Murray Wood: Of Easter bunny bells and Juicy Fruit gum
For Murray Wood, Easter brings to mind grandma's practical advice about repurposing, and some of life's little lessons.
A Regina chocolate maker said the Easter holiday this weekend once again pushed his small business into one of its busiest stretches of the year.
At Filigree Chocolaterie, owner and head chocolatier Kent Lukey said Easter ranked just behind Christmas in terms of demand, with customers coming in for everything from classic treats to more detailed, handcrafted products.
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Kent Lukey (second from left), owner of Filigree Chocolaterie, stands with staff inside the Regina shop as the team prepares for the busy Easter season.(Filigree Chocolaterie/Instagram)
“Easter in the chocolate business is honestly pretty nuts,” Lukey said. “It’s the second biggest holiday that we have after Christmas, and people really come out and support the business at this time.”
He said the seasonal rush isn’t just about volume; it is also one of the few times of year the shop can fully lean heavily into creativity.
“It’s a season we can get really creative,” he said. “Springtime, all the fun colours and just different shapes of like rabbits or Easter eggs and different flavours.”
That creativity shows up in the shop’s Easter lineup, including hand-painted chocolate eggs and specialty-filled treats designed specifically for the season.
One of Lukey’s favourites is an artisanal egg painted with cocoa butter, filled with salted caramel and hazelnut, and finished in a decorative gift box.
“It just looks like a little piece of art, but you can crack it open and eat it,” he said.
Another standout item is what Lukey calls a brown butter crunch egg, a blend of caramelized white chocolate, brown butter and crisp crepe pieces, coated in dark chocolate.
“It’s honestly my favourite thing, and I have eaten way too many this year already,” Lukey said.
Behind the scenes, preparations for Easter began well before the holiday. Lukey said production starts shortly after Valentine’s Day, sometimes earlier, to ensure the shop can keep up once demand spikes.
“People are always a little bit last-minute, so we just have to plan more ahead than that.”
Even with that planning, he said the busiest period still comes in the final days leading up to Easter.
“It honestly just keeps getting busier the closer it gets to Easter,” he said.
Lukey said the operation relies on a small team: three full-time staff, two part-time workers, and himself managing the seasonal rush.
“It takes a team, for sure,” he said.
Despite the pressure, Lukey said Easter remains one of the most rewarding times in the business, combining high demand with a chance to experiment.
Grocery store prices unlikely to drop
Cocoa prices have fallen back from a price spike in recent years, much to the relief of chocolatiers — but that doesn’t mean consumers will see lower prices.
Chocolate manufacturers made fundamental changes in recent years after a perfect storm of conditions wiped out cocoa yields and pushed prices to historical highs.
Cocoa futures were over US$12,000 a tonne in 2024 — four times what they had been worth a year earlier.
While the initial sticker shock and shrinkflation stunned shoppers, higher prices for chocolate bars eventually became the new norm.
Then raw cocoa became cheaper again. Cocoa futures have fallen back closer to where they were before the spike — a little over US$3,000 per tonne — as weather improved and producers saw better yields. But experts warned that the raw ingredient’s price decline is unlikely to show up at your grocery store.
Read more:
- Saskatchewan warned of helium supply cut because of Middle East war
- Notes from the Gallery: New seats in the legislature, delays vs. adjustments
- Regina board game designer puts new spin on crokinole
— with files from The Canadian Press
