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Letter to the editor

3 gourmet chocolatiers tempt taste buds

By Sheryl Kay, Times Correspondent
Published February 29, 2008

There's something in the air in north Tampa, and it smells mighty sinful.

In just the past 18 months, three gourmet chocolate shops have opened within a 10-mile radius.

The granddaddy, Soleil Chocolates, opened in New Tampa in June 2006. Owners Jeanine and Duane Lupinski, a sister and brother, have created a tropical ambience at Soleil French for "sun" where they specialize in truffles.

Jeanine Lupinski, a former pastry chef, said the venture was years in the making.

"We'd see something that sounded really interesting, we'd try it at home and make whatever changes were needed, and then took the ones we really liked best to make our chocolates," she said.

What separates Soleil's truffles from the others, she said, are the presentation and ingredients: absolutely no preservatives, no wax, and only fresh butter, cream, fruit and spices. Each truffle, made exclusively with Guittard chocolate, is either airbrushed or hand-painted with colored cocoa butter decorations.

Soleil, at 17506 Preserve Walk Lane, (813) 903-9800, also sells chocolate alligators, turtles and Torrone, an Italian nougat.

That's the New Tampa story.

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Farther west you'll find Peterbrooke Chocolatier, a franchise shop in the Carrollwood Village Shopping Center, owned by Jim and Gretchen Vautier.

As with all Peterbrooke stores, the Carrollwood location (13184 N Dale Mabry Highway, (813) 969-2991) prides itself on the quality of its chocolate, which is blended on site. It also offers a variety of products including hand-dipped Oreos, Nutter Butters, Rice Crispy bars, graham crackers and its signature creation, chocolate-covered popcorn.

"It's just the perfect mixture of salty and sweet," said Gretchen Vautier.

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Connoisseurs hoping to take chocolate consumption to a new level have welcomed Choxotica (3802 Ehrlich Road, (813) 264-8000). Realtor Eric Green opened his specialty shop last October, serving exotic chocolate drinks and more than 300 premium chocolate bar varieties from all over the world, including several Fair Trade items.

Green says chocolate is not candy, but rather a food that, in moderation, can help stave off food cravings and may even offer health benefits.

"This is a European techno-futuristic way of looking at chocolate," he said.

Bars range in weight and price and are kept in a temperature-controlled room until purchased. Green even sells a small ice pack, which can be exchanged on return visits, so customers can get the product home before it melts.

"Everything is playing off chocolate - chocolate songs, even telephones called chocolate," Green said. "Chocolate is a phenomenon now. It's coming, and it's going to be good."

Have a business that's opening, closing or relocating? Send an e-mail to skreporter@hotmail.com or northtampa@sptimes.com Or contact Sheryl Kay at (813) 230-8788.

The find

If you still have a machine that plays videotapes, here's a real trip down memory lane. Released almost a decade ago, Time Out With Britney Spears is a 53-minute presentation of photos of Spears growing up, and music videos of her earliest hits including ...Baby One More Time and (You Drive Me) Crazy. This is vintage Spears at the beginning of her tumultuous career, a reminder that she did have talent. Bought for $1 at Good Kids Village Thrift Shop, 1450 Skipper Road, Tampa, (813) 631-0031.

[Last modified February 29, 2008, 01:58:29]