La Foret

Wow! Delicious, tiny chocolatier on the outskirts of Napa. Worth the slight detour.
Picked up caramels, «honeycomb» and a signature box of 2015 truffles. Both the caramels and honeycomb are not too sweet and have a great mouthfeel. The «honeycomb» is actually a bubbled up, toasted meringue– amazing.
I was a little bit hesitant on the $ 40+ price tag on the truffle assortment, but when I opened the box, damn did it smell good. There are about 16 truffles in the box, so it’s actually not a bad price per each. The earl grey was super flavorful; I’m still working on the rest :)

Divine chocolates and confections in the beautiful Napa valley, you can taste the love in every bite! My fave s are the peanut butter or Carmel truffles.

The best chocolates in Napa Valley in my option! The honey comb chocolates are amazing!

This is definitely «as good as it gets». If you want the real thing in chocolate, then you’ve found the right place. We went on a recommendation from my brother and we were not disappointed. The chocolate melts in your mouth and the taste is devine. My only regret is not living closer so that I can go more often. Well worth the visit if you are a chocolate connoisseur.

The best chocolates ever. So many combinations of spices, nuts and fruits that you will only be limited by how much you want to spend. We love the chocolates so much that we give them as gifts to valued employees and very good friends. In addition to small bars of amazing dark and milk chocolate, Wendy and staff create special «allocations» for those addicted to beautiful bites of amazing chocolates which sometimes use a touch of alcohol as well and are designed to feed the visual senses as well. Drop by when you come to the Napa Valley or contact online. Just a wonderful shop that creates very addictive chocolates for those of us who will never be satisfied with large commercially made chocolates again. What a gift!

I hope many many of you find this place! OMG. Everything I have ever bought from this place reminds me I need look no further for the best chocolate. YUM YUM

I purchased a «basic» chocolate bar made from Valrhona chocolate. The dusting with gold powder made it a visual and elegant treat and the ganache filling melted beautifully on the tongue. The caramel filled chocolate bar nearly explodes with gooey caramel filling (best have a napkin near) and was a huge hit with my children. Of course at $ 7 a bar this is no store candy so make sure you go into this knowing it’s about the experience of a fine chocolate. One thing that was a disappointment was hearing that some lesser brands of chocolate (such as Ghirrideli) are also used in some of their confections. The marshmallow puff has a firmness to the marshmallow that is not my favorite and I would have preferred a thicker graham crust but it still drove my kids wild, and thankfully each bag has two– the perfect amount to share!

I have been buying and eating La Foret’s chocolates for years now and all I can say is… yum!
Alright, I can say a little more than «yum». These chocolates are amazing and probably the best chocolates that you will ever eat. Their chocolate bars are to die for, and always have interesting flavors. I love the owner’s holidays treats– chocolate spiders at Halloween, turkeys at Thanksgiving, etc.
The location is a little odd and hard to find– her chocolates are so good that she should be front and center downtown!
Yes, they are a little expensive, but definitely worth it. The chocolates make great gifts.
I am so glad that we have this little shop in Napa.

To die for chocolates!

Items Selected:
Caramels and Tootsie Rolls
Chocolate Covered Honey Comb
Salted Butter Caramel
A small Chocolate shop from The French Laundry alum Wendy Sherwood a quick stop at La Foret followed by Bouchon Bakery was planned as a thank you to the person with whom I was staying in San Francisco and although Chef Sherwood does not sell her intricate truffles at the retail shop, instead opting for an online allocation system (currently waitlisted) due to demand, the items that were available proved quite extensive. A workshop as much as it is a store with Wendy working in the back and a single clerk handling customers and packing orders to ship I spent approximately fifteen minutes talking to the pair and offered a taste of a freshly minted pecan truffle with salt and caramel I made my decision quickly opting for a handful of caramels and ‘tootsie rolls,’ a bag of chocolate covered honeycomb, and a tablet of salty caramel in a dark chocolate shell. Surviving the day in Napa and graciously shared with me I will simply note that although each item was good it was the chocolate covered honeycomb that truly shined, the interior shattering to the tooth with crystals of sugar melting on the tongue — definitely a spot worth visiting for anyone making the trip to Napa, and I imagine a great pairing with any wine tour.

