The San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour
Chocolate Tour Official Website
You know about dark chocolate's antioxidants, and about the serotonin boost your brain enjoys when you bite into a praline. If you live in San Francisco, add one more health benefit to this most beautiful delicacy: the exercise you'll get as you walk from one chocolatier to the next, sampling champagne truffles and sipping gourmet hot cocoa.
Andrea Nadel, a former educator and a chocolate connoisseur, launched The San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour in September of 2007. She takes chocolate aficionados on a three-hour tour of some of the best chocolate venues in San Francisco -- infusing the experience with a bit of San Francisco history and an informal course on chocolate making, buying and tasting.
"I love introducing locals to chocolate names or flavors they've never encountered," says Nadel. "It is also fun to talk about our city's history and landmarks. Many locals are not aware that the whole downtown area where we begin our tour was under water for many years."
And many locals may not know that Etienne Guittard, founder of Guittard Chocolate Company, was listed in the first San Francisco phone book. Or that Domenico Ghirardelli opened his first San Francisco shop downtown, during the Gold Rush years. Nadel enjoys imparting this type of historical context to locals and visitors alike.
San Francisco and chocolate have been entwined from the start, and the love affair persists in the inventive confections and vendors included in this tour. "Today's San Francisco chocolatiers are real innovators," Nadel says, "catering to a city with sophisticated tastes and an appreciation for local, high quality ingredients. Michael Recchiuti is a good example of this. He uses fresh, farmer's market ingredients in his signature chocolate infusions, like the lemon verbena or the tarragon grapefruit truffle."
The San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour starts at the home of Recchiuti -- the San Francisco Ferry Building -- and wends its way through downtown and to Union Square. Along the way, the tour group stops for nourishment at a French chocolate boutique . . . at a newsstand offering more than 225 international bars of chocolate . . . at artisan chocolate makers and other local specialty shops.
"If you love chocolate and want to learn more," Nadel says, "San Francisco is the perfect city." The Gourmet Chocolate Tour will kick start that passion and fine-tune the chocolate vernacular.
San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour - Dates & Times
- Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:00a
- Fridays and Saturdays at 2:00p
If these times do not work or you have a large group, you can arrange for a private tour. Additional tours are offered when the regularly scheduled tours are sold out. Maximum group size is 12.
Price for the tour is $48/person plus tax (2008 price). Price includes the full tour description above, as well as two pieces of chocolate from each boutique, plus a cup of hot chocolate.
Private Chocolate Tours & Tastings
The San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour offers private itineraries if you're planning a special occasion. As an example, Nadel suggests that a "foodie bride" could enjoy a private limo tour combined with chocolate pedicure or truffle making class -- as a memorable alternative to a traditional celebration like a champagne brunch.
The website offers some ideas, as well as contact information if you'd like help in setting up a personalized chocolate tour.
About Andrea Nadel - Founder
Andrea Nadel is a former educator and marketer who has always had a passion for food. She first developed a taste for fine chocolate in college when studying in France and traveling throughout Europe. She worked in marketing for seven years in New York City, before moving to San Francisco with her husband in 2000. When not leading tours, Andrea can be found writing about food, cooking ambitious dinners and entertaining her two-year-old son. Andrea is a licensed tour guide in San Francisco.
Andrea Nadel plans additional gourmet walks in the future. Check the San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour website for updates and additions.
