2009 Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival

In possession of a bus pass while Ginger Man is off playing at the water park @ Cultus Lake, I decided to venture out to Granville Island Market in search of a madeline pan. As usual, I came back with something completely different. I also had the unexpected pleasure of investigating the Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival. The Floating Exhibition is on display Aug. 27-30, and it’s free to see!

Munin's Sail by Foxtongue

The Vancouver Wooden Boat Society says, “The world has enough plastic. Let’s protect something beautiful.” I wholeheartedly agree. Gorgeous sailing vessels and yachts line the docks near the market, interrupted by the occasional precious wee dinghy (cast a ballot for your favourite!). You can tour the SS Master—the last living locally-built steam tugboat—or have a look at an authentic half-size replica of a real viking longboat (complete with red-striped square sail). The viking boat, built by the BC Viking Ship Society at the Scandinavian Community Centre, is named Munin. She’s about 9 years old, crafted from fir planks, and hand-rivited with 3,000 copper rivets. I see her sometimes on English Bay when the winds are right.

Family fun can be had at boatbuilding workships (check the 2009 schedule). Closer to the market: beautiful knotwork, pretty toy boats made of recycled materials, and a crew singing sea shantys. Another fave: Graham Eagle’s whimsical store front “architectural portraits” (combining miniatures, found objects, and a good dose of humour).

As usual, a day at the Market was enjoyable, and although I passed up the madeline pan (trop cher), I did get a new salt grinder to replace my crappy broken one. It’s so cute, I just wanna squeeze it! I also picked up a few veggies and a couple of treats from Stuart’s: a key lime tart and a black forest minicake. They make wonderful things (cheesecake highly reccommended).

Last but not least, I blew my last $5 of fun money on a thrift-store cookbook and a few 98¢ 45rpm records (of all things). I don’t even have a record player, but c’mon! How could I pass these up? Maybe Ginger Man *hint hint* will get me a thrift shop turntable for my birthday. 😉

Munin’s Sail by Foxtongue

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Daniel Le Chocolat Belge

On an early April foodie safari along Granville Street, I came upon a little chocolate shop, just in time to add a few goodies to my Easter basket. Daniel Le Chocolat Belge had plenty of goodies to choose from. In addition to their regular supply of truffles and molded belgian chocolates in the candy case, there were shelves and displays filled with adoreable bunnies, chickens, and delicious praliné eggs. It was hard to decide what to pick!

I didn’t want to blow my basket budget, so I went with a small box of peanut butter bunnies, four exotic truffles, and a few praliné eggs. I’ve waited ages to break into them, but now I can tell you all about how delicious they are. These are some of the creamiest chocolates I’ve ever had, with gorgeous mouth-feel and flavour. Not grainy in the slightest, not too sweet, and the exotic truffle flavours were fun.

Here’s a rundown of my sampling:

Dark Advocaat Brandy
Lush and velvety smooth

Milk Cinnamon-Nutmeg
Interesting. Snickerdoodley.

Dark Chipotle
Good. Super creamy, not peppery.
Flavour is a little hidden.

Milk Mojito
Excellent! Creamy chocolate with
a fresh hint of mint and lime.

Praliné Eggs
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, delicious.
Milk or dark chocolate with a creamy chocolate filling made with ground caramelized almonds or hazelnuts.

Peanut Butter Bunnies
Melt-in-your-mouth cuteness.

About Daniel’s Divine Chocolates

View Daniel’s Chocolate Map

Daniel Poncelet (Chocolatier) was born and raised in Belgium, where he says “chocolate was an inseparable part of my daily diet. I still remember how good it was to let it melt in my mouth and try to make the piece last as long as possible in order to be the last one in the family still enjoying it.”

He learned his craft from Clovis Harmegnie, “an exceptionally passionate Belgian master chocolatier,” and grew to appreciate not only the art of making chocolates but also fine quality ingredients. According to Daniel, this inspired his determination to create chocolates “without compromise, with zealous adherence to purity.”

Daniel uses only 100% natural ingredients to make chocolates that are preservative free with no artificial colorings and flavors and no hydrogenated oils or tropical fats.Daniel sources premium chocolate from world renowned chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut. Callebaut’s chocolate heritage spans more than 120 years, and the company actively supports cocoa farmers and communities as part of its commitment to maintaining a sustainable cocoa industry.

Daniel’s Belgian Chocolates is located at 2820 Granville St. Vancouver, BC with additional locations in Metro Vancouver and Toronto as well as an online shop.