This is a long overdue review and good thing I still remembered to do it since we loved everything we bought here:
hazelnut branches
green tea chocolate bar
strawberries and white chocolate bar
Will definitely stop by and stock up every time we go to Napa!

About a year ago, I dutifully signed up for Chef Wendy Sherwood’s allocation list for her seasonal collection of chocolates. An allocation costs approximately $ 72, and if you’re not able to pick up the chocolates at the store in Napa, you have to pay an additional $ 16 (appx.) for shipping. I purchased one allocation as a gift, and finally received my first allocation as a Christmas gift from the bf. We ate two before I remembered to take pictures (
). I enjoyed most of the flavors, but my palate did not enjoy some of them. However, the quality of the chocolate and ingredients were all amazing. I’ve tasted chocolates purchased in Belgium and other fancy places in Europe, and Chef Sherwood is right up there with the best of them (otherwise she wouldn’t have working at The French Laundry previously)! I am definitely planning on purchasing the next allocation, and look forward to picking it up at her Napa store. I’ve been there in the past, and purchased the Salted Butter Caramel Bar (DELICIOUS!!, but can get a bit messy due to the caramel inside of the chocolate bar if you are breaking the bar into pieces) and also the White Chocolate Strawberry Bar (also DELICIOUS, tastes just like strawberries and cream). Cakes, cupcakes, and macarons are available for sale, but you have to place your order in advance, and there are minimums for an order.
Overall, the desserts from La Foret are delicious, and a lot of times, flavor combinations you won’t find anywhere else. A must try for any foodie stopping by the Napa area!

We are chocoholics, and buy expensive specialty chocolates whenever we find them. This store is well outside of downtown Napa, in a small open air strip mall. Look for the dry cleaner; La Foret is around the corner. The Browns Valley Market has a marvelous charcuterie section but no ice packs, unfortunately, so if you want to transport any of your La Foret purchases you’ll need to plan properly on your own.
There were no pastries, only chocolates for sale. La Foret’s chocolates are beautiful and nicely packaged, but the store is set up very inefficiently. There are no signs indicating what the bars are that are so neatly stacked in a basket, with the descriptions printed on the BACK of the bars.
This means the very nice salesclerk has to explain EVERY SINGLE TYPE of chocolate set out for sale, to EVERY PERSON WHO WALKS IN. And of course, most of us can’t remember the exact descriptions of the ten different chocolates on display, so more time is spent picking the bars up and turning them over to read the descriptions again.
Three people walking in, one after another, would create an instant jam-​up. It’s a setup that shrieks of amateurism. You shouldn’t make your sales reps’ jobs harder than it is already. Plus, it isn’t a large store, but all the chocolates are in one end, making it even more likely you’ll have to wait around for several minutes if someone got there ahead of you.
We find this chocolate good, but very salty. Very, very salty, especially if you have done the Alegio Chocolate/​Berkeley tour, where they’re insistent on showing you exactly how salt affects the flavor of a fine chocolate. It also has an extremely short finish, disappearing in the mouth as soon as you swallow it.
Half of the bars we gave away as gifts, but of the half we tried, here’s our review:
* The Florentine. Toasted almonds, cumin and chili in dark chocolate. As good as it gets for this type of chocolate-​with-​savory-​seasonings. We’re not fans of this fad, but this one’s decent.
* Cerise et Pistache. Dried sour and bing cherries, with toasted pistachios in white chocolate. We’re also not fans of white chocolate, as it tends to be too sweet. But this was pretty good. If I’m going to buy anything white chocolate, it’s Rechiutti’s White Chocolate Ginger Heart.
* Hazelnut branches. Bits of crunchy toffee wrapped in a dark chocolate ganache, in stick form. Very nice; we both liked this one.
* Macadamia, coconut & ginger, dark chocolate bar: Wowie! La Foret does a superb job on this chock-​full-​of-​crunchy-​goodness bar. The coconut is tender but chewy, the macadamias (like all the nuts La Foret uses) are deeply toasted and truly crunchy, and the ginger isn’t the usual candied ginger. Instead, it has the sharp bite of real, honest-​to-​goodness ginger — but in suitably small doses so it doesn’t overpower everything else. We genuinely loved this bar, and would visit La Foret just to buy this one flavor again.
* Almond Turtles: Not what we expected. Instead of whole nuts as is usual, La Foret used thinly sliced toasted almonds mixed with the caramel. This gave it a texture like honeycomb confectionary. We got the dark chocolate, but they also offer a milk chocolate turtle. DH loved this; I didn’t like it.
* Salted caramel bar: A little too salty IMHO.
My niece’s report on her La Foret bars:
«Liked the subtle green tea flavor in La Foret’s „Green tea and rice“ bar, and the coffee and chocolate nib one was not too bitter. However both were very salty. Salty to the point where I distinctly tasted salt, and not just „enhanced flavor“ or „balanced bitter/​sweet“. They were still good, but wouldn’t buy them on my own.»

