Chocolate - the San Francisco Way

Jon and I jumped on one of those iconic San Francisco trolley cars to do a bit of sightseeing. Jon sat on the outside and I on the inside. By the third stop the trolley car was overflowing with people and Jon ended up hanging off the side and having the ride of his life. Inside, it was so crowded when the trolley car climbed up the steep roads and down, we all crushed against each other. It was a great ride and a fantastic way to see some of the city amazing and unique architecture.

We got off the trolley car and we found ourselves at Ghirardelli Square. Ghirardelli is the oldest chocolate company, proudly crafting chocolate in California for over 150 years.

Born in Italy in 1817, Domingo Ghirardelli was the son and apprentice of a celebrated chocolatier. In 1837 he left his homeland of Italy with dreams of selling chocolate abroad. After spending 10 years in South America, he immigrated to the USA during the California Gold Rush to see if he could strike it rich. He was immediately successful and in just 3 years, Domingo had created the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In the early 1900’s, Ghirardelli Chocolate found a home in San Francisco’s historic piers. The giant, 15-foot illuminated Ghirardelli sign welcomed ships passing through the Golden Gate and they still do today.

Today, the chocolate factory has moved into larger facilities and what remain is the retail store, ice cream shop and the conversion of the factory into dozens of artisan shops and condos. We walked into the Ghirardelli chocolate shop and were greeted with a sample of chocolate – it was a caramel filled milk chocolate –yum!

The room was filled with the sweet, creamy aromas of milk chocolate. The shelves were loaded with chocolate bars, hot chocolate, truffles, small bars and a whopping 5-pound solid bar, there was mint chocolate, strawberry filled chocolate, chocolate studded with hazelnuts or almonds, baking chocolate and souvenir chocolate trolley cars. There were giant litre bottles of chocolate sauce – wow, now you don’t even have to chew your Ghirardelli! What I like about Ghirardelli is that they haven’t lost their way by dipping all sorts of candy into chocolate – they have a very simple line of fine, high quality chocolates with a few classic options and their main focus remains as it has been for generations, to craft fine chocolate using time-honoured, hands-on manufacturing processes.

There was so much chocolate in the Ghirardelli store, I began to shake. The sample of chocolate just served to tease us and the aromas wouldn’t let us go without a shopping bag full of chocolate. Back home, I’ve purchased their baking products in high-end grocers, but can’t say I remember their chocolate bars available anywhere – so I bought enough to keep me in chocolate for a very long time.

We left the store and the wind blew my hair across my face and I realized it smelled of chocolate. If you’ve ever dreamed of living in chocolate, the main factory building has been converted into personal residences. What more can a chocoholic ask for?

Ghirardelli Square is at the end of Pier 47 next to the Maritime Museum and The Cannery with their own dozen shops, indoor square and art galleries. Walk down Beach Street filled with beach stores, art galleries, souvenir shops, restaurants and more. Back at our room at the Grand Hyatt Hotel our chocolate sits on the dresser and every time I pass by, the aromas of chocolate remind me of the day Jon and I stumbled across a world of chocolate.