SousChef Community

The best part of the weeks leading up to Christmas? Holiday craft sales. From tiny indy affairs hosting young artists with edgy, Etsy-style offerings, to old-lady church basement sales chockablock with crocheted sweaters, knitted scarves and hand-painted ornaments, I love ‘em all. Edmonton’s biggest holiday craft sale, which takes place at the ...

There are certain things my family has to have at Christmas time: a giant tree, a copy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and a lovely box of candy on the table at all times. As I come from a family of Candy Addicts, the holiday candy box is always an important [...]

I did something recently that I swore I’d never do: I moved to a place with no Trader Joe’s. To the TJ uninitiated, this may seem like no big deal. But for those of you who have enjoyed TJ’s amazing food, drink, and CANDY (at even more amazing low prices), you understand my loss and [...]

Normally, I’m reticent to eat candy from Mom-and-Pop stores like The Choke Cherry Tree. It’s not that I don’t believe that a small-time company can’t compete with the Teuschers of the world, but it’s very difficult. And how many times have I heard an endearing story about a small business and its great craft to [...]

The other day I was in Manhattan and overheard a beautiful brunette say to her husband, “Oh Henry! Look! It’s 5th Avenue. U-No I’ve always wanted to shop there and eat all four of the candy bars I just inadvertently mentioned!” Okay, so maybe that was a dream I had. Or something. [...]

With undoubtedly the strangest name in the candy business, Hershey’s Whatchamacallit is a funny little candy bar. It has a base of peanut butter flavored “crispies” topped by a thin layer of soft caramel, and a coating of rich chocolate encapsulates the whole bar. The Whatchamacallit and I have a very close relationship, [...]

When I was a kid, my candy preferences consisted of the longest-lasting candies I could afford on my meager candy allowance. But when I felt like splurging, that splurge was often Bridge Mixture. To my childhood self, there was something sophisticated about Bridge Mixture – the mixture of dark and milk chocolate coatings, the way [...]

Everyone has their comfort candies they return to from their childhood. They are the sort of candies that aren’t gourmet by any means, but something you have enjoyed for so long that life without them would just seem strange. For some that candy is Snickers, Milky Way, or 3 Musketeers; for me, my heart has [...]

A recent Saturday afternoon found me cruising the aisles at a large downtown Chinese market that I’d somehow never been to in all my years of living in this town. Naturally, I made a beeline for the candy section. All the usual suspects were there – Kasugai and Lotte gummies, White Rabbits, and a few [...]

Around here, when you’re eating Thanksgiving dinner with your grandparents and someone passes around a box of chocolates, it’s likely to sport the familiar purple and gold wrapper of Purdy’s. Purdy’s, which has been around since 1907, is a fixture in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. It’s one of those mid-range chocolate ...