“I have never seen that anywhere else,” marveled Eric Ripert, the superchef Frenchman behind New York’s famed Le Bernardin, who calls Curtin one of the greatest chocolatiers in the world. “It’s so simple and modern, but unbelievable in texture and delicacy of flavors. You hit those kind of high notes very rarely in a career as a chef.”
Chef Eric Ripert | Le Bernadin Craig Laban | Philadelphia Inquirer
"Christopher Curtin is one of the first artisan bean-to-bar chocolate makers, making this decades before it became cool. His work is so clean, well-crafted, and of course, of exceptional quality."
Francisco Migoya Executive Pastry Chef, NOMA
"Zimmern gushed, "They are un-f****-believable. Get on these now... it blew my mind." The chocolate bar, called a Parallel Bar, features distinct stripes of milk and dark chocolate, each with complementary flavors. Zimmern continued, "...each chocolate was delicious, but together they were amazing."
The Take Out 2025 Andrew Zimmer
“Best Truffle in America”
Bon Appétit February 2016
“World’s greatest caramels… these are the candies to order.”
Jeffrey Steingarten Dark Victory Vogue
“In my opinion, this is the best chocolate you can find in the world.”
Chef Eric Ripert NBC 10 Show
“Éclat Chocolate’s truffles are filled with oozing caramel and spiked with spicy ginger or Calvados.”
Stuck on Caramels Food & Wine
“I’ve known Curtin for over a decade, and his chocolates always deliver. But this time he really blew me away, with his filled chocolates called Mondiants and his striped Parallel bars.”
Owen Dugan Wine Spectator
“One of the country’s best chocolate companies is based just outside of Philly.”
Alexandra Jones Philadelphia Magazine
“If you must, must, must get chocolate, take a tip from BA and go with the truffles we declared the best in America. (And we tried them all.)”
Christine Muhlke Bon Appétit
“Some of the country’s most intricate bonbons, caramels infused with calvados, truffles made with rare, Peruvian Nacional cocoa can be found at the masterful Christopher Curtin’s workshop west of Philadelphia, but don’t miss the crowd-pleasing bars, milk or dark, filled with crunchy Pennsylvania Dutch-style pretzels made in nearby Lancaster County.”
David Landsel Food and Wine Magazine
“Not only do these dark orange bonbons from artisanal chocolate company Éclat look very 'fall' — they taste like it too! Each one of the glossy domes is filled with a delectable pumpkin pie-spiced ganache and makes a super satisfying after-dinner snack.”
Dessert Professional magazine proudly presents the Top 10 Chocolatiers in America for 2012. Our selection of the Top Ten Chocolatiers honors North American-based chocolatiers whose craft is distinctive and has elevated the chocolate industry.
Top Ten Chocolatiers in North America 2012 Dessert Professional magazine
“There are plenty of better-known chocolates than Éclat, because Christopher Curtin, 47, a master chocolatier who owns the artisanal company in West Chester, Pa., has not sought publicity or a wide distribution network for his finely made truffles, caramels, mendiants and bars. But a sleek new bar called Good & Evil, made from dark Peruvian Pure Nacional chocolate that grows wild, is likely to put Éclat in the limelight.”
Florence Fabricant NY Times
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