To be honest… I have not been here. BUT to be fair! I HAVE had a taste of what they can offer.
My cousins had their wedding in Napa this past weekend. Just a brief background, he proposed to her with a ring in a caramel macaroon. So our wedding favors consisted of a small box with two mini caramel macaroons from here. My grandma let me eat hers, they were delicious.
Technically, my new cousin’s favorite macaroons are from Bottega, which I shall someday try, but these were just as tasty!

La Foret is one place I really don’t want to tell people about. Why should I write about it? The more people know about La Foret’s chocolate, the harder it is for me to get my hands on their quarterly ‘allocation’. Perhaps deep down inside I still have a bit of goodness in my heart. I do want to share the joy.
I am sure you all know about the history of La Foret. It is a boutique chocolate shop runs by Former TFL pastry chef Wendy Sherwood. Small production. Only 4 ‘allocations’ per year and you need to sign up for their special email list to be notified when it’s available. Very interesting business model. Just the sound of that exclusiveness alone was enough sparked my interest.
I found out about La Foret half a year ago but I missed out on their Spring allocation because I was too silly to not place my order as soon as they became available. Yes. They were sold out in about 2 hours. I am glad this time around they changed their model and try to fill more orders.
I am a super snobbish and totally spoiled chocoholic. I have a fair share of ultra premium artisan chocolates. I am confident to say — La Forest’s creation is a notch better than many of the top tier artisan chocolatiers. It is more than just chocolates. These little gems are a class of their own. It is a dessert, it is a feast, it is a treat. They deserve to be paired with a good bottle of wine.
Among the summer collection, Napa Valley Walnut, Trinidad and Native Pecan Pie are my favorites. There are nothing in that box that I did not fully enjoy.
Expensive they might be. I won’t hesitate to splurge again next quarter.

My first exposure to Wendy’s amazing creations was at TFL, and then much more recently from biting into her delectable truffles at Benu — the little chocolate box of heaven that came with my after-​dinner coffee service.
I emailed La Foret to inquire after their Sunday hours since we had a Sunday Napa trip planned for a few weeks already ~ as it turns out, they’re not usually open on Sundays, but Wendy offered to come out to the shop anyway. I was alternately pleased and impressed with her dedication.
Well, go I did, and while I didn’t indulge in an allocation box this go-​around (it being a bit beyond my student budget), I did grab some chocolate bars — dark, milk, with and without ganache, and a small variety of assorted chocolate turtle boxes as gifts for my chocoholic friends at home.
I look forward to going back and seeing what’s new — and hopefully will get to sample the Fall allocation!

