Destination: Maine!

Why not treat yourself to a weekend away – just a bit beyond New Hampshire’s Whites – to the Lewiston / Auburn area of Maine? The home of Bates College and an attractive cultural center, the L / A area offers a refreshing get-away, good food, and (of course) creative chocolatiers.



The Ware Street Inn and B&B


A beautiful place to be pampered is the Ware Street Inn and B&B in Lewiston.

This white colonial is lovingly cared for by Jan and Mike Barrett. The rooms have charming personalities, as does the hostess herself. Jan, an award-winning chef, not only serves homemade delicacies for breakfast (this morning’s marmalade syrup complimented her whole wheat French toast to perfection), but she places inviting little bowls of chocolate, biscotti, and colorful candies in niches and on tables and shelves throughout the foyer, elegant sitting room, staircase, and upstairs hallway. Although saddened that her local chocolate supplier – Mary’s Candy Shop – has closed (yes, indeed – the Ware Street Inn and B&B is a place where bedtime chocolate magically appears on the pillowcase), she was delighted to provide two other neighborhood destinations worth investigation.

Ella, of Ella's Candy

The first chocolatier I planned to visit had been unknown to Jan. A quest for homemade chocolate had, the day before, led me to call Ellen (Ella) Magee, who creates delectable chocolates from her own green-tiled kitchen. You can find her site online at www.ellascandy.com.  With two or three hours’ notice, Ella will be happy to whip up a fresh batch of any of the nine specialties she makes, and you can go right to her home in the middle of Lewiston to pick them up.

My choice turned out to be her husband’s favorite: dark chocolate macadamia bars, about 2 inches long and filled with whole macadamia nuts nestled in Ella’s homemade caramel wrapped in a thick shell of semi-sweet chocolate. The caramel added delicious flavor and was just runny enough to be naughty.

Ella has been in business about a year. Her interest in making chocolates was inspired by her aunt, who was a devotee of chocolate-wrapped cherries from Mary’s Candy Shop. Ella now makes her own cherry in liqueur, “not too runny,” as she describes.  One of her favorites is her thin bark covered with almonds or toffee. Turtles are another choice, and she has just started making caramels shaped like little hats. All her recipes, with the exception of her coconut creams, are her own. She is very willing to experiment and satisfy special requests.

There was something so delightful about walking down her steps grasping a cheerful green gift bag filled with chocolates freshly made just for me! Thank you, Ella!

Stephanie, the proprietor of Maine Gourmet
Chocolates, with her daughter Corrie

 

My second destination was just at the corner of Park Street and Main in Auburn (just over the bridge from Lewiston). Last December, Stephanie Bernatchez opened Maine Gourmet Chocolates, and both she and her daughter Corrie were on hand to greet me.  (Corrie is responsible for the interior design and will be displaying more of her beautiful landscape photography as her prints become ready.)

Tall black wire shelves boasted a range of fresh chocolate wrapped in decorative gift bags tied with a colorful ribbon.


Sea Salt Chocolate Bark


One wall included Sea Salt Chocolate, one of the best-sellers. Both the milk and dark had intriguing veins of white chocolate. The sample I tried was very tasty, but the other best-seller won me over: Raspberry Needham.

Raspberry Needhams

The coconut filling of a raspberry needham

Needhams are Maine specialty chocolates traditionally made with coconut and potatoes. Stephanie omits the potatoes; how fortunate! (Jan, from the Ware Street Inn, had encouraged me to find potato-less needhams.) She makes conventionally-flavored needhams, thinking that her clientele may prefer the usual, but her patrons have surprised her and have whole-heartedly adopted the raspberry ones. They are rich-looking squares drizzled with raspberry-colored zigzagsand filled with coconut cream. The aroma of an open bag is reminiscent of fields of raspberries, and biting into one conjures up a coconut breeze. If raspberry is not your favorite, there are other variations of needhams as well.



Chocolate lobster claws,
a true Maine specialty!



The Grand-daddy lobster claw, modelled after a real
lobster claw!

Rather eye-catching offerings are lobster-colored chocolate claws! One, a big grand-daddy claw, will remain on view as a sample (the clams that accompanied it were sold, but the claw, at the request of the proprietor, stayed put.) There are smaller lobster claws for sale in signature red. Apparently, Stephanie’s father is a lobsterman, and all the claws were molded from his catch. 
 He made a machine that creates the molds for Stephanie’s unique Maine-style creations, and her husband uses this machine to make the actual molds. (You can see pictures and find more information at http://mainegourmetcoastalcookies.com.)



Maine Gourmet Chocolate's
special strawberries

Besides creative seafood designs, Stephanie has invented an absolutely inspired chocolate-covered strawberry which is perfect for football season. Superbowl fans planning a party should have fun placing orders!

Stephanie certainly has the support not just of the locals, who kept her hopping during the holiday season, but of her family as well. She is hopeful that business during the shop’s first Valentine’s Day will be just as promising as the first Christmas was. Maine Gourmet Chocolates should be a fixture in the Lewiston / Auburn area!

Stephanie kindly gave me directions to the last chocolate shop on my list: Pastiche. This shop offers quite a different type of chocolate. Anyone searching for hand-made chocolates and truffles adhering to traditional aesthetics and flavors will not be disappointed, but there are some imaginative innovations, too.

Pastiche's gourmet offerings

Two cases of truffles, creams, fudge, and turtles are tucked against one wall of this busy delicatessen that also offers an extensive selection of wine as well as specialty meats and cheeses and an area to meet your freshly-made sandwiches.



Pastiche's interior



 

A blueberry truffle, another Maine specialty



The cashier kindly pointed out the blueberry truffle, which was sweet and berry-blue on the inside.

Another Maine specialty was the Maine sea salt caramel, in which I did not indulge.



Sea Salt Truffles



The master chocolatier was quite happy for me to take pictures (as long as he wasn’t in them!), and he would have invited me to watch the chocolate-making, but the chocolate wasn’t ready. I can picture it being conched as I write.

Additional selections from Pastiche:

Cashew Turtles

Possibly Coconut Caramels

Irrestible Truffles.
The flavors include orange, vanilla cream, maple cream, and raspberry.

Lewiston's Chocolatiers are all first-rate artisans. Each offers unique products crafted with singular flair, and a visit to all is recommended to satisfy your varied chocolate needs!