apennine Mountains in Italy.

These happy cows feed on seasonal treats of spring flowers, early grasses, and wild garlic shoots. In the summer, they forage the mountains' natural flora. And in the winter, they ruminate on the hay from the fall harvest.

Unlike many of their brethren who live down the mountain, this changing diet creates seasonal milk that has distinct flavor characteristics.

The resulting seasonal Parmigiano-Reggiano creates amazing cheese that is like no other!

Spring cheese is the lightest in flavor, or perhaps a better descriptor is wonderful, sweet, subtle flavors. I always look forward to spring!

Summer cheese is similar to spring, with more classic cheesy Parmigiano-Reggiano notes. Perhaps it is the free foraging lifestyle that makes the summer one of the favorite seasons!

Winter cheese can often have hints of summer or spring, depending on when the milk is harvested. Its predominate flavor comes from the hay, which makes this season have a wonderful, smooth flavor.

When Parmigiano-Reggiano is aged beyond 24 months, the cheese changes for the better! The little bits or tiny pockets are the crunchy bits of tyrosine crystals, which are amino acid clusters that form as the cheese ages.

The tyrosine, in simple terms, makes your brain happy! And the little crunch reminds you that you have a wonderfully aged Parmigiano-Reggiano like no other.

This Deep Dark Dutch-processed dark unsweetened cocoa powder is in a class unto itself. We have removed less fat from our cocoa (22-24% fat content), which results in a more intense and immediate chocolate flavor.

This "service pack" of ChefShop cocoa powder is designed for commercial users like baristas, bakers, and gelato makers. It is sealed in a thick zip-lock style bag for production baking with a Plain Jane label.

Price relative to quantity is also a crucial part of the commercial kitchen - quality and consistency relative to cost. The resealable bag keeps the cocoa powder fresh for a good long time.

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