I’ve been lucky enough to try 2 of La Foret’s allocations, Spring 2011 and Summer 2011. Well, I have to say that I’ve been impressed.
If you’re not familiar with La Foret, this is a small chocolate shop owned by Wendy Sherwood, a former pastry chef of The French Laundry. Wendy offers seasonal chocolate allocations (but you must first sign up online to become part of the VIP email list). Before the allocation becomes available, La Foret will email you and let you know that a new collection of chocolates have been created.
You must pay ahead of time and then patiently wait for your box of goodies to arrive. The Spring 2011 allocation was amazing because it included a box of seasonal chocolates, freshly made caramels (buckwheat, salted, and five spice), pates de fruit, and pumpkin seed crunch.
I don’t know if La Foret is cutting down on the extras or if Summer 2011 was just different, but this time it only came with a 25 piece box of chocolates. Don’t get me wrong, the chocolates were still superb, but I was disappointed to see that there were fewer goodies in the box.
These have to be the best chocolates I have ever had. Even more amazing, I like every single chocolate that I try in the collection. The taste, consistency, quality, and presentation of each piece is amazing. Every time I open the box, I think «wow,» this is how chocolates should look and taste. Wendy seems to have a knack for layering flavors and textures within each delicate chocolate, so that when you bite into it, it’s simply perfection.
Hurry, go online and see if you can try her next allocation. Or, if you’re in the area, I highly recommend that you stop at her little shop. The price is well worth it, and I promise you won’t regret it!

I remember this day well, since it was my first official half day off. I actually left work in time to meet up with some friends for lunch (first day of lunch at Plum – that will be reviewed at some point). After lunch, we headed up to Napa, & this was our first stop, since my friend knows that I love chocolate, & I’d really enjoyed the chocolates at Benu.
Wendy Sherwood, former pastry chef at The French Laundry, is the supplier of the after dinner chocolates at Benu, & this is her shop.
Let’s just say that I’m a big fan of her stuff! I bought 2 «bars» (3×3 bite sized squares) & the hazelnut praline sticks during my visit there. I ended up ordering her Winter allocation when that came out.
She makes small batches of hand-​crafted chocolate. If you get on their email list, you will get emails about her seasonal allocations that can be purchased for pickup or shipped. Well, apparently, she’s extremely popular, because the email about her Spring allocation came out in the early afternoon today, and less than 4 hours later, she was already sold out!
I may come back & add more here, but I’ve got other stuff to do tonight, & I really wanted to at least comment on her extremely successful email this afternoon…
Located on the south side of Browns Valley Rd. in a shopping center, cross street is Austin Way (off north side of Browns Valley). Her shop is located towards the middle of the row of shops, & doesn’t face the street (north), but the offshoot of the parking lot that goes in between buildings, if that makes any sense.

I love coming to this place each time I’m in the area, been here twice already and there are still so many more items I want to try! :) This cute lil shop is tucked away in a small shopping center, but it is well worth looking for.
The moment you open that door, you can smell all the sweet aroma of chocolate and confections Wendy Sherwood is cooking up in her open kitchen. As other Unilocalers have already mentioned, Wendy used to be the pastry chef at The French Laundry before opening her own shop. What a great treat for those who can never get reservations for the elite French Laundry!
Wendy never compromise on her work, she makes small batches of all her chocolates and baked goods to ensure freshness and quality. When talking to her, I could tell she takes great pride in everything that she makes as she was explaining the flavors and texture of her goodies to me. My favorites so far are her honeycombs, salted caramel and green tea rice crispy chocolate squares as well as the hazelnut praline sticks. Everything is nice prepared and packaged which is always an extra plus if you plan to give them away as gifts.
SF folks — If you don’t have time to make the drive to Napa, Wendy’s chocolates can also be found at Benu during their dinner service. :)

The French Laundry connection at Benu is strong. Wendy Sherwood who used to be a pastry chef at TFL is now with a business of her own. She supplies all the after dinner chocolates that are served at Benu, which is chock full of TFL alums. Rightly so, seeing the delicious chocolates paired with the custom sculpture trays that were custom made, you’ve got the intersection of art and food. Delicious food at that! Im not a huge desserts fan but I can appreciate the atlelier/​artisan creations. Chocalatier Blue in Berkeley was one of the first of these shops that I really enjoyed, and now Floret is representing Napa.