For a short moment, the best chocolate boutique in town was hanging in thin air as Heidi and Stefan Romang decided it was time for them to retire. Lucky for us, Jana Katancik wasn’t afraid of carrying on the chocolate business as she and the Romang’s share a passion for tradition and handcrafted foods. “I believe in using only the best ingredients, as local and organic and possible and that heritage recipe should be cherished. I am very passionate about food choices and spend much time researching the right flours and sugars for my biscuits and beans for my chocolate or coffee. We use local products whenever possible. For example, our milk and cream come from the Gstaad dairy”, says Jana

Jana Katancik
A Londoner, with a professional background is in luxury goods and private equity, this is her first physical shop, a culmination of a lifelong passion for food and interiors, which led her to starting a high-end biscuit brand in London just before the Pandemic. Branching out into children’s workshops post-Covid, a successful venture on the Pimlico Road brought her to Gstaad, in a collaboration with the Grand Bellevue last winter season. On learning that Stefan and Heidi were retiring, she decided to stay in Gstaad and plunge right in.

She will continue making the cherished cakes and chocolates known from Heidi and Stefan, even the smoked salmon will, of course, still be available. So, expect an abundance of expertise and lots of passion in creating the exquisite and unique delights that customers have come to love so much.

What's new?
New additions to the range include Espresso and coffee from Giamaica, third-generation artisan roasters in Verona, Italy, as well as a “serious” hot chocolate made with molten chocolate. The house signature is a 65% variety and can be enjoyed with freshly whipped Gstaad Molkerei cream and a selection of toppings as well as seasonal flavours. Hand-picked hampers and ribbons from London will also add to the Christmas present repertoire of the shop. Get your orders in early!  And there is also tea from Marriage Freres, to complement the cakes and truffles should you wish to sit down and warm up when you stop by. Look out for the various chocolatey espresso concoctions that will be available soon too, and the daily homemade Nutella pretzels and pain au laits, as well as freshly baked brioches on the weekend.

GstaadLife recommendation:
Don’t miss out on what might be the best hot chocolate in town, silky and creamy rich, ahh it was a wonderful mouthful. Enjoy!

The Gstaad Chocolate Shop is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9.30-6.30 am, and open every day 9am-6.30pm during the high season. Viktoriastrasse 3, 3780 Gstaad.

JEANETTE WICHMANN