A New Age - A new Beginning

I still don't have a cafe. Things didn't work out and I had to close the chocolate store in 2014. In my first post on this blog, many years ago, I wrote among other things:

First flowers of spring 2018

"I can dream of my cafe. I can imagine it - a place where people meet and start talking about current topics, about the things that are going on in their lives and about their pet topics and hobbies. It could be a place where you can people watch or read a good book - a mystery or a romance novel. A place where you could have a cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate and your favourite pastry without having to worry about the calories. A place where small business owners could get together and exchange ideas for the success of their business over a cup of tea. A place where people love to come and love to be, because the food is good, the atmosphere is great and where quality is strived for in every action, every product."

I want this blog to be such a place: a place where people meet and we can openly talk about different topics. And while you're reading, I hope you'll have a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate and a little pastry, a cookie or a chocolate.

I work at a lady's clothing store in a mall close to home. I'm a client specialist and I have been in that same position for the last 2.5 years. Many of you know I had my own chocolate store for 11 years. I also was an assistant manager for a few years and I worked as a pharmacist in 28 pharmacies in the absence of the owners. I thought I would have had experience to have a better position such as keyholder, or assistant manager or operations manager. But apparently I do not qualify. I don't know why. They're never very clear what it is I don't qualify in. I don't have enough experience, apparently and also, I'm old-fashioned, one manager told me. Other than the colour of my hair, I don't see why I don't qualify. I'm talking about the colour of my hair, because everyone else has brownish red hair, mine is grey, a beautiful grey, many people say. Maybe grey hair is old-fashioned. I'm allergic to many hair dyes.

It boggles my mind that the younger generation can say to an older person: "You do not have experience.". I just hope that they do not have to experience this when they reach the grey age. There was a time where the older generation was respected and even consulted before the younger generation made decisions. The indigenous people still respect their elders, people in other countries still respect their elders. There is room there for the older generation. But not here. Here  everyone is expected to behave according to a pattern, a program, that is not written down, but it is implied. If one doesn't act according to the pattern, the program, one is written off as "no experience", "not qualified". It actually has a name, but nobody dares saying it. It's called: "Age discrimination". I think age discrimination is actually happening more than is obvious in day to day living. It is never talked about. It is hidden and as long as we don't talk about it, it will remain hidden. And it will keep happening in secret. It is not so that when our hair turns grey, that our brains go soggy at the same rate.

How to Eat Chocolate Every Day and Lose 50Lbs

Losing 50Lbs over 14 months while working in a chocolate store gives one some challenges that few other people need to consider. Yet it also has given me some guidelines that may be useful for those that consider themselves chocoholics and are unable or unwilling to give up chocolate while losing weight. But even those that are not dieting may want to control their consumption of chocolate. After all, the many benefits of chocolate have been touted in numerous articles everywhere for the last few years. Chocolate being the food of the gods, lowers the levels of bad cholesterol, increases one’s mood because it increases the levels of seratonin in the brain and it increases the anti-oxidant content in the body. A piece of chocolate a day, keeps the doctor away, I’d say!

How to incorporate chocolate in your diet in a sensible way?
1. When dieting track everything you eat during the day. This will keep you responsible and accountable. Every piece of food, every drink should be recorded. Don’t leave one little nib(ble) of chocolate out.

2. Give every food item a caloric value or a dietary value(DV). Select the total amount of calories you consume in order to loose weight i.e. 1500 cal or 22 Weight Watcher points. This amount depends on the amount of exercise, your daily activity, your age, your sex and your starting weight. You can establish this value by consulting your doctor, a dietitian or attending a few sessions of a good dietary program.
Research the caloric value of chocolate. These values can be found on the Nutritional facts labels of most food items. Assign it a WW point value if you are using these. If you are tempted to consume another piece of chocolate, think of the effect these calories will have on your total caloric intake of the day. I asked myself, every time I felt like having a chocolate: Is it really worth it? I could eat a day’s worth of calories as chocolate, but I’d be missing a lot of other nutrients that chocolate, despite all it’s godly qualities just doesn’t have to offer. After all one cannot live on chocolate alone. Come to think of it, maybe the gods can?

3. Good-looking desserts and sweets tempt every one of us. A diet that is so restrictive that it doesn’t allow you to once in a while give in to temptation is not recommended. Deprivation will only give you another excuse to overindulge once you have lost all your weight. The trick is to eat small amounts of that chocolate dessert: a teaspoon or a tablespoon full is often all you need to satisfy that craving.

