Stepping into Pierre’s is like visiting a whimsy old granma. Each table has different height, different chairs, and a different lamp. Some tables are draped with carpets. Others are decorated with roses.

But in the end, who even remembers the decor when there is chocolate on the menu? Gorgeous hand-made truffles, rocky road, and broken chips decorated with cranberries. Cakes that weigh a ton and infuse with a will to live, if only for another piece of the same.

For me it is the hot chocolate that gives me hope that there is goodness in this world. For me it is that big steaming cup with gooey chocolate, stirred with a pinch of sea salt, some caramel, a spoonful of honey, and whipped cream on top. All I need on a cold, bleary Friday morning after an intense day and night of work the day before. Give me chocolate and I can dare to hope it is all going to be okay.

(Chocolats de Pierre, Tallinn, Estonia; February 2015)