This Easter, why not let yourself be tempted by a creation from a local bakery or patisserie? These craftsmen, who have mastered their craft like no other, have stepped up their efforts to offer both a piece of their know-how, but above all a bit of nostalgic indulgence. Always with the aim of consuming less but better, here are addresses where you will find chocolate factories at Easter that are worth a detour. Good discovery!
state of shock
Photo provided by Cuisinomane
All chocolate lovers and connoisseurs must pay a visit to the boutique Etat de Choc. In addition to one of the largest selection of bean-to-bar chocolates in town, you can discover homemade creations, chocolate menus, ice creams, spreads, hot chocolates and much more. Needless to say, the Easter collection is mind-blowing, I can’t go over the team’s flagship creation in silence: the big egg topped with a light chocolate-pecan mousse, soft caramel, and crunchy pecans. The most inexpensive find their account in the choice of small coconuts or chickens.
► etatdechoc.com
► 6466 Saint Laurent Boulevard, Montreal
Sacher desserts
Photo courtesy of Kick Agency
Pastry chef Sonya Sammut has made two different eggs this year, taking inspiration from the Japanese art of kintsugi (the act of restoring broken objects by sublimating them with gold). The first is white chocolate with a filling of pistachio pralines and passion fruit caramel. The second is 60% dark chocolate with a filling of miso caramel, chocolate ganache, vanilla marshmallows, and freeze-dried raspberries. These creations are joined by vegan peanut butter mini eggs and a few different flavor bars.
► sacheredesserts.com
► 1274 de Maisonneuve Boulevard East, Montreal
At Potter’s
Photo courtesy of Chez Potier
True to his habit of never taking an opportunity lightly, one of Quebec’s best pastry chefs has prepared a delicious and delicate cake… in an egg! Designed for six people, Egg Viennetta consists of a crunchy praline, a hazelnut cream, a hazelnut and milk chocolate biscuit, a mousse and a milk chocolate ganache, all well topped with an old-fashioned hazelnut and fleur de sel praline. As for the pastries, the theme is respected with a chocolate praline filling, also filled with a hazelnut praline. An Easter coco worth the detour!
► chezpotier.com
► 630 Wellington Street, Montreal
Gaël Vidricaire pastries
Photo provided by Serge Leclerc
Master pastry chef Gaël Vidricaire designed her collection of Easter chocolates 2023 by making a hymn to spring.
Crocus leaves, daffodil puffs and cherry blossoms are presented in either 43% milk chocolate or 66% dark chocolate, reflecting the characteristic visual aspects of these flowers.
We use the visit to leave with a few stones and some small cakes for the road.
► www.gaelvidricaire.com
► 200 Cremazie Street West, Quebec
The Tamelier
Photo courtesy of Le Tamelier
During the Easter weekend, the baker Mathieu Lhomelet and his team offer different chocolate creations, ranging from a triple chocolate bread to the reinterpretation of a very popular chocolate cake, the Royal. As for the pastries, Rémy the Tourier has made a two-tone tiger chocolate filled with three chocolate bars: white, milk and dark chocolate. Here’s a trio that will steal the show at your brunch!
► facebook.com/LeTamelierbakery
► 1199 Curé-Labelle Blvd, Blainville
Oddo house
Photo courtesy of Maison Oddo
In Gatineau, for a chocolate cure worthy of the delicacy, you must go to the Maison Oddo patisserie and bakery. Well supported by his brigade, the chef – who was crowned Best Pastry Chef in Quebec by Les Lauriers in 2021 – will offer three cakes, a “hot chocolate” style bread, in addition to a lime and Thai basil tart, this one Sale only during the Easter weekend. However, my radar is on Le Caroline, this bespoke dessert that reveals the chef’s great technique, combining milk marmalade, caramel mousse, creamy Tahitian vanilla mascarpone and a texture of candied pears, all in a 70% chocolate shell.
► Maisonoddo.com
► 260 Boulevard Saint-Raymond, Gatineau
Bread is everything!
Photo courtesy of Du Pain c’est tout
Charles Létang, baker and owner of the Du Pain C’est Tout! in La Pocatière, shows color (and its values) from the start by using only freshly ground organic flour from the historic Aulnaies mill, listed here as a listed building. From bread to Viennese pastries to seasonal creations – including chocolate and cranberry bastard bread for Easter – this taste of terroir shines through its omnipresence. This sourdough bastard bread (a half-pound loaf ranging in size from a baguette to a one-pound loaf is referred to as a “bastard”) has an unsweetened chocolate crumb, but with added chunks of 70% chocolate factory, dried cranberries, and a touch of honey from the region. To discover the surprise viennoiserie you have to go there!
► bakerydpct.squarespace.com
► 608a, 4th Avenue Painchaud, La Pocatiere
The 3 Galo’Pains
Photo courtesy of Les 3 Galo’Pains
Opened in 2018 by the three Burdin brothers, this Saint-Eustache bakery quickly became a gourmet destination for locals and locals alike. At Easter, chocolate lovers can delight in the Praline Chocolate Cake – only on April 7th, 8th and 9th – a pure chocolate bread filled with milk and dark chocolate chips and pralines from the Refined Craft chocolate factory. Carrot cake and Lenten brioches round off the Easter offer.
► facebook.com/Les3GalOpains
► 116 Saint-Eustache street, Saint-Eustache
Tommy Dion is a columnist/food critic and founder of the web platform and gourmet guide www.lecuisinomane.com