For those of us who have never traveled to Europe, the name “Leonidas Chocolates” might not mean much, other than the fact that the Leonidas Chocolates Café opened in the Shops at Wiregrass last year.
But, Leonidas is a family name that dates all the way back to 1913, when Greek citizen Leonidas Kestekides first started working on the company’s beloved praline in Brussels, Belgium — where the world’s favorite (and finest) chocolates are made. For four generations, the Kestekides family has made its mark on Leonidas, making this brand a true family business. What started out as a single shop with a sliding sash window, where pralines were displayed on the window sill, has evolved into an international brand experience with more than 1,300 shops worldwide.
The “Maîtres” (Master) Chocolatiers of Leonidas use only 100% pure cocoa butter chocolate (made with only sustainably sourced cocoa from the Rainforest Alliance and other areas throughout the world) and are still made 100% in Belgium, no matter which Leonidas location you visit.
There are only about 20 Leonidas-branded locations in the U.S. and Canada (although many other stores carry the brand), with the first U.S. location opening on Madison Ave. in New York City in 1991. Although that store has since closed, the current Leonidas location in Manhattan is on Broadway. Even so, U.S. sales account for only about 2% of Leonidas sales worldwide. And, only about 10% of the Leonidas stores are “Chocolates Cafés,” which carry far more than just the Leonidas chocolates themselves. Jannah and I have made many visits to the Wiregrass location, which is owned by Tom and Mary Caravellos. Their daughter Eleni is the operations manager.
I am glad to have sampled not only the creamy and delicious Leonidas chocolates themselves, but many of the café’s other food and dessert items. See below for a lot more.
Artisan Chocolates
Whether you prefer dark, milk or white chocolate, Leonidas Wesley Chapel offers more than 50 different flavors of chocolates and confections, all available in the store. These varieties are filled with everything from delicious buttercream, ganache and praline to caramel, creme and liqueur, using only the finest ingredients from across the world. And, although I prefer Leonidas’ solid milk chocolate (available in bulk and packaged bars and a number of shapes) over any of those, no matter how gourmet your taste in chocolate runs, Leonidas has you covered.
Start With Dessert?
When you walk into the Wiregrass Leonidas Café, the first thing you see behind the counter is a soft-serve ice cream machine and a menu of available dips for that ice cream. We’ll tell you more about that in a moment. But, when you go up to the counter, your eyes immediately look to the left at the huge dessert display, with so many amazing-looking options that there’s no way I could list even half of them here. Among my favorites so far are the (top photo on this page, l.-r.) Opera layer cake, chocolate hazelnut cake and the Colombian “bombe,” as well as (photo right, l.-r.) the chocolate mousse, coppa mascarpone, the profiteroles cup and the babamisu (next to the coffee cup), all of which taste even better with a full-flavored latte or other coffee drink made with equally gourmet Illy brand Italian coffee.
“Our pastries are flown in frozen directly from Italy,” Mary says. Descriptions of each decadent dessert are available in the display case, but store general manager Eri (photo below) also is happy to describe them for you and she honestly does a much better job of it than I ever could.
Making Ice Cream Even Better!
Every Leonidas Chocolates Café also offers locally-sourced ice cream, which is delicious on its own, but is only available in vanilla or chocolate at our café, and is made even better with a large variety of chocolate dip flavors made with that amazing Belgian chocolate. My favorite is the banana milk chocolate dip, but there also are chocolate s’mores, red velvet, salted caramel, white, milk and dark chocolate, cookies ‘n’ cream, pistachio white chocolate and new flavors like raspberry and dark peppermint dips. There also are toppings like Fruity Pebbles cereal, chocolate chips, mini M&Ms and more you can add for even more flavor.
The café also offers a variety of different hand-spun milkshakes and even ice cream sundaes, with a different monthly special sundae.
Sandwiches, Salads & More!
Although I had previously seen a small display case of freshly baked croissants on the counter, until photographer Charmaine George and I walked in three weeks ago to take pictures for this story at the Leonidas Chocolates Café, I had no idea that the café also served sandwiches and salads, despite my many earlier visits.
“That’s because we only added the lunch items in October,” Mary says. “We know there are limited lunch locations in the mall and in Wesley Chapel, and this is a café, after all.”
Charmaine loved the caprese toast, which combines cherry tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella, basil, pesto, balsamic glaze and a generous “shmear” of avocado on multigrain (or white) toast. I was thrilled with the pressed prosciutto panini sandwich, with thinly slice prosciutto di Parma, provolone, tomato and authentic pesto pressed on a delicious baguette.
Other sandwiches include the smoked salmon bagel (with cream cheese, red onions and capers); the Leonidas sandwich (turkey breast, Swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce and mayo on a baguette); a vegetarian sandwich (with roasted red peppers, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and pesto on a baguette) and the pizza boat (a bread “boat” with three different types of peppers and mozzarella).
I also enjoyed the tasty Cobb salad, with lettuce, chicken, bacon, onion, tomato, avocado, hard-boiled egg and zesty ranch dressing. Other salads include Greek, Caesar and spinach, plus Greek yogurt and smoothie bowls.
And, don’t forget to check out the store’s retail displays (photos below), especially with Valentine’s Day coming up soon.
“The reaction from the community so far has been amazing,” Mary says. “After doing our research for a year, we know we chose the right Wesley Chapel location.”
The Leonidas Chocolates Café (28163 Paseo Dr., #105) is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. every day. For more info, call (813) 388-9653, visit LeonidasWesleyChapel.com.
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