What: Fine chocolate by Ludwig
What: Exceptional chocolate bars handmade by Ludwig Ratzinger, a fourth-generation pastry chef from Bavaria who worked at the Château Laurier for eight years but now makes chocolate in a workshop in the straw-bale home he built just west of Perth. Ratzinger imports chocolate from a Swiss company that pays farmers 50 per cent more than Fair Trade rates. He then tempers the chocolate, matches flavours to the different origins, pours them into beautiful molds and wraps them in elegant packages he designs himself.
Where: While Ratzinger has been making chocolate bars since 2006 and selling them at such spots as Foodsmiths in Perth, Pêches et Poivre in Almonte, Mrs. McGarrigle’s in Merrickville, and Read’s Book Shop in Carleton Place, they came to Ottawa just last week and can now be found at Seed to Sausage, 729 Gladstone Ave. (near Bronson.)
How much: $4.50 to $5.50 for the 40-g flavoured bars (choose among sea salt, mint and lime) to $14 to $15 for some of the large bars, such as Ratzinger’s favourite, made from 68-per-cent dark chocolate from wild trees in Bolivia.
What’s next: “I’m interested in talking to some of the local breweries about making a beer truffle,” says Ratzinger. “I’ll be selling my bars on the Perth studio tour on Thanksgiving weekend. For the Christmas season, I will be making a white chocolate bar with barberries and a dark chocolate one with caramelized cocoa nibs.”
More: finechocolate.ca
Laura Robin
