In the words of the infamous Carrie Bradshaw, the phrase "things look good on the outside, but the inside looks different than it seems" may apply to relationships, but it bares no weight to Sweet Sarahendipity Chocolates created right here in Whistler.
At this Sunday’s Whistler Farmer’s Market, the gates to heaven opened as the sunlight caught the sheen off a red chocolate heart displayed at Whistlerite Sarah Plummer’s vendor booth.
Red heart, you say, how cliché, how ordinary, but this red is the red of a just-waxed Ferrari, the red of a MAC gloss kiss. Air brushed, these homemade, handcrafted morsels are beautiful inside and out.
"They are almost too beautiful to eat," cooed one woman, admiring the ruby-red perfection, then the neighbouring pastel-striped, squared-shaped chocolate and later the sapphire, peanut butter chocolate dome.
"Speak for yourself," I thought to myself.
I was so relieved I didn’t have to ration my chocolate stores ferried over from Vancouver Island anymore. Every Sunday, I could now worship locally.
There is nothing more romantic or decadent than sitting down with a treasure chest of chocolates for no reason, no special occasion, just a moment to yourself, a pampering, a sinful indulgence meant only for you.
Chocolates in a bag or wrapped individually don’t have the same effect. In a jewel box, each chocolate is showcased as an individual in its own right. You pick out each gemstone with thought. Which is going to be my favourite? Do you first pick the cocoa bean of your eye or save the best for last?
Fortunately in Sweet Sarahendipity’s case, there is no such dilemma. They are all favourites, but for different reasons.
I slide the lid from the smooth dark-brown box, gently fold back the crinkly paper and admire the eight possibilities throned in gold compartments before me. Chocolate is all about foreplay. The whistle of the teakettle, the turned off phone, the pressures of the day dimmed with the lights.
Some people take their chocolate with break ups, others with red wine. Me, it’s a late-night rendezvous with a cup of tea and Sex and the City reruns. I tried books, but I kept smudging the pages with chocolate — a needless waste.
Sweet Sarahendipity boasts two caramel concoctions. The raspberry caramel is dressed in dark starry skies with star decals. The inside is firm, but lazy enough to melt on your tongue. If the raspberry caramel is night, then the passion fruit caramel is day. A complete opposite, the milk chocolate plain casing gives way to a gush of soft sweetness. A dip in a cup of hot tea quickens the release, but for those of you who like a drawn-out experience, the dark truffle, made from a coca bean only harvested in an off-the-map village in South America, is your ornament of choice.
Coupled perfectly with the floral-scented, loose-leaf Earl Grey tea from the Fairmont Tea Shop, this rich morsel just goes on forever. Dipping the deeply rich package beforehand, you can suck away the stripes of pinks, purples, blue and green. Centres are velvety smooth, bittersweet and so rich, two chocolates a sitting amply satisfy, leaving teasers to look forward to the following night.
I don’t know the shelf life on these boxes of two, four and ten. I don’t think it matters. Mine only lasted 96 hours.
Find your own chocolate routine, but make sure it begins with a Sunday afternoon stroll to the Whistler Farmer's Market to visit Sarah. A local chocolate alchemist brewing coca-bean escapes is a magical find - and saves the hassle of ferry travel to the island.
