I have to admit that I have not been a fan of Godiva. Although possessed of an excellent reputation and one of the most iconic packages in America (the signature gold ballotin is right up there with Tiffany’s blue box), the chocolate itself no longer lived up to the tradition in my opinion. (Read my original article.)

Many people know Garrison Confections founder Andrew (Drew) Shotts through the televised Pastry Team Championships on Food Network. However, that is just one aspect of the personality and talents of this very talented pastry chef, and one of the real pleasures of my job is to get to watch people mature, craft, develop, and hone their own particular chocolate vision and vocabulary (not to mention eat the results of all that work). Garrison Confections is one of the few Prestige Chocolatiers using Guittard chocolates (which is not surprising given Drew’s work for them as corporate pastry chef), especially those from the E. Guittard line. Drew also uses others, include white chocolate from Felchlin, a Swiss manufacturer.

Chuao Chocolatier founders Michael Antinorsi and Brian Vandenbroucke both have classical training in chocolate making from the esteemed Ecole Lenotre in France, and are working hard to merge classical French and Belgian chocolate-making techniques with New World chocolate (El Rey) and flavors. Although a relatively new company, the pair (Michael hails from Venezuela and Brian from Belgium) craft many very good chocolates with some delightfully surprising flavor combinations and unusual choices for fillings.