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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.
What Montreal resident has not salivated over the delicious creations at Juliette et Chocolat? With four locations and another on the way (take notes, chocolate fans), Juliette et Chocolat is a romantic destination that offers up a cozy ambience and yummy treats. As a longtime customer, I’ve often wondered if there really is a Juliette behind the name and confections. Enter Juliette Brun, former McGill University student and current chocolatier, with whom I worked to bring you this Q&A on all things chocolate.
Reba Wilson for HC McGill: How did you begin your passion for chocolate?
Juliette Brun: My whole life and for as long as I can remember, chocolate has had a big part in my life. My family is originally from France and chocolate there has its own food group. We would have it for breakfast with a bowl of hot chocolate, at the end of each meal with a cup of espresso (the kids would only have the chocolate though) and of course for the afternoon snack with a side of baguette. My mom would always make her famous chocolate fondant cake for my birthdays and it wouldn’t last more than a day! By the time I was about seven, we started travelling a lot and I remember my parents bringing back suitcases of chocolate bars when we came back to France on vacation so it could last us until our next visit. When I met my husband, he too was an addict and he would receive boxes of chocolate bars though the mail directly shipped from Belgium. The shipping probably cost more than the bars themselves.
I was brought up to love chocolate, so it seemed natural that I would work in it one day. You could say, I was meant to live a life filled with chocolate. As for my passion, it came with work; I discovered a whole new facet of chocolate I didn’t know from just eating it. It became so versatile and a creative canvas to all my delicious ideas. Chocolate is said to make people happy, I would say for me it makes it all worth while.
RW: What made you decide to open a specialty shop?
JB: I remember finishing McGill and asking myself if I wanted to start working for someone or if I wanted to start my own company. I started thinking up ideas with my husband for business ventures and most of our ideas were in the food industry (we were and still are real foodies)… having no previous experience in the restaurant business and seeing the statistics, it seemed a coffee shop was a good way to start in the business, however the coffee market seemed saturated. That’s when the idea of a chocolate shop came to us: a store where you could get everything chocolate, from drinks, to desserts and even in your salads.
RW: Do you yourself have any culinary training?
JB: When my family and I decided on the concept, I was still on a student visa in Canada. I immediately started my immigration papers and left back to France to get everything in order. In France, I started all the paperwork for the company and worked full time in a creperie in Paris to learn as much as I could on the business. I also got my diplomas in chocolate and crepes to be as knowledgeable as possible on the subjets.
RW: On your show, Le chocolat selon Juliette, you introduce viewers to sweet recipes. How did you get involved in this project?
JB: I was approached by Zeste who had the idea of starting a show on chocolate and where looking for someone to host it. They had heard of Juliette & Chocolate and were told Juliette really existed. They called me up and asked me if I wanted to audition. I hesitated because I had always been very stressed in front of cameras, but then I told myself “how often do you get a chance to host your own show”. and so I accepted the challenge. I was the first to audition and I messed up my recipe so I thought: “for sure they won’t pick me”, but they did! I must have done something right.
RW: You are expanding rapidly with a new store soon to appear on Sainte-Catherine St. Do you have hopes to take Juliette et Chocolat beyond Montreal?
JB: I really do because I think this concept could work in other cities and I do have a high demand for it. Hopefully we should manage to do so in the next couple of years.
RW: What are your favorite things on the menu?
JB: OMG, this is a trick question and almost impossible to answer as I only put things I love on the menu. If I had to pick I would say the hazelnut Rocher (I absolutely love nuts) or the cheesecake in a jar. I also love the fondues ’cause it’s light enough I don’t feel guilty. For something savory, I woud have to go with the complete with mushrooms or the citrus salad.