With an annual sale of chocolate exceeding US $4.2 billion in the Middle East, international chocolate brands are inundating the regional market and new chocolate shops are constantly opening. In Riyadh alone, the number of chocolate shops is quite staggering, there is a chocolate shop on practically every main street.

Chateau, a newcomer on the chocolate scene in Riyadh, is located at the north of Takhassoussi road. True to its name, Chateau (the French word for castle to my knowledge), is the first chocolate shop in Riyadh to introduce a milk chocolate made with potato chips. The chips are crushed into little pieces which are then mixed into the milk chocolate. It’s crunchy, sweet, salty and utterly irresistible!

The milk chocolate-covered potato chip is an American delicacy. It originated in Fargo, North Dakota where it is called a “chipper” and has been around for ages. Widman’s Candy, founded in 1885, as well as other commercial confectionaries have been making these treats for a long time. Chippers were also made at home but they were finally introduced to the market in 1985 by a company called Executive Sweets.

This unusual combination of a potato snack dipped in chocolate has also been popular in Japan in the last decade where it is called “pote choco”, a shortcut for “potato chocolate”. It comes in many variants including versions where the chips are covered in dark or white chocolate. But I prefer it when the potato chips are crushed into small pieces and swathed in luxurious chocolate. They look like gigantic rocks … yum! You can never get enough of them! They are delightfully addictive!

Chateau excels in the presentation of its chocolates. The stunning display denotes an innovative and artisanal approach to production. Each chocolate is treated like a work of art and placed in a crystal oyster-like pedestal enhancing its singular shape.

The interior design of the shop, a duo of black and white colors, is slick and very chic. It is complemented by a dazzling display of glass bowls and plates and silver trays waiting to be filled with chocolates.

Chateau does not claim to rival the selection of chocolates available at the trendy “Cocomaya” in London. The latter’s passion fruit, olive oil and fig and sugar free rose ganache are an edible dream! But Chateau offers instead a unique chocolate delicacy stuffed with Manna Al-Salwa, an Iraqi specialty.

The word “manna” is mentioned three times in the Qur’an. It was food that God sent to the people of Israel during their wanderings in the desert. Manna is said to come from certain varieties of trees in Northern Iraq which give out sap after being punctured by insects. This sap falls off the tree, covering leaves on the ground. It is then scraped off the leaves, cleaned, boiled and milled; flavored with cardamom, stuffed with nuts, and shaped into large chewy balls known also as “Mann Al-Sama” which look like soft balls of taupe-colored marshmallow-like candy. The authentic “Mann Al-Salwa” is still made in Iraq but it is rarely exported. The “Mann Al-Salwa” sold on the market nowadays is made without the heavenly sap.

This rare treat is a kind of soft toffee or nougat-like candy prepared with sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, ground cardamom, butter, cornstarch or flour and toasted nuts. This candy seems easy enough to make but it definitely is not. On the contrary, making “Manna Al-Salwa” requires a masterly know-how. Chateau is again the only place I know where you can taste a chocolate covered “Manna Al-Salwa”.

The choice of chocolates available at Chateau reflects the Saudis' strong preference for milk chocolate but the selection of flavors and filings is truly amazing. There are chocolates filled with caramel, coconut, wafers, macaroons, “crepe dentelle” (a delightful crispy biscuit, a specialty from Brittany) ganache, nougat, candy floss, almonds, as well as fruit flavored chocolates. The current flavors are kiwi, orange and raspberry.

It’s common for people who like sweet food to require a lot of sugar or salt to enjoy food. However, as we start eating natural food, our taste buds are slowly awakened by a whole array of flavors. Gradually, everything begins to taste much sweeter naturally without any added sugar.

Incidentally, black chocolate has become more popular in recent years. Black chocolate is also available in a huge range of sweetness levels, which can be defined inversely by its cacao content which ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent. When a chocolate contains a high percentage of cacao, it becomes increasingly bitter. By comparison, milk chocolate typically contains only about 30 percent cacao, in addition to its characteristic milk.

If you ever decide to give dark chocolate a try, I would recommend you choose a fresh, good quality black chocolate, a single-origin bar, an approach that creates different levels of flavor. I would choose a chocolate from Madagascar. The beans from Madagascar are rich in flavor due to the volcanic soils. The latter brings to the chocolate a very subtle and delightful berry flavor. Fresh black chocolate has a slight sheen to it, a velvety texture, and melts slowly in your mouth when it’s at room temperature.

Whether you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate, chocolate not only appeals to the senses, but it also has a variety of beneficial ingredients that may do everything from lifting your mood to helping your heart. Chocolate triggers the release of endorphins and serotonin, which make us feel good, Rodriguez said. And while no proof exists that chocolate is an aphrodisiac, it does contain the chemical phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator that our brain produces when we feel happy.

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