Who hasn’t seen the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? And, who can forget the inimitable Willy Wonka with his chocolate paradise and the oompa loompa work force? The author’s imagination was so vivid that many a readers came away with the impression that the chocolate factory existed in some part of the world. Well, maybe, along with being a writer, Roald Dahl was also a time traveler who’d actually travelled to current time New York and seen the Jaques Torrent Chocolate Haven and written about it.

For the Jaques Torrent Chocolate Haven is actually as great a paradise for chocolate lovers as the Willy Wonka factory was. Whatever a chocolate lover’s heart desires, Jaques Torrent (also lovingly referred to as Mr. Chocolate) is able to conjure up all by himself. Every piece of chocolate in this establishment is made by him from scratch. And he doesn’t just stop at chocolates. He also makes the fillings that go into it – right from raspberry to peanut butter. After all, there is a reason why Torres is considered one of the premier chocolatiers in the world.

Walk in here and ask for all kinds of interesting sweets ‘n’ treats- chocolate covered Cheerios, gigantic Easter bunnies, Tequila truffles, Waffle Ice Cream Sundae, and chocolate laced with chili pepper and cinnamon. And, then there is the best chocolate cookie in the world! There are very few things that can beat the chocolate chip cookie that is sold by the Chocolate Haven. To begin with, it is as big as a tea saucer, and the tiny little chocolate chips that you see in ordinary cookies are replaced by substantial pieces of dark chocolate. And when it is served warm, these pieces of dark chocolates ooze out of cookie right into your mouth to fill it with divine choco goodness. Yummy!

The Jaques Torrent Chocolate Haven/ chocolate factory is designed by Pierre Court. All the whimsical quirks you see in the shop are all thanks to him – the cacao-pod shape of the shop, the statue of Quetzlcoatl (Aztec cacao god) at the entrance, and the glass enclosure which separates the factory from the store. The last is of special interest to the visitors who can see the entire cookie and chocolate making process through the glass partition – fumigation of the beans, which is followed by sorting, roasting, cleaning, cooling, shelling, pre-grinding, mixing, refining, and conching. The process is a lengthy one but great fun to watch.

If you want to be surrounded by chocolate, breathe in the aroma of chocolate, lick it off your fingers, and feel it melt in your mouth, head towards Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven. It’s the beginning of lifelong addiction.

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