“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” Preach Charles M. Schulz.
February marks a month of romance for some; solo binging a box of bon bons for others. Whatever your relationship status, Chocolatier Constance Popp (180 Provencher Boulevard) is making things just a little sweeter with new flavours, experiences, and a big contest that will have you speaking the language of, er, not love, but chocolate:
Eat Your (Chocolate) Heart Out: Valentine’s Day is undoubtedly the busiest time of the year for the St. Boniface chocolatier. Two weeks out they begin prepping packaging — think sultry velvet heart-shaped boxes lined with matte gold perfect for popping in several of the chocolatier’s handmade morsels of art. Since everything is made fresh, bon bon production goes into full swing just several days before the 14th to ensure peak quality for each piece.
This year Popp is getting a little cheeky with the new Relationship Series of chocolates. We won’t tell anyone if you’re temped by the Mistress, a hot little number with allspice and Jamaican rum in dark chocolate (sealed with a kiss); if you’re looking to add a little romance, try Love Potion #9, a refreshing combination of passion fruit liqueur, cherry brandy, and saffron in milk chocolate; and everyone can use a little L’Amour - real raspberries soaked in amaretto rolled in creamy white chocolate and hand-stamped with “love.”
Single serve decadence includes the shop’s popular marshmallow creams in either a deep love passion fruit, or oozing caramel. In fact, the chocolatier’s caramels are so sought after she recently added a collection strictly dedicated to the goody bon bons — perfect for him, her, or yourself this Valentine’s Day.
History in Chocolate: Fifty years of Festival du Voyageur, Western Canada’s largest winter festival, is something to celebrate, and Constance Popp knows how to throw a party. Having put on large-scale spectacles that were a feast for all the senses, the shop is setting out make the annual kitchen party the sweetest one yet with a chocolate carving expo.
Renowned chocolate artisan Christophe Morel will anchor a team of artists, including Jordan Van Sewell, Charlie Johnston, Denis Dugay and Helmut Mathae, who will each create their own stylized versions, in chocolate form, of voyageurs throughout history. Each piece will support Popp’s team’s own creation — a large-scale, detailed chocolate Fort Gibraltar. The sculptures are created by a combination of hand carving and molds, and will be pieced together for all to see on Sunday, February 17 at noon inside The Dome.
Where in Winnipeg is Constance?: Getting likes and tagging friends is great, but Constance likes to take her contests to the next level. The chocolatier has put up three billboards across the city, proclaiming, “Parlez-vous chocolat?” with a picture of the chocolatier. Keep your eyes peeled; when you’ve spotted them all, visit constancepopp.com, and log the locations to be entered into a draw for a monthly box of chocolates for an entire year.
The contest only runs until the end of February, so don’t take your sweet time trying to figure out Where in Winnipeg is Constance.
