Category Archives: Art

Chocolate Arts Cafe

Very modern and high end looking cafe. Located a bit in a inconvenient place and out of pedestrian traffic, the cafe is quiet with little customers.

The staff are very friendly and patient with the group of people we had brought along to the cafe. They carefully explained the chocolates so that they would understand.

It was not cheap! 4 chocolate pieces were about $1 each. The small macchiato (espresso) came to $3 with taxes – a bad decision as I was unable to sleep after that till 6am the next morning…(I’m quite sensitive to caffeine T_T). It was really bitter and strong. Actually it’s my fault for making the mistake. I thought I was getting a ‘latte’ macchiato…my bad… It came with a small piece of dark chocolate.

$3 (with tax) machiatto

The chocolates are equally strong, and super rich. I’m not a chocolate person but it scored alright on my analysis chart – lol.

Anyways, nice slick cafe, though it’s a bit ‘cold’ or lonely without much customers. They close either at 6 or 5pm, so no late coffee at this place.
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday 10:00–6:00 PST
Sunday 10:00–5:00 PST
Holidays 11:00–5:00 PST

Christmas Review:

So, we’ve been back several times to Chocolate Arts Cafe, but none was more exciting (probably the most excited was Sheepie – a chocolatier hobbyist) than around the time we went at Christmas. Greg Hook, the chocolatier and owner of Chocolate Arts Cafe, who usually is not at the cafe on weekends was busy making chocolate on a Sunday due to the high volume of chocolates needed for the Christmas holidays.

Greg Hook giving us a tour where all his chocolates are made!

When he heard the the ‘Vancouver Chocolate Club’ which was started by Sheepie on Meetup.com last spring, he came out to greet us and even offered a special tour of the back despite his busy schedule. He said he was making about 70,000 chocolate a week during the holiday times. Wow…

He even tried some of Sheepie’s creation, and gave him constructive feedback, as well as advice and suggestions. While Sheepie was busy with Greg with the feedback, the rest of us enjoyed some free samples of their eggnog ice cream. Mmmm!! delicious!

We were quite pleased and honoured that Greg took so much time with us. Thank you Greg!

More…

Yes, we were back again with the Vancouver Chocolate Club, and Greg came out to talk about his travel to France and showed us some raw beans. Thanks for the lesson!

Chocolate Arts was presenting it’s new 71.2% Allure – a new product that Greg had come out with after going to France. He had a little workshop going with how the product was being used in new desserts – and we got a taste of it. It’s great to see someone who is not only passionate about this creations, but taking the time and effort out of his busy schedule to share them with the community.

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Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates & Patisserie in Kits

Since my German friend has gotten really hooked on making his own chocolate, we decided to check out Thomas Haas. Every time my friend made chocolates and gave them to people, they always suggested that he open his own chocolate store. So, to learn more about the business, we checked out how the pros did it – from a German pro.

Thomas Haas Chocolates are made every week by hand – no lines or mass production, using local ingredients, even to the point of sourcing some products directly from the farmer. No preservatives or artificial flavours are used! Thomas is a fourth generation pastry chef who grew up in his family’s pastry shop in the Black Forest village of Aichhalden, Germany.

Inside the cafe. A unique honeycomb like ceiling.

Small cake $5.80

Chocolate for $1.30 a piece

Cafe latte $3.60

The cafe is modern and clean – reminds me of places in Germany. We went on Saturday afternoon. It was very full and busy!! Never seen a cafe this crowded! I was also amazed at how much people were willing to pay for chocolate and pastries!

One piece of chocolate cost $1.30, latte $3.60 and tiny mango cake $5.80. I only had the latte and one pastry and it was already close to $10! The packaging designs displayed on the shelves were very simple and very European, the styles I like.

Since it was a nice day out, we sat outside on the small patio.

We were surprised to see that Thomas himself cleaned up every table. By doing that, he had the opportunity to chi chat a bit with each customer. However, unlike my German friend who was super outgoing and would make friends with every stranger on the street, he was a bit more reserved. My friend didn’t get an opportunity to chat up with him, but he said it was ‘inspirational’ to see his cafe.

Great cafe. Chocolates and cakes are not too sweet. Good latte. I’d definitely recommend.

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Reflections 2013

Every year, the students in the IDEA (Illustration and Design) program at Capilano University take on the big task of managing the art projects to raise funds to support their learning and continued cultural enrichment. I know it’s a huge project, and a lot of work, cuz I went through it too. Though it seems that it gets bigger and bigger every year, so I can’t imagine what the students are going through in trying to push this project through.

The ‘Reflections’ project started off small when the program started out. Each student painted a iconic scenery of Lower Mainland, mostly in the Vancouver area. The paintings were scanned and produced into calendars. Both the original paintings and calendars were sold to raise funds.

As the program grew bigger, and the project picked up in the local media, retail and residents, so did the project. We started producing greeting cards, buttons, and other original paintings. It was a lot of work, but I did learn quite a bit from the experience, from painting, marketing, producing merchandise, printing, online stores, social media and so on.. so it was a valuable project.

Check out their promotional video on Youtube here.

You can also find out more and support their goals here on Indiegogo or follow their blog here.

My friend Soobin L.’s christmas cards!!! I bought some! Please buy some too!

2 packs of four cards featuring holiday sweet treat illustrations by Soobin L| 8 cards | blank inside | $20

Their 2013 calendars. Hurry! 2012 is almost over!!

Reflections 2013 Calendar featuring the Reflections paintings by the Capilano University students in the IDEA prorgram
$25

Lighthouse Park | by Lia M. | inkjet print, framed 12” x 16”| $60.00