OUR memories cannot be recaptured, but thanks to one Lynn Valley candy shop, some of our sweetest sentiments can be tasted again.
"We're a nostalgic and international candy shop," says Kristina Robeson, the owner of Sugar & Co.
Featuring 1,500 candies from all over the world, the shop combines concoctions that would make Willy Wonka proud with treats that might have bubbled up inside your grandmother's oven.
The peppermint proprietor first opened the store in Ambleside, but just as Augustus Gloop was fated for the chocolate river, Sugar & Co. was destined for a bigger store in Lynn Valley.
"We just opened in Lynn Valley to a really warm reception," she says. "It's much more family oriented and it's just a great place."
With more than 35 extra square metres to work with, Robeson found room for a selection of jams and marmalades, each made from berries picked in the Fraser Valley.
But while the Clayburn Creek jams are local, the store's flavour is distinctly international.
"I worked on a cruise ship for six years and went all over the world. It was only for the travel, but the job wasn't too bad," she says.
Besides meeting her husband, Robeson says she made contacts with expert candy makers who help her stock the shelves of Sugar & Co.
Besides ice cream, classic candies, sasparilla, and a brand of lemonade that's been made since the outbreak of the Second World War, the store also carries the perfect gift for a child with a sweet tooth and an appetite for destruction.
"We're the only ones who do smash cake," Robeson says.
Packed with tasty treats sealed in a candycoated shell, the smash cake is an entirely edible cake and piñata. "I give out a hammer with every smash cake," Robeson says, adding that each cake is unique.
The store also customizes goodie bags based on each customer's budget and party theme, but one of the shop's biggest attractions is caramel.
"So many people have never tried fresh caramel," Robeson says.
Using her grandmother's recipe, Robeson says she makes a batch of fresh caramel each week.
The store also boasts an assortment of delights for the holiday season that are a little more personal than the box of chocolates that wind up under many Christmas trees.
For the hockey devotee on your shopping list, Robeson recommends the store's blend of kettle corn in the Vancouver Canucks colours.
"For any Canucks fan it's a pretty great stocking stuffer," Robeson says.
The classic Christmas gift basket is a nostalgic delight, according to Robeson.
"It has all the ribbon candy, and the
peppermint pillows. It has all the favourites that you used to have when you were a kid," she says.
For those looking for balance in their sweets, Robeson recommends Peppermint Ice Creams, which combine a soft peppermint centre with a white chocolate shell.
"The white chocolate offsets the sharpness of the peppermint. It just goes together so beautifully."
For candy connoisseurs who appreciate handmade ribbon treats, Robeson recommends Hammond's mixture of hard candy.
"A lot of people will either give it as a gift or they'll use that mixture on gingerbread houses," Robeson says. "It does have sort of an old-fashioned feel to it. Hammond's has been going since the '20s."
Robeson says she's also been pointing customers to the Wonka Triple Dazzle Caramel Bar.
"They've totally revamped they're Wonka bar collection," she says. "They've improved the quality of the chocolates."
