ThereB次元官网网址檚 a sweet surprise underway in south Oak Bay as lifelong chocolatier Bob Attwell has come out of retirement.
The new shop is called CaseyB次元官网网址檚 Chocolates at the corner of St. Patrick and Central Avenue, in what was recently CaseyB次元官网网址檚 Concession, an ice cream store run as a summer project by a group of university students.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e open but weB次元官网网址檙e not open,B次元官网网址� Attwell said. B次元官网网址淪ome people are already knocking on the window. I wonB次元官网网址檛 turn down a sale but we wonB次元官网网址檛 have the official opening for a few weeks yet.B次元官网网址�
After CaseyB次元官网网址檚 Market shut down in 2017, ending a run of 80 years. The building is also home to Thorn and Thistle flower shop.
Enter Attwell, 75, who has been living retired in Oak Bay. He brings 42 years of experience as a chocolatier. For nearly two decades he ran RobertB次元官网网址檚 Chocolates and then ran the Chocolate Orchard in Creston, B.C. until he sold it and retired in 2010.
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B次元官网网址淚 was getting bored, sitting around doing nothing and I saw this place come available,B次元官网网址� Attwell said. B次元官网网址淚 saw the ice cream store [was temporary] and I approached the owners and they liked the idea. So I decided to do a chocolate store.B次元官网网址�
The owners were also pleased Attwell will continue as CaseyB次元官网网址檚 Chocolates and continue to offer ice cream while adding coffee, grilled sandwiches, a smoothie menu, and his dessert menu of housemade chocolates.
B次元官网网址淭his is a two-year adventure,B次元官网网址� said Attwell. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l see how it goes.B次元官网网址�
AttwellB次元官网网址檚 story as a chocolatier started in the 1970s. He was a sales manager at GizellaB次元官网网址檚 Bakery in Vancouver when he was listening to the radio one day.
B次元官网网址淥n the air, the Canadian McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 restaurants were getting a bit of heat for importing all hamburger buns from the U.S.,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t clicked with me, that as a company, GizellaB次元官网网址檚 could do it.B次元官网网址�
Attwell had to convince the GizellaB次元官网网址檚 owner and pitch McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 management. Once he established the connection, it quickly became a complicated negotiation that he was no longer part of. Lo and behold, GizellaB次元官网网址檚 won the contract and set up Golden West Bakery, a new factory, to bake 14.5 million dozen hamburger buns, he said.
B次元官网网址淭he owner came to me and said, B次元官网网址榊ouB次元官网网址檝e done an unbelievable thing, what can I do for you,B次元官网网址� and I said, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檇 like to go to Switzerland and learn to make chocolate.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
It was a done deal. Attwell apprenticed for Lindt in Zurich. It took four years, not because it was a four-year apprenticeship, but because he could only spend six months in Switzerland at a time.
In 1976 he was making chocolate in Victoria and remembers being the first to bring the truffle style here. Soon he was able to buy a piece of property on Mayne Island and set up a RobertB次元官网网址檚 Chocolates factory.
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His company had 19 employees and were sending chocolates all over Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
B次元官网网址淲e ended up tickling the bear, we were too big [a business] for a Gulf Island, so moved to White Rock.B次元官网网址�
Business was good in White Rock, too good, as they needed to expand again. Instead, Attwell bought an orchard farm in Creston, B.C., and converted the farm market at the gate to a bigger building, and called it the Chocolate Orchard.
CaseyB次元官网网址檚 Chocolates will offer an assortment of truffles such as mocha, ganache, and Grand Marnier.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l have around 18 types,B次元官网网址� Attwell said. B次元官网网址淎ll hand done, hand piping, no machines.B次元官网网址�
At $6.95, his bear paws might be the next big thing in south Oak Bay. A layered treat with caramel, fudge, cashews, and chocolate weigh in at about a third of a pound.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a pretty good deal considering the weight,B次元官网网址� Attwell said.
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