4. If you’re at a buffet, where many desserts are on display, choose the ones you would really like to try, because it allows you to explore new flavors or because they look attractive to you. Then have one bite of the different desserts. Of the one you like best you can consume more, maybe eat it all. I learned this technique because I have a problem digesting gluten, even though I don't have celiac disease. Eating this way satisfies my craving for what I remember good desserts taste like, it lets me enjoy it just like everyone else, it doesn’t give me a lot of discomfort and I don’t feel deprived.

5. Working in a chocolate store is very much like being exposed to a dessert buffet 8 hours/day, 6 days per week. Temptation is always there. The above (#4), actually works for chocolates too. It’s not because you just bit into a chocolate that you have to eat the whole chocolate. You are allowed to throw the rest of it in the garbage, even if you just spend your life fortune on this one chocolate!

6. To enjoy the benefits of chocolate (see above) one is allowed to consume at least one piece of chocolate per day. Actually it should be a requirement.

7. If you are going to consume chocolate anyway, make it worth your while: eat only high quality chocolate, that melts in your mouth and that gives you the feeling that you just spend a couple of minutes in heaven.

8. Eat like the Belgians eat, drink like the Belgians drink and incorporate exercise in your daily activities like the Belgians do: enjoy every bite of the food you eat, small portions are often enough, savor a drink while spending time with a friend, making sure that what your friend has to say to you is more important than the beer or wine you’re drinking and walk or bike to the store or to work as much as possible. It will force you to purchase smaller sizes of everything, because you are the one who will have to carry it all the way home. Also, you will need to go shopping more often, thereby forcing you to be more active.

9. Remember: It’s not the chocolate that makes you gain weight. It’s not the deserts that put on the pounds. Often it is the mindlessness with which we eat, the distractions we have when eating, the reasons why we eat and of course the sedentary lifestyles we live today more so than our parents and grandparents did in the past. Maybe today's focus on global warming and saving energy will have added benefits such as: fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

10. The most important thing I discovered is: Joy! Enjoy the food you eat, savor the different flavors, enjoy the company at the dinner table, enjoy the open air and nature while exercising. Consume and enjoy the chocolate you really love only and consider all others as not worth your time, your effort of losing weight and your money.

Ghislaine Cleiren imports Leonidas Chocolates into Canada from Belgium. For more information on Leonidas Chocolates and the Leonidas Chocolate Café opportunity, please visit: www.LeonidasChocolates.ca. You can also follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/leonidascalgary.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

250 ml cream
100 ml milk
1 vanilla bean
500 g Leonidas chocolate

Preparation

Bring the milk, the cream and the vanilla bean to a boil. Take the pan from the stove. Remove the vanilla stick from the warm milk. Open the stick and scrape the vanilla into the mixture. Break the chocolate into small-sized chunks. Let them gently melt in the milk.

The chocolate fondue is ready!

You can serve the chocolate fondue right away. If the fondue is ready before you need it, simply leave it to rest on low heat. Reheat while stirring frequently, making sure the fondue does not heat up any higher than 40 degrees Celsius.

from the Kitchen of : www.leonidas.com.
Visit www.LeonidasChocolates.ca for more articles and information on chocolate and the chocolate used in this recipe.

Helping you achieve your New Years Resolution

With the Christmas season gone and past, it is now time to pack all the decorations away, find place in your house for the lovely gifts that you received and to get the new year off to a good start.
Many of us start each year with a New Years Resolution in an attempt to make the coming year the best out of all the others. And we do this in many different and unique ways. In previous years unfortunately, some of those among us have been unable to stick to it for the whole year. And this again can be for many reasons. But I believe that a bit of support from those around you can bring you a long way.

With that said, Manon's&Leonidas Chocolates would like to offer our support in whatever your resolution is. Our product range has the unique ability to fit into anyone's life style needs.
- On a tight budget: We have chocolates, gift ideas and other luxury products that can fit any budget
- Going on a diet: Leonidas has chocolates of various sizes and even chocolate bars containing only 100 Calories. These are perfect for those chocolate lovers who don't want to give up there favorite treat completely. With our help we can find you the perfect chocolate that is just enough to satisfy your cravings and not break your waistline.
- Eating less chocolates: Believe it or not, Manon's&Leonidas Chocolates carries various products outside to Chocolate category. Be it candies, specialty teas, cards, mugs, magnets, and so much more.

The list is endless. So stop by and see how we can help you...
You can even give yourself a reward for your great efforts by treating yourself to your favorite treat!

