The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

GRAYCLIFF’S Chocolatier in Nassau has been ranked among the top 25 Caribbean souvenir shops list for it’s “must have” line of chocolates by a leading travel website.

USA Today Travel’s review of Graycliff Chocolatier noted that the store “flavours its sweets with local ingredients such as mango, lime, coconut, and sea grape”. The survey picked out Caribbean boutiques where “shoppers will find tasteful, locally made souvenirs that are guaranteed to delight”.

It is the second award in three months for Graycliff. In December founder Enrico Garzaroli was awarded the “Caribbean Travel Awards” inaugural Hotelier of the Year by news website Caribbean Journal. In a Tribune interview he said that a strategic balance between constant reinvention and maintenance of Graycliff’s vintage aesthetic had been key.

“We knew we had to do something to attract the people,” he said, “so we created the idea of the lounge, taking orders out of the lounge was something other restaurants weren’t doing.

“Then the cigars and chocolates became part of the experience. Everybody is saying that my food is the best, but it’s the same, some may like it some may not. It’s too common so I say ‘let me make some wines’ so people can come for wine, after dinner drinks, cigars, some people can come and enjoy the day with chocolates. Just creating alternative activities.”

The Graycliff property on West Street that now houses a luxury hotel and restaurant, cigar and chocolate factories, was purchased months before the country’s independence in 1973. During the 1980s, the hotel and restaurant were featured in the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and received a coveted five-star award.

The chocolate factory produces a variety of hand-crafted chocolates of varied cocoa strengths. The dark, milk and white chocolate pieces are available in solid bars or bits, filled bonbons, truffles, barks and cocktail pops.

Graycliff Chocolatier describes itself as a place where “visitors can indulge their passion for chocolate learning the provenance of regional cacao beans, the importance of promoting fair trade and organic farming, how beans are processed and, of course, the final product.”