In 2004, I was visiting Montreal with my husband. I was pregnant with my first girl and feeling happy to be with my friends in a city that I love. We were walking through our old neighbourhood and made the luckiest discovery; the perfect chocolate shop.
Les chocolats de Chloe was very small, modest but so very stylish. The whole store was maybe the size of two Volvo's parked next to each other. On offer were ganache truffles, caramel, drinking cocoa, and a few other things. I was breathing it all in and drooling at the same time. Behind a glass, you could see the simple kitchen. The kitchen consisted of a plain looking stove, some counter space, a tempering machine, and some storage racks. Most importantly, in the kitchen I saw perfect peace and it moved me.
There was this woman, Chloe, mixing chocolate in a bowl. Her face was glowing and calm at the same time. Love and wisdom I guess. She looked so, so pleased and it was a touching.
Chloe's is an example of doing everything right. Her product is exquisite, the presentation is enchanting, but most impressive was the scale. This was not a giant and ostentatious chocolate shop. Rather a tiny box of efficiency and excellence. Each truffle is cut by hand to fit perfectly into the whimsical boxes. There is precision in what they do to -- from carefully placing fleur de sel flakes on the ganache to filling the chocolate moulds.
You could see that they were sold out of several flavours. Chloe and her team make as much as they can and as much as they need. No more, no less and no waste. Just enough and everyone is fine.
So I stood there and admired her. I admired her courage for starting a business and being excellent at it. I think of her perfect jewel of a shop often, particularly when I get overwhelmed in the day to day of doing. I try to concentrate on scale, excellence and joy.
I thanked her before I left and I could tell that she appreciated it. I like to think that she remembers me when I stop by.
Be enchanted and visit:
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