If you like, you can send us your Resolutions and we'll check back with you in three months on how you're doing.

Upcoming Events

Fall Fling
Ladies it’s a special event. Mark your calendars!
Britannia Plaza is having their Second Fall Fling event on Saturday September 12, 2009. Join us with your friends and family. The first 200 people at 9:30 am will receive a swag bag, loaded with gifts, discounts, prize draws and more from the plaza retailers. Pick up you swag bag at Britannia Ornamental Hardware & Gifts.

Mickey Mouse and Friends
In collaboration with Disney we introduced our Mickey Mouse chocolates in June 2009.
Today, I introduce you to the newest additions to our Kids Collection: 3 NEW chocolates with a perfect taste for children: white with puffed rice, milk with hazelnut chocolate paste and milk with milk cream

I invite you to visit our store before September 30, 2009 and receive a sample of the cat, the hamster or the bunny chocolates. Then register your child for our Birthday program. On their special day, they will receive a cup of steaming Hot Drinking Chocolate and a chocolate of their choice.

Left handed Ice cream Day:
September 11, 2009 – Manon’s announced today the launch of its latest innovation in the Ice Cream market – the new left handed ice cream cone – which will become available in Calgary on September 11, 2009 .
Mannon’s will still have 10 flavours of Ice cream, Sherbet and Sorbet to choose from. The cone however has been ergonomically re-designed to fit more comfortably in the left hand. The new Left-Handed Ice cream cone will have the ice cream rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the cone so that the bulk of them skew to the left. This way less energy and labour is required to fight gravity while holding the cone. This will result in fewer ice-cream ‘spills’ for left-handed ice cream lovers.

Lace ‘n Chat afternoon:
September 9, 2009 from 1 to 3 pm – All lacemakers and would-be lacemakers are welcome to join s for coffee or tea.

First Chocolate Tasting Party:
September 10, 2009 from 5 to 8 pm – by invitation only,.

For our Calendar of Events: Send us a quick email to info@leonidas.ca

Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Sorbet

R/ 250 g Leonidas semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups of water
1 cup raw plantation sugar
60ml Hazelnut syrup
Optional: whole or chopped hazelnuts for decoration.

fsa/ 4 servings of Chocolate Hazelnut sorbet

1. Place the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
2. Place sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is melted. Stir the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Place in an ice cream machine and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. If you don’t have an ice cream machine: place in a metal bowl and freeze. When the mixtre has begun to set, whisk it with an electric beater until creamy. Repeat 3 to 5 more times or until the sorbet is thick and smooth
5. Garnish with hazelnuts and hazelnut syrup.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches

When I was young we'd have sandwiches with chocolate spread at 4:00 pm in the afternoon. Only when I moved to Canada and after living here a few years I came to appreciate peanut butter as well. So one day I got inspiration and made this extremely rewarding spread. It may remind you of some very famous chocolates, but that is just pure coincidence.


R/ 2 slices of brown or whole wheat bread
1 tsp Leonidas chocolate spread
1 tsp peanut butter

fsa: 1 sandwich, 6 D.P.

R/ First spread the peanut butter on 1 slice of bread
Then spread the Leonidas chocolate spread on the other slice of bread.
Put the two slices together.
Enjoy!

Do you still make time to LISTEN?

Every month I receive a quote written by Bond Zonder Naam, a Belgian Association that raises funds for the poor. I thought that in today's world of communication galore via Facebook, twitter, blogs, TV, radio etc. this month's is especially important for all of us. Guido Gezelle is a Flemish Priest and Poet who lived about 100 years ago.

Listening is the beginning of many kinds of beauty. Guido Gezelle wrote: "If he sould listens, it already speaks a language that lives". Even when nothing is said, in the silences there is lots to be heard of what doesn't find words. 'Becoming quiet' is an important condition of listening.

Whether it is with your children, your partner, your neighbors, your coworkers or whether it is about inter-generational, inter-religious or international conflicts, speaking without first real listening, is a source of many conflicts. Real listening wakes the therapist, that slumbers in all of us.

A rabbi said once: "When someone asks me for advise, I listen quietly and let hem speak until I hear how he pronounces his own answer."

Every person needs at certain times in his life needs to be able to speak with someone about what is going on within himself. But is there someone that can listen? Is there someone that lets you speak until finished, without judging immediately, without saying what you need to do? Is there somone who can be quiet? Is there someone who keeps to himself what you tel him, and doesn't carry it behind you?

