It wasn’t enough for Debra Fleck to simply eat chocolate. She had to learn how to make it, too. Completely self-taught, after years of practise, her artisan, French-style chocolates are no longer the centre of a passionate hobby but a thriving full-time business. She and her husband John opened Epiphanie Chocolate in 2009 in the historic Brigden Block in Connaught.
“I’ve always loved chocolate,” says Debra. “I come from a family of chocoholics. If a dessert or candy wasn’t chocolate, then it just wasn’t acceptable.” As a high school teen, she skipped school to attend a chocolate-making demonstration at a local mall. She was hooked. Despite completing her business degree while on a fastball scholarship at an American university, her love of chocolate ultimately took over. “I chased after what I was passionate about,” she says.
Their specialty chocolates are so beautiful to look at, that you hesitate to eat them. One taste confirms; they are as delicious as they are beautiful.
Does your mom have a sweet tooth? Epiphanie Chocolate is the perfect place to find a chocolate treat for Mother’s Day. The shop’s specialty chocolates are fresh, delicious and made of the finest ingredients available, and the selection changes regularly. Browse the Beltline treat shop, or place your order online. Also consider sharing a glass of wine and a chocolate dessert with mom at Farm restaurant, which serves Epiphanie chocolates.
For the gluten-sensitive sweet tooth, Epiphanie Chocolate has much to offer. Of the gourmet chocolate shop’s 34 available flavours, just one is not gluten-free. Bestselling sweets include the pyramid-shaped Tahitian blonde, which is filled with vanilla ganache and vanilla bean seeds. Also very popular, the rose chocolate is imprinted with an edible photo of a red rose.
Wouldn’t it be great to work in a chocolate shop? Many of us have had this type of chocolate epiphany, but few chocolate lovers go as far as launching a business. This wee boutique run by chocolate maker Debra Fleck and her husband John, carries an indulgent profusion of her ganache-filled French-style chocolates. Sample, for example, the vanilla ganache-filled Tahitian blonde or the double-smoked-bacon chocolate. Also find handmade marshmallows, chocolate drinks and more.