NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary as part of the Temper Pastry media event.

Last week The PR Company invited me to Temper Pastry for their summer soirée and new menu launch. Temper Pastry is located in the village of Dundarave in West Vancouver, which is an area I am not too familiar with. However, going along Marine Drive, I realized how beautiful this area is! Tons of cute cafés and boutiques in this seaside village. Temper has both seating indoors and outdoors. The patio was perfect to enjoy the sunny evening.

Owner and chef, Steven Hodge was on site and greeted me as I arrived. Steven actually grew up in Dundarave, but later moved to California to study business administration and then at Le Cordon Blue, specializing in pastry and chocolate. Steven has years of experience from all over the world, from apprenticing at Dominic’s Restaurant in West Hollywood to working in England at Gordon Ramsay’s 3 Michelin star restaurant. He then returned to Vancouver to work with Thomas Haas to fine tune his culinary skills. And just last January, he decided to open Temper to follow his culinary dreams.

Temper offers many take home chocolates and are perfect for gifts. I especially loved the chocolate animals.

And of course they offer their gourmet handcrafted chocolates. Any items that are coffee flavoured feature Stumptown coffee.

Temper offers some items for the summer. That evening, we got to sample some of these summer items as well as new menu items.

Pink Grapefruit Iced Tea

I started off trying their Pink Grapefruit Iced Tea, which was extremely refreshing and pretty to look at. There is just a slight grapefruit flavour without it being too tangy or sweet.

Almond Croissants

We also got to sample various croissants. Temper’s croissants go through a three-day process: a 17 hour-polish and 24 hour dough. He also uses high quality ingredients like European butter to ensure that the croissants are the flakiest they can be. I got to try the Almond Croissants, which I had high expectations for, knowing that he had trained under Thomas Haas. Thomas Haas definitely makes the best croissants in Vancouver in my opinion, and you can tell that Steven has learned to do just that. These croissants were flaky and melted in your mouth. There were also various truffles, which were also exceptional.

Lime and Coconut Fruit Tart, Passion Fruit Dessert (Back – left to right)
Rum Baba Parfait, Pistachio & Strawberry Parfait, Eton Mess Parfait, Lemon Yoghurt Mousse Parfait (Front – left to right)

Next were some of the new desserts, featuring a variety of parfaits. I didn’t actually end up trying all these, but I did get to sample the Rum Baba Parfait. Just like how a rum baba should be, the cake was moist and saturated with rum, although I found it rather sweet than strong in alcohol flavour. There was just the right amount of cream and there were some crunchy bits at the top to give it some texture. Delicious treat and I liked how it wasn’t too heavy.

What’s great about Temper is that they also support the local community. They actually feature their neighbouring business, Sebastian & Co Fine Meats Ltd. We got to sample some charcuterie and the meats were delicious! I especially enjoyed their salami and prosciutto.

Sebastian and Co. also sell cheese, so we got quite a variety of cheese to sample that night.

Loved the Smoked Gouda!

Drinks were also being served that evening. For wines, Tightrope Winery was a featured sponsor, and I got to try the Pinot Gris (2014). I liked how it had a fruity aroma to it.

Several breweries also sponsored beer that night. This included Bridge, Grolsh, Hoyne, Black Kettle, and Postmark. Unfortunately, I did not get around to trying all these.

Mini Ice Cream Bars

And then the Mini Ice Cream Bars rolled in! These are homemade and featured just for the summer. The perfect size without feeling too guilty! There are three flavours: almonds, chocolate, and vanilla. The little cups featured a caramel dessert which I forgot what the name was, but other guests mentioned they were really delicious!

Chocolate Mini Ice Cream Bar

I went for the Chocolate Mini Ice Cream Bar, which was absolutely delicious! Just the right amount of sweetness, and the chocolate inside was creamy smooth!

A snapshot of the interior of the chocolate mini ice cream bar.

Affogato Espresso with Vanilla Ice Cream

Next up, I sampled the Affogato Espresso with Vanilla Ice Cream. I’m not a regular coffee drinker, but I loved the contrast of hot and cold in this drink. The espresso is from Stumptown Coffee and the drink was smooth and creamy. If you love coffee and ice cream, then this is the perfect drink for you.

Longaniza Sausage

Last but not least, Temper had a barbeque going on, so we got to try some of Sebastian and Co.’s specialty sausages. That night, they had three sausages being grilled: Hot Italian, Longaniza, and Classic Pork. I believe I got the Longaniza since it tasted like chorizo. The sausage was flavoured with chilies and spices, and I added some grainy mustard to my hot dog. Super tasty without an overwhelming amount of heat.

Guests left with a gift bag, which featured some of Temper’s chocolates. This included Temper’s Signature Dark Chocolate Bar, which I really enjoyed. A slight bitterness to it, but extremely smooth chocolate.

We also got some truffles and chocolates including, a Ganache, Pina Colada Truffle and Salty Ball, which has won an award. The Salty ball is chocolate enrobed in liquid caramel! Delicious!

Overall, I was extremely impressed with Temper’s chocolates and pastries. Steven’s creations show the years of experiences he has gone through in perfecting his skills. I guess I will have to make trips out to West Vancouver to try out more of his desserts now! Thanks to Naz from the PR company and Steven for inviting me to this wonderful event!