Becoming quiet is an important condition of listening.

Real listening is an art that everyone is invited to 'master'. We shouldn't too easily delegate listening to expensive and rare professionals, because from listening you learn a lot.

Translated from Bond Zonder Naam, June 2009

Lavender Panna Cotta

At the University, I was trained in Pharmacognosy – the study of herbs and ever since I have been attracted to using herbs in my culinary endeavors. Lavender is good for relaxing, giving a clean feeling and for loyalty. This recipe is delicious and without a doubt you will surely have a loyal following, once you serve this silky custard. If you're a novice at combining herbs with sweets, this is a safe place to start. The understated lavender bouquet adds just a delicate floral suggestion, especially when paired with a rich milk chocolate.


Ingredients:
¼ cup - 60 ml Cold Water
1 Envelope powdered unflavored gelatin (about 21/4 tsp)
2 cups - 500 ml Heavy cream
2 Tsp + ¼ tsp – 31 ml Dried Lavender blossoms
5 Tsp – 75 ml Confectioner's sugar
8 oz – 240 g Milk chocolate, finely chopped

Garnish:
5 Tsp – 75 ml Whipped cream
5 Fresh Lavender sprigs

Fsa/
1.Clean and dry five 8 to 10 ounce wine glasses. Set aside.
2.Pour cold water into top bowl of small double boiler. Sprinkle gelatin uniformly over water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until gelatin has completely absorbed water.
3.Meanwhile combine milk, cream and lavender blossoms in stainless steel saucepan. Place over medium heat, bring to scalding point and turn off heat. Allow lavender to steep in warm milk mixture for about 30 minutes.
4.Meanwhile, melt gelatin over low heat on top of double boiler. Turn off heat once gelatin has melted.
5.Using stainless steel fine mesh sieve, strain milk mixture into another stainless steel saucepan to remove lavender. Press any excess fluid from blossoms through sieve. Place saucepan over low heat.
6.Add chopped chocolate and confectioner' sugar. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is completely smooth.
7.Remove pan from heat. Whisk in melted gelatin, making sure it is evenly distributed. Whisk in vanilla.
8.Strain mixture through fine mesh sieve into large measuring cup or container with pouring spout. Pour mixture into wine glasses and refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour. Cover with plastic and chill another 5 hours until completely set.
9.Garnish each dessert with dollop of whipped cream and sprig of fresh lavender. Serve immediately.

Servings: 5
Difficulty *
Preparation time: 50 min + time for cooling

- from Chocolatier magazine, February/March 2003

Chocolate Black Russian

I found this recipe on a calendar this week. It makes a great dessert if you serve the liqueurs over the ice cream but don't blend the ingredients. A touch of whipping cream would top it off beautifully.
Ingredients:
2 Tsp - 30 ml Kahlua
1/2 cup - 125 ml Chocolate Ice Cream
1 Tsp - 15 ml Vodka
fsa: 1 serving
R/
Blend ingredients
Pour into a large cocktail glass
-- adapted from a recipe by www.cdkitchen.com

Cream Truffles

The first time I made this recipe, I was married less than one year and I wanted to surprise my husband with some true Belgian chocolate. They weren't perfectly round and had some odd shapes sometimes. But they were Oh So Good! The recipe calls for only a few ingredients, so that many people with allergic or other dietary challenges can equally enjoy it.

Ingredients:
170g (6 oz) Leonidas dark Chocolate for baking
100g ( 3 oz) Unsalted Butter
60 ml (4 Tsp) Cream
130g (1/2 cup) Icing Sugar
50g Cocoa powder
fsa/30 Truffles
R/
1. Grate the chocolate fine.
2. Mix the butter and cream together. Melt in a boiler, stirring continuously.
3. Add the icing sugar and keep stirring.
4. Let chill until firm.
5. Take teaspoons of the mix and coat with cocoa powder.
6. Keep at room temperature.
Variation: Use chocolate vermicelli for coating instead of cocoa powder.

Chocolate Recipe I

I'll be posting recipes every Tuesday, using chocolate as one of the ingredients. Recipes with chocolate do not necessarily have to be sweets, candy or desserts. As you can see in today's recipe, they can be part of the main course.

Chili Cheese Casserole for a Crowd.

