Sweets Expo 2006 Toronto

Feeling like young Charlie in Mr. Wonka's chocolate factory, I wandered the Sweets Expo in Toronto in search of delicious news. From imported European chocolates, locally made candies, and novelty treats to gourmet cookies and cakes- the show offered something to suit most everyone's sweet tooth.

One of my favourite finds included the astounding honey selections from Honey World. My husband has come home from the St. Lawrence Market on more than one occasion waxing eloquent about some truly inspired honey carried by Honey World, from all over the globe. One day, he brought home a jar of creamed New Zealand honey that was stunning. This honey is 100% natural offering a wonderful, distinctive flavour of meadow-fresh flowers.

I started doing some reading about this honey and discovered that because 80% of the flora in New Zealand is found only in that country, the honey produced from untouched valleys and forests have a unique, unparalleled flavour. The affable Oleg Konashenkov is the Canadian importer of numerous honey products from around the globe, including the Manuka New Zealand variety. I sampled honey comb (a spectacular treat) and numerous other varieties, but instantly fell for the Miel de Lavande from Provence in France. Softly perfumed with gorgeous lavender, the honey was pure refinement from start to finish. I can't wait to use it in my baking, and even as a spring-time sweetener for a good cup of tea!

I also got my dark chocolate fix (I love the stuff- you can refer to Vere Chocolates to see what I mean) from the www.chocodirect.com folks. Taking advantage of some spectacular show specials, I bought four Belgian Dolfin dark chocolate bars with intriguing combinations such as ground coffee, fresh ginger and mint leaves. For $10 CDN I walked away a happy camper with four gourmet bars in tow. I saw they also carried the French Poulain bars (their 1848 85% dark cocoa powder makes the most sensational hot chocolate!), French Valrhona, Swiss Camille Bloch and Belgian Bel Arte bars. My husband Mario jumped at the chance to buy a $2CDN bar of Poulain white chocolate with flecks of hazelnut and nougat from France- these bars usually retail for at least $5CDN. Luckily for him, he didn't have to share his bar with me (white chocolate and I do not mix). His brothers on the other hand, now that's a different story.

As if that wasn't enough of a cocoa overload, we ran into the fine folks behind Gemirex Trading Inc. down the aisle. Based out of Quebec, Gemirex imports and distributes some of the hottest gourmet chocolates in Europe and Asia. Take for example the COMILFO truffle line. Beautifully packaged like a vintage keepsake box, delicate, layered truffles are housed in a chocolate cup. The caramel pistachio is lovely, as is the cashew coffee varieties. I was also delighted by the dried fruit and nut covered chocolates on offer from Grand Candy of Armenia. Ara Balian explained that Armenia is what he calls a "hidden gem of chocolate and confectionary product making." Chocolates from that country have only been available to Europeans for decades, until now. Figs, apricots, dates and plums hand rolled in pure dark chocolate was a wonderful treat and contrast to most chocolates on the market.

I got to the show pretty early on Saturday morning, so I missed out on some lectures and cooking demonstrations from Food TV celebs like Christine Cushing and book author Steve Almond. Next year, I'll be sure to time my attendance according to some of the highlighted events to bring you even more news from the sweet frontiers.

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