Antoine Amrani Chocolates
Welcome back, Jenn! In preparation for my trip, Jenn will be guest blogging regularly for the next few weeks. If you guys are nice to her, maybe she’ll make it a regular gig!
Recently, Helen sent me an article about a chocolate factory store in East Norriton, which is my neck of the suburbs. It wasn’t just any old chocolate store, however, but one started by an executive pastry chef for Le Bec Fin! (No, not Miel.) I drooled over the idea of dainty exquisitely flavored chocolates being minutes from my house.
Excited, my husband and I headed over to Antoine Amrani Chocolates on the same day. We sampled their dark chocolate which they use for a base (70% cacao), a mild but delicious chocolate. We had several of their bonbons and chocolates, which were gorgeous and tasty. However, both my husband and I agreed that their spiced caramels stole the show. The cinnamon and cardamom notes were perfect, not too strong, but not too weak. I meant to give some to Helen, but I secretly kept popping them when Paul wasn’t looking. I loved them so much that I ended up buying Helen a bag for her to sample since they were not available at the tasting she went to. If you’re a real caramel lover, get a bag of their salted nut caramels while you’re at it!
After some prodding from Helen, she convinced me to go back to the factory store and take more photos for PhillyFoodie. Since I wanted an excuse to buy their 6 piece petit box, I willingly went with camera in one hand and toddler in the other.
The factory store is tucked into a little industrial park in East Norriton which also has an All-Clad outlet and Talluto’s Italian Market. It’s a great visit for any suburban foodies. Surprisingly for an industrial park store, it’s gorgeous on both the inside and out.
When Amrani’s partner, Fred Potok, spotted me taking photos, he graciously offered me a tour of the factory’s kitchens. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I grabbed my 50mm lens, my son and a hairnet, and followed him down the hallway. It was shockingly clean and white in the kitchens with a few people running around, mixing and pouring chocolate.
After a minute or two, I heard Potok say, “This is Antoine Amrani.” A man rushed past me to grab a slicer. By the time we passed his kitchen, the chocolates had been sliced.
Potok was super friendly, explaining what was being made, why the biggest kitchen was empty (a visit from the New York Times on the same day), and answering any questions I had. He recommended his favorite chocolates — the coconut, the coffee sour cherry, and the pistachio. I noticed that most of those were in the box I was given, as did he, so he offered me a sample of their Duo Cafe, which knocked my coffee-loving socks off, and the Almond Crisp.
I’d like to point out that these samples were not due to the camera. Previous visits to the store with other clerks had always led to sample offers. On our first visit there, Paul and I tried the Earl Grey (my favorite) and Cinnamon Honey (which both Helen and Paul raved about) as well as a few caramels. If you get a chance to visit the store, you will not leave without something since the store keeps offering you samples until you find a flavor you can’t NOT take home with you.
If you’re not a fan of flavored chocolates or caramels (why are we still talking to each other, if so?), you can always try their truffles. I tried one and I would definitely consider bringing a box home to be shared with friends and family that stopped by.
Now is the perfect time to stop by the store and pick up a sample and a box of chocolates or bag of spiced caramels as a hostess gift this Thanksgiving. It’s located at:
550 Foundry Rd.
East Norriton, PA 19403
If you can’t make it to their store, order at their website or pick some up at DiBruno Bros. on Chestnut St. I’d recommend the 17 piece box as it has at least one of each of their chocolates. I won’t go into detail about each piece they have, but my strong hint is to grab the raspberry chocolates by any means.
