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Easter is always sweet at Chelsea Chocolates

Bunnies were flying out the door Saturday at Chelsea Chocolate and for chocolatier Laurie Thompson, her love of chocolate dates back to early childhood

Chocolate bunnies were flying out the door Saturday at Chelsea Chocolate.

For chocolatier Laurie Thompson, the fascination and love of chocolate dates back to early childhood.

"My mom had this one cupboard in the house that was known to all as the treat cupboard filled with chocolates of all kinds," she said.

"Throughout the years, family and grand-children were always eager to explore that cupboard filled with chocolaty treats."

The business opened 20 years ago and in 2010, Laurie and husband John Wilson purchased Chelsea Chocolates in Oro-Medonte, a 10-minute drive north of Barrie.

Thompson left her career in wine sales for chocolate, but she says the two are a good partnership - and continues working with wineries to create a popular ice wine chocolate.

With a goal of producing "the best chocolate" it's all about starting with the highest quality ingredients which, for this local business, means buying dark, milk and white chocolate from Belgium.

While cocoa beans are all grown in areas near the equator in countries such as Mexico and Africa, Thompson says what happens to the beans is critically important to the final product.

"It's the process that really matters," she said. "In Switzerland and Belgium, that processing can take several days, whereas in Canada it might take just three hours."

The result is a creamier, tastier chocolate.

Creating perfect Easter bunnies with all natural, local when possible ingredients, requires perfect timing and perfect temperatures.

"Each morning I have to cool the chocolate and then heat it slowly to the correct temperature," Thompson explained. "It's called tempering and if you don't do it just right, the chocolate won't be as smooth."

Ideal conditions ensure a creamy texture and a shiny finished product.

"There is no added wax or anything artificial in our chocolate," Thompson said. "The shine just happens through the process. It's all natural."

While Easter is hopping busy at the shop, chocolate is a year-round business with weddings, birthdays and other special occasions.

"High-end chocolate is good for every time," Thompson said. "It's always good."

Chocolates are made by hand with homemade fillings including "secret recipe" caramel turtles and buttercreams.

Thousands of bunnies were created and sold this year, even though production and sales were interrupted this week by the ice storm.

"We weren't sure what to expect today, but it has really picked up," Thompson said, as she popped the final few bunnies from their molds.

Demand was so high on Saturday that customers waited in the shop while their treasures were cooled and packaged - not even making it to the display shelf on the final day before Easter.

"That's what I call fresh," said Jennifer Baxter, as she left with two bunnies. "It's worth the drive out here because the chocolate is so much better than you can get in a store. If you try this chocolate there is no way you are going back to the store-bought Easter bunnies."