Chocolate is fabulous any time of year, but associated with special celebrations, especially as eggs at Easter. The oldest traditions of using an egg to celebrate Easter use dyed and painted chicken eggs, then from the 19th Century the egg giving tradition was enriched using chocolate. More recently, chocolate has been used to celebrate Easter with chocolate bunnies, and here in Australia we have our own local touch with chocolate bilbies.
For those celebrating Easter this weekend, if you're not making your own (and who does that) here are five very special places to get your chocolate.
Haigh’s Chocolates is once again busy making Easter Eggs and Bilbies fresh using a unique blend of chocolate. This year is particularly important to Haigh’s as is is celebrating its 100th Easter as a chocolate maker. The statistics are mind-blowing. This year Haigh’s Chocolates will make 75-80 tonnes of Easter Chocolate, 55,000 Hot Cross Bun Easter Chocolates, 4.5 million chocolate Easter Eggs of all sizes, 49,000 chocolate Easter Bilbies. Although chocolate Easter Eggs first started in France and Germany, us Australians do love our chocolate.
Haigh's Chocolates
The Strand Arcade
412 - 414 George Street, Sydney
This year Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafes are providing the complete Easter entertaining and gifting experience with its three picturesque Cafe locations across Sydney. Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café has also just hatched its limited edition 2016 Easter Collection, filled with indulgent Belgian Chocolate treats for the whole family including Guylian Signature Egg and Seahorses (a delicious combination of Guylian’s favourites including a Belgian Milk Chocolate Egg and Guylian’s famous Seashells) Flame Egg (a dazzling gift, sculpted from Guylian’s Fine Belgian milk chocolate) and the Little Guy (the ideal gift for little chocolate connoisseurs including everyone’s favourite Guylian Praline Chocolates) each under twenty bucks.
Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafes
91 George Street
The Rocks
Shop 10 Opera Quays
3 Macquarie Street
Sydney
1 - 25 Harbour Street
Sydney
Artisan chocolate producers Arthur and Esther Lazarou have a commitment to quality. Their handcrafted chocolates are made on the premises using the finest Belgium Callibaut couverture. They are delicious. And, they have a wonderful range of unique shapes and fillings using natural flavours.
Chocolarts
75 George Street
The Rocks
207 Victoria Road
Gladesville
Local Sydney chocolate institution the iconic Belle Fleur has been satisfying locals for decades at Rozelle and now they have a second store.
"Our shops come alive at Easter like no other time of year and it's all about the eggs!
Brightly coloured, filled, large or small, there really is something for everyone."
Romy Groth who works in the Rozelle store nominates the Dark Salted Caramel Egg as her favourite from the Easter range.
Belle Fleur
658 Darling Street
Rozelle
584 Parramatta Road
Petersham
Perhaps no other name associated with chocolate is as entrenched in the Sydney psyche as Darrell Lea. Since 1927 generations of Sydney-siders have visited the stores for their childhood treats and saved pocket money for the Darrell Lea showbag. Named after the youngest child Darrell, it was owned by the Lea family until 2012, but continues to operate from Ingleburn. The Easter range incorporates many Darrell Lea favourites with a Milk Chocolate Liquorice Half Egg, Dark Chocolate Ginger Half Egg, Dark Chocolate Nougat Egg and the legendary little Milk Chocolate Speckled Eggs.
