Our Story
We’re committed to preserving Hot Chocolates as an artisan chocolate shop built around our core values of quality and freshness.
Our techniques, guided by the traditions of the artisan chocolatier, include hand-dipping every one of our chocolate truffles and drawing from the region’s incredible bounty of fresh local ingredients whenever possible to flavour our chocolate creations.
Our team of hard-working women and men is dedicated to ensuring that every one of your visits to Hot Chocolates is a fun and memorable escape from the world outside. From our smiling employees who greet you at the front counter to our production crew that continually strives to create the best chocolate you’ve ever tasted, we’re all here to ensure that you leave Hot Chocolates happier than when you arrived!!
VIDEO: The Journey of the Majorca Truffle
It all Started With a Truffle….
The Hot Chocolates story began in the early 1980s, in a small café on Denman Island. It was there, with mother Deanna Stewart, that Sherry Marshall-Bruce began making small batches of the chocolate truffles that started it all. The handmade, all-natural truffles were an instant hit with Denman Islanders, and it wasn’t long before the mother-daughter team was struggling to keep up with an ever-increasing demand.
In 1986, Sherry and Deanna moved to Vancouver Island, where they opened a tiny storefront in downtown Courtenay and named it Hot Chocolates. In that small shop, which incidentally was home to the Comox Valley’s first cappuccino machine, a new wave of loyal customers fell in love with the Hot Chocolates truffle.
In 1992, Jorden Marshall joined the Hot Chocolates team and following Sherry's death in 2010 and Deanna's in 2018, continues to lead the business forward with a team of more than 30 dedicated employees.
The Tradition Continues
Over the years, Hot Chocolates has relocated several times as our small business has grown with the community, and in 2006 we moved into our current shop. In this new space, we expanded Hot Chocolates and founded Cakebread Artisan Bakery. Today, although we produce a wide variety of artisan chocolates, we remain committed to preserving Hot Chocolates as an artisan chocolate shop built around our core values of quality and freshness.
And within our shop, you’ll always find the same handmade chocolate truffles that started it all – still crafted from quality ingredients and following the same careful processes that Deanna and Sherry began more than 30 years ago.
Luker Chocolate from Colombia
We wanted more variety, refined taste and guarantee of ethical standards. In our search we discovered Luker Chocolate from Colombia.
Getting to the Heart of Chocolate:
By delivering knowledge and expertise to the entire value chain of cacao, Luker provides a quality chocolate to the world and in turn gives back to the community that produces it by enabling their economic and cultural stability. -Love of chocolate can go a long way.
Read more about Luker Chocolates
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