Chicago Chocolate Tours

Thank you Valerie,

I really wanted to share a special day with Karis, because she is getting older and soon she will have a career and a busy life of her own. We will not have as many opportunities to enjoy fun, lazy, summer outings. I love that we were able to incorporate chocolate into the mix!

Karis and I had a fantastic time. We loved every aspect and sample, however we decided we actually liked the beverages best of all. We especially enjoyed the elixir at Godiva and the red velvet tea at Argo. We enjoyed Argo so much that we went back later in the afternoon and had their Iced Mojhitea. The people in the shops were very personable and Audrey did a great job facilitating our tour. We enjoyed going behind the scenes in Sarah's kitchen, if only for a moment. She is an impressive young woman. It was very kind of you to take time out of your busy schedule to meet us. Thank you for showing us such warm hospitality. Karis has recommended that we visit Chicago every summer for our special girl's day. It was a huge hit!

Best Regards,
Merri

Valerie,
The tour last Saturday was fantastic. It was a great and unique way to celebrate Leslie's birthday.
Thank you for the certificate for Lindsay. She is looking forward to touring with a friend later this summer.
We just viewed the pictures and feel that it enhances the program greatly to have pics on your site for us to remember the tour.
Thanks again, perhaps our paths will cross in the future.
Gary, Leslie and Lee

Valerie,
I just wanted to again tell you what a wonderful time my friend and I had on the tour Sunday. It was such an enjoyable way to see parts of the city, relax, and partake of a much needed chocolate pick-me-up. Each of us have told many people about the tour and we are planning on attending another one the next time we are in Chicago.
The Pampered Chef conference went well, very informative and energizing.
Thank you so much.

Karynne Muncy
Independent Consultant with The Pampered Chef

Mom and I took the tour over the 4th of July weekend and we were both very impressed with it. We've both lived in Chicago for most of our lives and we learned a great deal about the Andersonville neighborhood and about chocolate on the tour. It was a fabulous way to spend an afternoon- I would highly recommend it (I already have to friends, relatives, etc!)

We took the Chocolate Shops of Andersonville Route and were happy to experience a chocolate explosion! There was so much chocolate, and so many pastries, and cookies, all telling the story of how chocolate is made and how it traveled around the world with different cultures and societies.
Loved the "ugly truffles", and the African Cocoa Bean ice cream, and the chocolate Italian pastry, then the spicy chocolate, and more!
We got to take a lot of chocolates and pastries home because we couldn't finish it all. As Valerie said, that's a good situation to be in!

Saw the post from Debbie, and I don't understand. We got TONS of delicious chocolate - multiple samples at each stop, and more than we could finish!

We were glad to get the goody bag from our Tourguide, that also contained coupons and discounts, so we could take home the extra chocolate.

And, we learned so much about chocolate, that we didn't know on our own, such as how the beans grow, how European explorers first tried chocolate, why it makes you feel good, etc.

Lots of bang for our buck, in terms of chocolate plus information, and we want to come back and do it again to try the stores on other routes.

Kudos to the Chicago Chocolate Tours Team!

Disappointed. We were under the impression that we would get more for our money. This is a tour we could have easily taken have by ourselves. For the money we spent we only received a sample at each of the 6 locations. No discounts or freebies besides the one truffle or bite size sample at each location. Save the money and go buy yourself some chocoalte.

Note from Valerie:
Hi, Debbie -
I appreciate your feedback, and I'm so sorry you were disappointed with the amount of chocolate you received on our tour.
I was with your group at the beginning of the tour, so I know you got a welcome chocolate from Katherine-Anne Confections during check-in, and then a Champagne truffle and a sample of the Chocolate Chili Bar at Teuscher, plus a 10% discount coupon at Teuscher. Your goody bag should also have contained coupons from Argo, Lavazza, and L'Artisan Parfumerie.
Fyi Teuscher has a no-sampling, no-discounting policy, unless you're on a Chicago Chocolate Tour! So, our groups get nicely spoiled there with samples and coupons, and treated like the VIPs that you are.
My tourguide led the rest of your tour and I wasn't there, and I would love to chat with you offline about the samples you received at the other stores. If something wasn't up to par, I definitely want to know about it, and do my best to make it right. Our participating stores enjoy sharing their finest and newest items with our groups, and our stores and tourguides also love sharing fun and fascinating chocolate facts, so that our tour guests have the sense that they traveled and sampled the world history of chocolate.
Please feel free to call or email me anytime to share more details, and again you have my apologies for your disappointment, and my thanks for letting me know your thoughts.
Best regards,
Valerie Beck
President, Chicago Chocolate Tours

