Jean Claude Petit picks up a pair of thongs, reaches into the glass cabinet and selects a small cube-shaped masterpiece from a tray. A label identifies the morsel as 'Dark Chocolate with Caramel Sea Salt.'He places the cube on a napkin and hands it to me.I bite in. My mouth explodes with sweetly bitter, mouth-watering dark chocolate, satin smooth caramel and the surprising hint of sea salt that has the sound effect of the sea crashing mere metres away."Mmmm," I say, sated by the rich, lingering taste.
"Chocolate is not just what you get in the store," Jean Claude explains."It's an experience."On the fourteenth of February 2015 I gave my yoga students a "Tobago Delights" chocolate experience. After our evening yoga session I brought out a light pink heart-shaped box tied with a dark pink ribbon. It contained an assortment of 15 of Jean Claude's dark chocolates, each with a unique filling.
Sitting in a circle on the floor, our faces illuminated by the warm glow of citronella candles, we each selected a chocolate from the box and bit in, chewing slowly, trying to guess what the fillings were.
"Coconut ..."
"Ginger ..."
"Pineapple ..."
"Hmmm, can't figure this one out ..."
As actor Tom Hanks said in the movie Forrest Gump–"My Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you gonna get."The cosy, colourfully-painted air conditioned room that houses Jean Claude's enterprise–Tobago Chocolate Delights–is located on the grounds of Shore Things Caf� in Lambeau. The room is like a small box full of edible surprises–chocolate filled with pineapple, coconut, mango, guava, passion fruit and other tropical fruits or flavoured with amaretto, coffee, mint, Irish cream and cinnamon oils.
And, for pepper lovers, there is even an innovative chili-flavoured chocolate with a piece of local hot pepper as a filling.Fifteen years ago, while living in the United States, Jean Claude visited a shop in Daytona Beach, Florida and, fascinated by their chocolate-making process, was inspired to enroll in a school in Orlando, Florida to learn the art.Once he began producing chocolates, Jean Claude facilitated a series of "chocolate parties"–along the lines of Avon or Tupperware parties.
With 15 years of chocolate-making experience under his belt, he moved back to Tobago. Using pure Tobago chocolate in his creations, he embarked upon the mission of exposing locals to the joys of dark chocolate consumption.Eating a chocolate from Tobago Delights is like the difference between receiving a mass-produced store-bought Hallmark card (featuring a design that thousands of other people will also receive) and a one-of-a-kind, customised, handmade card that radiates with the positive intentions of the one who created it.
In addition to the surprise of diverse fillings, there are other interesting options for chocolate lovers–chocolate fountains for weddings, chocolate truffles in little boxes as wedding or party favours, bars that carry messages for special occasions (eg Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary). There is even a bar featuring a raised map of Tobago, giving added dimension to the term "eat local."
In a unique move to highlight the importance of conservation of Tobago's sea turtles and their habitat, Tobago Delights has teamed up with SOS (Save Our Sea Turtles) Tobago to develop a special chocolate turtle. "If you need to eat a turtle, come to Chocolate Delights and get a turtle," Jean Claude says, sharing the group's philosophy.You can contact Tobago Delights at 390-1907.