Chez Christophe sings praises of Swiss gingerbread cookies

Christophe Bonzonfirst made chocolate with his mother as a child. They made truffles as Christmas gifts. He was hookedand continues to take Christmas chocolate to the highest level at Chez Christophe in Burnaby, B.C.

"I really had the passion to keep doing it," Bonzon said. "I decided I had the ability to really create and make show pieces, and that really keeps me going".

The patisserie has moved across the street from its original location and expanded its menu to include lunch.

While Bozon is an an award-winning chocolate master, he is also a big fan of the traditional cookies and breads of his homeland.

He showed Our Vancouver host Gloria Macarenko how to make biscme, or Swissgingerbread. It includes a marzipan centre and is decorated with icing.

Back home, Bozon said, they would make the dough months in advance and freeze it. That waythe spices reach the peak of their flavour.

These are not overly sweet cookies, using honey instead of sugar.

Watch Christophe and Gloria make cookies on this video from Our Vancouver.

With files from CBC's Our Vancouver.