I made it first for one of our Anniversary parties a few years ago and it was so much enjoyed that many people have asked me for this recipe ever since. To honor my Pharmaceutical training and background , I take the liberty to write my recipes out in the pharmaceutical way. R = take; fsa = make according to the art

The ingredients in this flavorful dish are reminiscent of mole, the Mexican sauce made from onion, garlic, chiles and chocolate. The chipotle chiles add a smoky flavor, though they can be omitted.

R/

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 ½ tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon MANON'S unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon ground cumin

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups water

1 ½ cups uncooked bulgur, cracked wheat (or for those on a gluten-free diet: brown rice)

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, drained

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained

1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth, undiluted.

2 drained canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced (I usually omit these)

Cooking spray

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend, divided.

3 ½ ounces bite-size baked tortilla chips (about 66 chips)

fsa/

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and next 7 ingredients; sauté 5 minutes. Add water and next 7 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Spoon half of bean mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Top with remaining bean mixture. Cover and bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with chips. Yield: 11 servings (serving size: 1 cup casserole and 6 chips)

POINTS: 5

DIABETIC EXCHANGES: 2½ starch, 1 Veg, 1 MF Meat.

PER SERVING: CAL 271 (19% from fat); PRO 15g; FAT5.7g (sat 2.6g); CARB 44.2g; FIB 8.2g; CHOL 7mg; IRON 2.9m; SOD 580mg; CALC 220mg

©Down to Earth, Weight Watchers Magazine, 2000.

Hot Drinking Chocolate

All hot drinking chocolate is not alike! Most coffeeshops are serving hot chocolate made by machine from cocoa powder. If it doesn't give you a feeling of being too diluted, it leaves an after taste of the powder. Some shops actually use chocolate syrups. Most people will probably think hot chocolate is just for kids. How wrong they are. Hot chocolate is getting really popular in the USA and special cafes are dedicated to this drink from the heavens.
The best hot chocolate is made from real chocolate! Making it is an art! Imaging sipping a cup of steaming hot chocolate on a cold snowy day like today, maybe you choose it from one of 12 different flavors and with your choice of the real creamy one or the healthy skinny versions. You can choose to top it up with real whipping cream and chocolate shavings. You could try 1 flavor every day for 2 whole weeks and never tire of it, because each day would be different! Each cup of hot drinking chocolate would come with its own chocolate on the side and a cookie as well. To top up the exquisitely heavenly experience you should have the opportunity, on the thirteenth day, to sip on a Truffle a Trois, a true one of a kind specialty especially when served in crystal martini glasses! Just don't rush the experience, but savor the moment every second of it. Because it brings you just a little closer to experiencing true joy. The Maya's used to call it the gift from the Gods.
There is such a place, right here in Calgary. Maybe it doesn't fit in your lenten plan, or maybe you don't have the time to truely enjoy this experience right now. It would be a shame to miss it.
Just ask me where it is to be found and mark you calendar!

White, Milk or Dark?

After being in business in my chocolate store for 5 years now, I still prefer white chocolate or milk chocolate over dark, despite the widely proclaimed health benefits of dark chocolate. I eat about one piece of chocolate a day, sometimes two, but not 6 or more like my skinny husband. My husband likes dark chocolate. Personally I find dark chocolate drier and more bitter than milk chocolate. I like the smoothness of white and milk chocolate and the creaminess ... and how it melts in my mouth. I don't know if there is more sugar in white and milk chocolate. I would have look at the ingredients or ask someone at the Leonidas office.
Because I lost 50Lbs with Weight Watchers last year and because someone asked, one day I calculated the Point value of our chocolates. Our chocolates range from 1 to 3 Points per chocolate. Why do people proclaim that dark chocolate is healthier? I believe it is mainly because 1) it is higher in fiber, 2) it doesn't contain any milk and 3) it has more cocoa butter, which has all the anti-oxidants. You may think that chocolates without added sugar have less calories than regular chocolates. This is not the case. The sugar content makes very little difference in the caloric value.
Anti-oxidants help prevent cancer, heart disease and others. They are found in foods such as blueberries, red wine, green tea, chocolate and others.
Chocolate helps lower LDL cholesterol and therefor chocolate is helpful in the prevention of high blood pressure and hart disease.
Since chocolate is high in Magnesium it increases one's mood. You probably will notice having a better mood after eating a piece of chocolate. I used to work in a health food store until I started my chocolate store 5 years ago. Not until I had my own store did I notice that I had far less colds symptoms than before and also that most people that would enter my store had a good mood. While working in the health food store, I was constantly fighting off colds and people were generally feeling pretty louzy. I don't think it was because they didn''t get to their morning chocolate yet. Most people that enter my store comment on how good it smells. The atmosphere filled with the smell of fresh chocolate alone may give people a better mood when they enter my store. Just like when baking the smell fills the house and gives us a sense of cozyness, warmth and togetherness.
Speaking of morning chocolate - my ex-sister-in-law always put a block of Cote d'Or Double Lait chocolate on the breakfast table. I also have clients who have their daily dark Leonidas Napolitain chocolate with their breakfast. It's like taking your daily vitamins every morning - have a Napolitain or have 3 dark Leonidas Perles Pure with breakfast - your anti-oxydant pills - my prescription to you. (This makes me feel good because it reminds me of my training as a pharmacist) . So should you switch to dark only chocolate? I guess you should. But if you really cannot get yourself there, have a piece of milk chocolate. All the benefits of dark chocolate are still there and the few extra calories really won't make a big difference, as long as you're not going to double your dose of daily anti-oxidant pills to make up for the missing anti-oxidants of the dark chocolate! The key is control - one can enjoy every food or drink available in the world as long as it is consumed in a controled and sensible way.
One day I will write an extensive blog on the benefits of chocolates, but today I have to limit myself to the above.
You can fill your prescription for anti-oxidant pills at www.leonidas.ca!

