Charlevoix, a 90-minute driving east of Quebec City, is a rich farming and tourist area with an enticing mountain and river landscape dotted with charming villages and rustic farms. It's countless small tourist establishments charm and delight visitors. Above all, this region with some 30,000 inhabitants is noted for its organic foods, especially handmade chocolates, offered to the 800,000 annual tourists by its hospitable inhabitants. This day in Baie-Saint-Paul, a village of about 4,000, we stopped at the restaurant/bar and microbrewery Le Saint Pub, which serves a whole series of in-house beers, to enjoy an excellent meal. Sated we walked across the street to the Chocolaterie Cynthia famous for its handmade Belgium-type chocolates. As we walked in I was amazed to see that the whole process of chocolate making was still a personal operation with all types of chocolate being made by hand. Two persons were doing all the work -one girl boiling the chocolate and pouring it into moulds, while a man was busy packing boxes of all types of tempting chocolates, many in shapes of animals and other objects. As I watched them at work I thought to some half century ago when chocolate making by hand in cities like Toronto was still somewhat the norm. I often took my daughters on Sundays to visit a friend who owned a tiny factory store to have them watch him make mouth-watering chocolates. The chocolates that he gave them to taste were so inviting that they still fondly remember them and the generous chocolate maker. Today, I do not know of anyone who makes chocolates by hand-that is until I travelled to Charlevoix. The chocolates that are made at Chocolaterie Cynthia are, in the main, produced from local ingredients, such as fresh blueberries, maple syrup, and cherries. For chocolate lovers and for those who yearn for excellent chocolate-dipped ice cream, Chocolaterie Cynthia is a sweet paradise much visited by tourists. After sitting down and gorging ourselves on dreamy chocolates we toured a number of other food establishments before stopping to stay at L'Auberge La Muse our abode for the night.In its gourmet restaurant we dined on some of the finest dishes in the region made possible by its excellent chef Hank Suzuki. One of the owners is the gracious and charming Evelyne Tremblay, who lived for some time in Japan had learned to appreciate Japanese food. Now her chef is imparting bits of Japanese cooking to visitors dining in this little gem of an inn in tourist-friendly Charlevoix. The next day our most memorable stop was Chocolaterie du Village- the second establishment in Charlevoix producing chocolates by hand. Soon we were listening to Yves Huppe relating the story of his shop that produces some 40 types of Belgium-style handmade chocolates. Made with natural ingredients, his chocolates have been a hit since he began his business in 2004. Yves attributes his success to his customers, saying as he handed us sample chocolates, "My customers - 50 percent tourists - tell me if they like my new creations and after that I will continue or discontinue making them." To cap off our stay in Charlevoix, that evening we attended La Fête des Saveurs, hosted by La Table Agrotouristique de Charlevoix - a fundraising event held annually. Both Chocolaterie Cynthia and Chocolaterie du Village were there to contribute their bit. When it came to the desserts, I barely touched them. I was still thinking of the delicious handmade chocolates in which we had that day indulged - a sweet finale that remind me of our gourmet trip to Charlevoix. Written by Habeeb Salloum for Chocolate Atlas.