We arrived in Chicago late last Wednesday evening (25th June). On Thursday morning I called about the possibility of organising a tour for later that day, for myself , daughter and daughter-in-law. By 11a.m Erin had called and we had our tour at 2.30p.m.! Thank you so much for arranging it so quickly
We had a wonderful time. Erin was a charming and knowledgeable guide, and of course the chocolate tasted GREAT!
Can't wait for the next time!
Every good wish for your continued success.
Margaret Ager

Valerie, Just wanted to let you know how much fun fun fun we had on our tour Sat. Our whole group just loved it, especially the tasting part. You have a great product here. The tour is fun, run very well, informative and tasty. We were all very happy and really enjoyed ourselves. You and Audrey were awesome tour guides. Thanks so much. Mary Ellen

Thanks to Valerie and Erin for starting our first day of summer vacation on the right foot. We had a wonderful time and couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Your recommendation for lunch was fantastic and it turned out to be a day to remember.
Thanks again,
Katie

Thank you Valerie!
I was lucky enough to take the tour that was offered on Saturday through the Chicago Great Space & Places festival and all I have done since is RAVE to everyone! What a wonderful experience especially for someone who that she know this city pretty well. I found new places to visit & new things to try (Chili Chocolate anyone?) I have some wonderful photos I will have to forward to you for your gallery. Thank you again! Karen

Erin (great name) - :o)
Thanks so much for the wonderful chocolate tour!! It was a really great way to start my sister-in-law's bachelorette party. I have been telling everyone about it. I would love to take the tour again someday with my family. I enjoyed the yummy chocolates everywhere! You were a great tour guide...lots of fun!

Thanks again.
Erin

I was searching online for a tour in Chicago for the annual office manager outing that I was planning for work. When I came across the 'Chocolate Tour', I knew that I had struck gold, this was just the type of tour that I was looking for. We were picked up by trolley downtown and driven to the heart of the financial district where we met with Valerie and her assistants. We were taken to 6 different chocolate purveyors, some familiar, most entirely unexpected and completely awesome. We were able to sample some heavenly treats at each stop, and I can honestly say that I have found some new favorite haunts that I would have never known about otherwise. Thank you Valerie, from all of the office managers with the Wildfire division of Lettuce Entertain You, we truly enjoyed spending this outing with you!

Valerie,

Just wanted to take a moment and tell you what a wonderful day we had yesterday! We will definitely make CHOCOLATE TOURS our Mothers Day tradition! Also a thank you to our tour guide – she did a great job! My mom and daughter had a great day and they were still talking about how much fun they had this morning—it was our best Mothers Day ever! We will definitely tell all of our friends about your tours!

Looking forward to our next tour—



Jacquie and family

MY DAUGHTER AND I HAD A WONDERFUL TIME ON OUR FIRST WALKING CHOCOLATE TOUR IN CHICAGO. THE WHOLE GROUP WAS VERY FRIENDLY AND ENJOYABLE TO SPEND OUR 2 HOURS WITH. LOVED ALL THE CHOCOLATE AND THE DIFFERENT SHOPS. HAD A GREAT TIME SPENDING THE WEEKEND IN CHICAGO. THANKS AGAIN FOR SUCH A GREAT TOUR.

Hi, Valerie! I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the tour. Not only were the samplings tasty, I also learned so much about chocolate. I won't repeat them here since I want others to have the pleasure of learning for themselves. The tour was also a wonderful way of getting my bearings in Chicago's exciting Magnificent Mile. Thank you so much again for making my Chicago experience so wonderful. To all readers, contemplating a visit and participating in this tour ... go for it!!!!

Best,
Carmelo Goiricelaya from New York City

I enjoyed so many things on this Chicago Chocolate Tour! From the sheak peek of Sara's bakery to tasting the newest of chocolates offered to the rich history of the lives of many famous chocolatiers: all contribute to a fabulous tour. Valerie Beck enriches us all not only through chocolate but through her engageing vitae of life. Thanks so much Valerie. Nona

Valerie,

I had a wonderful time on your tour, I learned so much and now have a greater appreciation for chocolate--nature's perfect food. Plus, the chocolate bacon bar changed my life--I can't wait to tell everyone about it. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone!!

Valerie,
I just wanted to say again that I had a wonderful time on the Sunday Tour. I now have more of an appreciation of chocolate!

Valerie,
You are so amazing, inspiring, and energetic! I am so glad that we met last year at the Women's Business Conference at the pier. The chocolate tasting event at the ILCPA office yesterday was delightful. My colleagues enjoyed the "outing" and also thought your were fabulous. I hope to have you at a company event soon, real soon. Chocolate rules!