Vintage Dark Chocolate Santa
$18.00

available at gourmet & health food stores in Toronto.
for more information visit their web site http://www.delightchocolate.ca/

Santa, you’re the man. We love the very thought of you, even though some might find you too smooth and others swear that deep inside, you’re a hollow guy who can never really commit to anyone or stay in one place. But here’s the thing: even though you are fairly sourced, organic, and made by a talented local chocolatier Delight on Dundas West in the Junction area of Torontoin  you don’t quite live up to your potential. The chocolate here is a little too cautious, a mite too undifferentiated. Shelf Life is sympathetic: when you think about it, by definition, every fine chocolate Santa has a problem. Raw, challenging, or nuanced chocolate is not necessarily what kids want, and kids are the usually ultimate destination for miniature edible beardie guys who taste like cocoa. When kids rule, really complex chocolate goes out the window, or up the chimney, in this case. Nobody knows this better than your local chocolatier, who wants to sell Santas but not to compromise on quality, so the solution is something like what we have here – a St. Nick everyone can like, but not necessarily love. This is a man for the whole family, if the whole family aren’t serious about the divine dark stuff. But, hey, it’s Christmas, so nobody’s going to look a gift Santa in the mouth – we’re just gonna bite off his head.

THREE AND A HALF STARS***1/2