We’re really excited about BETA 5, a new chocolate maker/vendor that should be opening up in our neighbourhood this Saturday, October 1st. Here’s what I wrote about it in the paper a few weeks ago, as well as some shots that show owners Adam Chandler and Jess Rosinski hard at work in the space…

Hardcore chocoholics will rejoice at the soon-to-arrive Beta 5 shop, so named after the form-5 beta crystal structure, the most stable form of cocoa butter crystallization which is arrived at with the controlled melting and subsequent cooling of liquid chocolate. It’s a new high quality chocolate company from Adam Chandler and Jess Rosinski, whose business philosophy is of the “do no evil” sort. In this case, that means all of their high quality plantation chocolate will be ethically sourced from France’s storied chocolatier Michel Cluizel, who takes ingredient traceability, land stewardship, and fair labour practices very seriously. I’m told that we can expect plenty of truffles, lots of different types of chocolate covered fruits and nuts, a line of branded chocolate bars and hand-painted chocolates (ie. not done with commercially available transfer sheets). “Our visual aesthetic will be unique,” says Chandler, who once upon a time worked for chef Marc-Andre Choquette at Voya and toiled alongside David Wong at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. The 4,000sqft production facility will supply hotels and gourmet food shops, and will include a retail front. Unfortunately, when Beta5 opens later this month, it will only be on Saturdays, which is to say don’t budge! I’m quite certain that I was ahead of you in line…