A little dream cafe - some thought s on the challenges of retailing

I have been dreaming of having a cafe even before I opened my Leonidas chocolate store five years ago. When I opened it, I thought I would eventually be able to serve coffee, tea, hot chocolate, little snacks and my collection of healthy salad ideas with it. But the landlord decided to give an exclusivity to Starbucks and so, I am unable to have a chocolate cafe at my current location. I have been reflecting on this exclusivity thing for a while now. My question is: would companies that require exclusivity, actually be able to survive in the market if they wouldn't have an exclusivity deal? I have my doubts. It would be interesting to see a study done on this. I guess exclusivity is needed in some areas of business, but for a small cafe I cannot really see much benefit other than stiffling the competition. The other thing it creates is uniformity - the same coffee shops everywhere in every mall, on every street corner. This summer I was several evenings in my university city Leuven (Belgium). One narrow street behind the City Hall is lined with restaurants side by side -a few italian, french, greek, etc. All of them with terraces. Each of these restaurants is unique and offers menu items that are available at the other restaurants as well as their own selections. And even tough they are located side by side and across the street from each other, they are succesful and the little terraces are full of people eating with their friends and families. Choice - just being able to walk along the street, reading the menus posted at the entrances to the restaurants, the daily specials and being able to chose the one where the atmosphere seems to be perfect, the food just right for mood you are in that day. That priviliege of choice is not as readily available here in North America. The uniformity of the same stores in all the malls of North America, the same coffeeshops on every street corner, the same fast food restaurants with the same food choices day after day, eventually will only create boredom and a general ill-defined dissatisfaction in the general population, I think. Uniformity of course has its advantages - you can employ cheap labour and you can duplicate your business idea many times over so the world gets inundated with the same idea many times over an you get to be in a position to negotiate exclusivities. And so other people with dreams of having their own business may not have the opportunity to realize them. Like me.
But I can dream of my cafe. I can imagine it - a place where people meet and start talking about current topics, about the things that are going on in their lives and about their pet topics and hobbies. It could be a place where you can people watch or read a good book - a mystery or a romance novel. A place where you could have a cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate and your favorite pastry without having to worry about the calories. A place where small business owners could get together and exchange ideas for the success of their business over a cup of tea. A place where people love to come and love to be, because the food is good, the atmosphere is great and where quality is strived for in every action, every product.
Well, we're half way there, because we can serve hot chocolate and teas. We now have 12 different kinds of Hot Chocolate and we make all of them with real chocolate, not from powder like most places do. Our hot chocolate is famous world wide, but Calgarians don't know about it yet. It has been written about in magazines and newspapers. It has been mentioned on blogs and in press releases. But Calgarians don't know about it yet.
There are people who come regularly to my store. We have a chat over a cup of Leonidas Original or Leonidas Manon Cafe. Some come from as far away as Nova Scotia and make a point of stopping in for a cup and a chat. I like that. It gives me life. It gives me something to think about. It gives me energy.
If you come to my store before the end of the week because you read this blog, please ask for a hot chocolate in the special BLOG cup. You'll receive a free Leonidas chocolate and I'll try to spend some time chatting with you. It's close to Christmas, so I may have to give you a rain check for the chat part. To find us, go to www.leonidas.ca