I was browsing Vancouver foodie blogs when I came across a shout out for Kitsilano’s CocoaNymph Chocolates and Confections, owned by chocolatier Rachel Sawatzky. If you’ve never visited the shop, CocoaNymph is a magical workshop where frisky sugar plum fairies frolic with darkly aromatic cocoa beans, resulting in the birth of silky-smooth, ganache-filled truffles. According to food writer Catherine Roscoe Barr, there are six new seasonal truffles—including an astonishing sorrel truffle–that are worth sampling.
By Catherine Roscoe Barr | GranvilleOnline.ca | Published: August 05, 2011
Rachel Sawatzky, owner of CocoaNymph Chocolates and Confections, is busy whipping up a batch of her new Cuckoo truffles—one of six new seasonal chocolates available this summer—when I walk in the door of her charming cocoa cafe on West 10th avenue.
“This piece that you’re about to try,” she says, “is the freshest chocolate you’ll ever eat.” And probably the most unusual too.
CocoaNymph has been “moving towards using as many local ingredients as we can,” and Sawatzky has been scouring local farmers’ markets for fresh ideas.
A friend suggested she try making a chocolate with sorrel, a sour leafy green vegetable that resembles spinach, so she decided to give it a whirl.
“I believe we’re the only chocolatiers in the world who’ve ever done this,” she says about using sorrel in a chocolate. “It has a deep, sour earthy flavour and chocolate has an earthy flavour so putting them together is kind of cool.”
Cool indeed. The Cuckoo truffle, with a layer of sorrel ganache topped with a layer of sorrel jelly and dipped in milk chocolate, has been flying off the shelves.
All of the chocolates have a story behind their name and in addition to Cuckoo, Sawatzky is unveiling five more seasonal truffles using BC-grown produce: Ruby (rhubarb), Trina (strawberries), Jennifer (blueberries), Emma (peaches), and Silvi (apples). Cuckoo, Ruby, Trina and Jennifer are available now, Emma will be available as of early August, and Silvi will be available towards the end of the month.
CocoaNymph, 3739 W. 10th Ave (at Alma), 604-222-4477, Cocoanymph.com
Last modified: August 23, 2011
Yum. Those look delicious.