A small Petrolia chocolate shop that makes everything by hand and is only open one day a week, has qualified for the International Chocolate Awards.
Guild Chocolates Chef and Owner Jaclyn Sanders was able to book a spot in the world competition after winning seven awards at the recent Canadian Chocolatier Competition.
Sanders, who opened her Petrolia Line shop in 2014, said she competed in the national event for the first time in 2019, winning a couple of bronze medals, which gave her a better idea what the judges were looking for.
"At the competition, you can submit solid chocolate bars, and I won a couple of awards for those, ones that I make with a wet grinder, as well as confections like bonbons, which has the soft ganache interior."
Her fresh ganache finishes, which she calls her specialty, brought in five awards.
Sanders said after a successful Canadian competition, she has high hopes for the worlds.
"I would really love to medal, and I'm not going be to picky, whether it's a gold, silver, or bronze," she said. "I think coming from a small town, it's often expected that exceptional chocolates are located in big city centres, but to be able to kind of put Petrolia on the map would just be so thrilling -- I hope I can do that."
Sanders said everything at Guild Chocolate is made with fresh dairy, which means it has shorter shelf life but tastes much brighter and fresher, and that you have to trek out to Petrolia to try out these treats -- the store is open on Saturdays.
A date for the world competition has yet to be announced, due to COVID-19 concerns.