The making of the ‘Chi Bar
When we eat, we are not only nourishing our bodies, we are banking flavour memories. These taste sensations can connect us to our childhood, our heritage, the region where we grew up, and to the places we have visited.
Although we will each have unique flavour ‘souvenirs’, there are themes that can unite time or place. For example a whiff of cinnamon can evoke thoughts of warm apple pie and cool autumn evenings. Who doesn’t think of fall fairs and hear the sounds of carnival rides when they taste a candy apple?
As a Canadian company, located in New Brunswick, sourcing local ingredients is a key part of our philosophy. This not only ensures that we have the smallest possible carbon footprint, it also connects the flavours that we create with our maritime region.
The maritime as a whole is well known for its seafood, lobster, and maple syrup. But the smaller communities within the maritimes have their own sense of identity and heritage.
In 2022, Chocolat Voyageur relocated to Miramichi from Southern New Brunswick. As we settled into our new home and community, we continued to bring our chocolate to markets and shows throughout the maritimes. As our knowledge and experience of the region continued to grow, we came to recognize the unique nuances of Miramichi and how important this region was to us. It was while away, bringing chocolate to Nova Scotia, the chocolate maker and founder, Dominique Chartrand, was inspired to create the ‘Chi bar to honour Miramichi and celebrate the flavours we associate with this northern region of New Brunswick.
Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
We caught up with Dominique to get the story in her own words.
Tell us what prompted you to create the ‘Chi bar?
Dominique Chartrand “In the fall of 2023 I found myself at Le Festival du Chocolat in Sydney N.S. The Festival was taking place at Fort Louisbourg, a place with a strong sense of history and mystical natural beauty. I had first visited the fort as a child and I found myself still deeply in love with the fort, just as I had felt when I first visited. It is in that setting that I decided I wanted to create a chocolate bar that would represent Miramichi, my adopted home! I would call it the ‘Chi bar, after the pet name for the community.”
Can you take us through the process of developing the bar and how you chose the flavours?
Dominique Chartrand “As I began exploring flavour ideas that I connected with this beautiful community of Miramichi, I realized that I wanted to reach out to the community to get their input on the flavours they associated with this region. I decided to engage the community through an Instagram and Facebook contest to help me select the flavours. I ran the contest for one month In the spring of 2024, gathering entries on-line and in-store.
As the suggestions came in, I was amused that many people associated alcoholic flavours with Miramichi! Given the many craft breweries and strong Irish heritage, this should not have surprised me! Of course, there were many other suggestions such as salt, maple, blueberry, cranberry, and caramel.
One of the goals for the ‘Chi bar was to create a new taste sensation from what I was currently offering in my chocolate repertoire. This did create a challenge, as I was already using so many local ingredients. So I decided to explore sea salt and maple flakes. Together they create a sweet and salty flavour that captures this town so well!
As I already use sea salt in some of my confections, I decided to branch out and find a different salt to use. The Newfoundland Salt Co. has smoked sea salt that I wanted to incorporate, but they were sold out at the time I was creating this bar! After some research, I found Vancouver Island Sea Salt who have a sea salt infused with Maplewood smoke. This salt is hand cultivated on the West Coast of Canada and is carefully smoked for several days in small batches using real maple wood.
I use maple sugar and syrup in all my chocolate and confection work, so I decided that the use of maple flakes would decorate the back of the bar and give it some maple goodness.
My final decision was which bean to use and what percentage of cacao solids to best compliment the smoked sea salt and maple flakes. I chose my Uganda, Semuliki cacao beans. This bean has notes of coffee, hot cocoa and a nice roast smell and taste. As milk chocolate is preferred in this area, I wanted to make a dark milk bar first to appeal to a larger audience as well as challenge the community just a bit!
The first test batch was darker at 63% and the second test bar was a little lighter at 58% cacao solids!
All my tasters agreed unanimously, that this lighter, second version was on the nose and became an easy winner! So the ‘Chi bar was born; a 58% Uganda Semuliki Forest single origin bean, with smoked Maplewood sea salt, topped with maple flakes!”
The ‘Chi Bar made from single origin cacao beans from Semuliki, Uganda combined with smoked Maplewood sea salt and topped with crunchy maple flakes.
The response to Chocolat Voyageur’s newest bar has been amazing!
This bar does not disappoint with its strong roast smell and taste, mellowed with whole milk. The notes of coffee are enhanced with the smoked sea salt, and the sweet maple notes tickle the palate and tongue. It is a satisfying treat that evokes warm summer days, inhaling fresh breezes off the Miramichi River while preparing for your next adventure!
The ‘Chi bar is currently available at our shop at 136 Ellen Street, Crackle and Teal at 425 King George Hwy,
and O'Donoghue's Irish Pub at 1696 Water St, all in Miramichi
and from Vibrant Life Meals in Moncton.