Rocky Mtn Chocolate

In Canada, we call them chocolate bars, while our neighbors to the south call them candy bars. Read on and you will find out why!

Rocky Mountain Chocolate has grown to include over 45 locations throughout Canada and is proud to be one of the most recognizable chocolate brands within the country.

This was part of the lure for Bruce and Laura Cochran, the proud owners of the downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake location.

For Bruce and Laura, the transition from their regular jobs into the world of chocolate wasn’t a difficult one.

“I was going through the Saturday paper and saw a franchise available. That weekend we met up with some friends over breakfast and the topic came up. We made a list of pros and cons, and the pros won. That Monday, we called the head office in Vancouver and by the following Saturday, we were on our way.”

“We were both always hard workers and decided that we wanted to work for ourselves instead of working for others,” adds Laura. Coming from a background in health care with the Niagara Health System for 18 years, Laura welcomed the change from mental health to chocolate. Bruce owned a business in Burlington at the time the Cochrans purchased their first store. He then sold that business and joined Laura full-time in the chocolate business.

Being around all of that chocolate all day every day, one would think that it would be difficult to choose a favorite product. For Bruce, it’s easy. “I love the pecan mogul which is pecans layered with handmade caramel then drenched in chocolate.” Laura doesn’t like anything coffee flavored. “It has nothing to do with the chocolate. I just have an aversion to anything that tastes like coffee and combining the two flavors for me is not good,” she laughs. “It’s easier to say what I don’t like because it’s just that. I love the candy apples, especially the apple pie candy apple which is rolled in brown sugar and cinnamon after being drenched in white chocolate.”

What separates Rocky Mountain Chocolates from the competition is that 75% of its products are made in-house, using only the highest quality of chocolate.

And as it turns out, the difference between a chocolate bar and a candy bar, which few people realize, is a big one. “A true chocolate bar is made of tempered chocolate, while a candy bar is not tempered, contains less than 18% chocolate and is often filled with wax.”

Another tell-tale sign of a premium chocolate product is the sound a bar makes when snapped. “You actually hear the snap of tempered chocolate,” says Laura. “Candy bars are more pliable because of the fillers used in them … like wax.”

Before World War II, true chocolate was reserved for the elite. After World War II came the ability to mass produce a chocolate product using fillers to be economical. This is where candy bars come from.

Products at Rocky Mountain are never mass-produced.

One of the most challenging products in the candy-making business is fudge. “It’s all about the temperature being the key. One degree off one way or another is the difference between whether the fudge stands or not.” Laura adds, “Baking of any kind is a precise science. Our fudge is handspaded and is made from our own secret recipe.”

There is one product that you won’t find on any shelves other than at Rocky Mountain in the Niagara Region. “We make the most delicious ice wine bombs, and we are the only ones in the country that make them,” says Laura.

Another unique product is their ice cream bars. They are hand-dipped in either milk or dark chocolate, then coated with any topping of your choice. Try their hot chocolate, which is made with real milk with real whipped cream on top, and any topping you want crowning this tasty treat. Whatever your preference is, you will find something to delight your tastebuds when you visit Bruce and Laura in their inviting location in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake.