Chocolate Slovenian style

Slovenian stories written in chocolate

Chocolate found its home in Slovenia back in the 19th century. Today, its original varieties are created in boutique chocolate shops.

The Trappist monks of Brestanica started the industrial production of chocolate, chocolate products and liqueurs as early as 1896. Even before the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph awarded them the title of Imperial for their products. Today, chocolate shops produce their finest masterpieces mostly by hand, boutique style. In addition to chocolate bars and balls with different ingredients and fillings, they also make pralines, truffles and various original creations. What’s more, some chocolate shops run their own patisseries and cafés.

Boutique chocolate shops are a mecca for chocolate lovers

While some chocolate shops are reviving and building on the stories of the past, others delight with new ways of introducing chocolate to their customers.

The pioneering brands in the field of Slovenian chocolate in recent times include Čokoladni Atelje Dobnik with shops, patisseries and cafés in Žalec, Celje, Maribor and Ljubljana, Tramontana with a shop in Koper, Lucifer, a chocolate store with a café in Velenje, and Cukrček, which has grown into a network of shops in the capital.

These have been joined by others, such as the Ljubljana patisserie, ice-cream parlour, chocolate shop, café and gallery Čopomana, and Podeželska Čokoladnica Passero, where chocolate is infused with the flavours of the culinary specialities of Prekmurje. Not far away is Ptuj’s first chocolate shop, Xococ, opened in 2022 by the top chef and culinary virtuoso Matevž Božič, who spent more than a decade honing his culinary skills at Hiša Denk, a restaurant that won Michelin stars in 2021, 2022 and 2023. At the other end of Slovenia, in Radovljica, there is the Radolca Chocolate Shop.

Today, the tradition of the Trappists of Brestanica is continued by Kunej Wine & Chocolate, which produces excellent chocolate and related products, including chocolate wine. Čokoladnica Olimje, based in Podčetrtek, has an extensive network of its own chocolate boutiques. They can be found in their hometown of Olimje, as well as in Maribor, Piran, Novo Mesto and Celje. Berryshka, a family-run company from Šentvid pri Stični, is a distillery renowned for its excellent gin and a chocolate shop, the creative space of chocolate master Zdenka Kenda. The Čokohram chocolate shop is located in Ribčev Laz, in the immediate vicinity of Lake Bohinj. Their speciality is chocolate balls filled with mohant, a fermented cheese with Protected Designation of Origin.

Where to find chocolate pleasures?

Good chocolate shops are strewn all across Slovenia.

Each chocolate shop is unique

La Chocolate is a chocolate shop with a ten-year tradition, combining chocolate products of all shapes and flavours in its offer. Creativity, freshness and quality are the guiding principles behind the design of their range.

The Plešec chocolate shop and bakery from Depala Vas near Domžale specialises in chocolate figurines, which are particularly popular with children and for various holidays and celebrations. In Moravske Toplice, Guest House Tara makes unique honey chocolate and delights with chocolate flavoured with prekmurska gibanica (Prekmurje layer cake), one of the queens of Slovenian desserts.

At Teta Frida, in the middle of the Lake Mariborsko Jezero regional park, chocolate delicacies are created and sold to visitors to the Chocolate Village, their coffee shops or online. In 20 Chocolate all products are made following the bean-to-bar principle, which means that they create them using only raw ingredients, ensuring the highest-quality products. BAM also uses only the finest raw materials in its products, which are intended for all confectionery bakers, whether professional or private.

Chocolate festivals from all corners of Slovenia

Under the Alpine peaks, by the sea, in the capital of Štajerska in the easternmost part of the country, and in the nation’s capital, there are festivals celebrating chocolate, each in its own way.

It is said that the chocolate capital of Slovenia is actually Radovljica. It is there, not far from Lake Bled and overlooking the Karavanke Mountains and Julian Alps, that the Chocolate Festival has been taking place every year for a decade, attracting crowds with a sweet tooth from all over the country to Gorenjska. And yet the event is just the crowning glory of the long, sweet tradition of the region. The first family-run chocolate company was founded in 1922 by Adolf Zavratnik. The company later became the Gorenjka factory, which is still one of the best-known and most popular national chocolate brands.

For a decade, Čokoljana, which takes place every October in the centre of Ljubljana, has also been attracting professionals and enthusiasts alike, revealing that the world of chocolate is much richer than most people imagine. While the fact that Slovenia is a wine-growing country needs no introduction, the pairing of wine and chocolate is a little more unusual. But is it really so strange? The annual Wine and Chocolate Festival in Podčetrtek, where they firmly believe in the synergy between these two different flavours, proves that it is not. And each year a growing number of visitors confirms that they are right.

The decision to fuse different flavours has also been made in Maribor, where they hold the sweet and spicy Chilli & Chocolate Festival, featuring both local and international producers of chilli and chocolate creations. The festival is made even livelier by a varied programme, including confectionery workshops, creative children’s workshops and even a chocolate speed-eating competition. For a sweet end to the summer, Koper hosts Sweet Istria, an international festival of sweets and sweet products.

Chocolate enriched with specialities grown in Slovenia

The originality of speciality producers transforms the familiar taste of chocolate into the diverse flavours of Slovenia, so that many of the distinctive foods we are proud of in this country can easily be found in a wide variety of original combinations.

Each region of Slovenia is known for its typical ingredients. Many of them can now be found in chocolate, including some surprises. Fleur de sel from the Piran salt pans, truffles or olive oil in chocolate are reminders of Mediterranean and Karst Slovenia. Pumpkin oil, pumpkin seeds or onions and different types of wine in pralines are reminiscent of the Thermal Pannonian Slovenia. Dried forest fruits or the taste of a typical cheese in combination with chocolate call Alpine Slovenia to mind. Chocolate flavoured with tarragon potica cake or hops highlight the local specialties of Ljubljana and Central Slovenia. In some chocolate shops you can even order chocolate products with the ingredients of your choice.

Chocolate indulgences

There is a unique glamping site near Maribor, with chocolate experiences for all those who like the comfort of a landscape park, in the middle of pristine nature and close to a river, while enjoying all kinds of chocolate. Chocolate Village is the world’s first chocolate village. It includes the Teta Frida Chocolate Café and Chocolate Centre, where you can turn into a chocolate chef and create your own chocolate masterpiece or enjoy a chocolate tasting. Chocolate Village also offers chocolate massages.

Chocolate therapy is also available at the Atlantis Water Park, where they coat your body with chocolate, which then releases its best ingredients into the skin. The treatment leaves the skin silky and extremely fragrant, needing no additional scrubs or creams. Guided chocolate tastings are held in the summer at the Radolška Čokolada chocolate shop, along with praline-making workshops, various team-building programmes and production tours.

In Radovljica, a chocolate-themed guided walking tour La Vie en Chocolat is available, guiding visitors through the town’s attractions, presenting its colourful chocolate history and offering tastings of various chocolate delights. The tour highlights include a touch of esotericism, awakening the dragon and telling the future with chocolate beans, as well as a superb chocolate-themed snack at Hiša Linhart, a Michelin-starred restaurant. The tour includes much more, such as a walk through the Old Town, a tour of Radovljica Manor, tasting the classic Gorenjka chocolate, preparing an Aztec chocolate drink and making pralines.