Glitz Magazine | November 21, 2024
Ela Van Coillie (Vosloo) is the founder of Sjukla – pronounced ‘shu-klaa’ which means ‘chocolate’ in the dialect of West Flanders, where the Van Coillie family originates.
Born into a Belgian family, raised in South Africa and later immigrated back to Belgium where she pursued an interest in professional cooking, which eventually led to a specialisation in Belgian chocolate making and culminated in the creation of Sjukla.
When I was 10 years old, my ‘far away’ Grandmother from Belgium, visited us in SA and she arrived bearing gifts …boxes of chocolates of course! Said Ela. We were each handed a tin of Godiva chocolates. I had never even seen a Belgian truffle and was so intrigued when I opened the tin, peeled back the wax proof paper and exposed the most beautifully decorated ornate chocolate truffles! It was an unforgettable experience which has stayed with me my whole life.
When I decided to develop a chocolate brand, I set out to create and offer a similar experience to my customers. Each of my truffles have a distinct flavour and are decorated by hand. The gift boxes offer a similar experience of peeling back the layers to expose the treats.
In 2014 I returned to South Africa to settle once more, I decided to bring my knowledge of the Belgian chocolate making process and experience to Gqeberha/PE, said Ela.
My ultimate goal was to create a culinary fusion of two worlds by using imported Belgian chocolate and adding African ingredients to create a unique tasting experience. Today, we continue to merge the velvety richness of Belgian chocolate with the complex flavours of Africa, capturing the essence of both traditions.
I draw inspiration for the fillings of my truffles from local taste experiences! Over the years I have created many taste varieties with the intention of pleasing the most discerning pallet.
Sjukla is a boutique Belgian chocolaterie, established in 2012, while I was still residing in Belgium. Our artisanal pralines and slabs are entirely crafted by hand, including the tempering and decorating, which gives our brand a unique local charm with an unmistakable Belgian flair.
Sjukla truffles with their tasty soft centers are our specialty. We have 19 truffle flavours all of which have been described as deliciously addictive. We also make chocolate slabs, hot chocolates and seasonal special edition chocolates.
We cater for corporate and weddings as well.
Our classic truffle range consists of 19 flavours:
They are available in different sized gift boxes, ranging from a mini box of 2 truffles, 4 truffles, 9 truffles and 20 truffles. These make for the perfect special celebration gift, corporate gifts, year end teachers gifts, wedding favours, high teas, turn downs … the list is endless.
Our Rhino Rum truffles :
(made with Rum distilled in our local Valley) are also much loved!
We also have seasonal specialties … such as candied orange dipped in dark chocolate.
At the moment we have liqueur chocolates available, to celebrate the festive season. They are little liqueur shots encased in chocolate. We also have a range of chocolate slabs and our hot chocolates on a stick are very popular as well.
What sets Sjukla apart from other chocolate brands?
Sjukla is truly hand made with unique flavours. All our recipes are original and have been created in our kitchen – not in a laboratory.
We use natural ingredients and our truffles do not contain artificial preservatives. What people seem surprised about is that a truffle takes around 8 hours to make (of course we make many truffles on a given day).
The environment that we work in is very controlled. Humidity and temperature play a huge role. The Sjukla studio conditions are monitored constantly to create an environment to produce the perfectly tempered chocolate shells filled with a tasty ganache.
Will you be adding more products to your chocolate range? If yes, what can we look forward to?
At Sjukla we are always dreaming of new flavours. In the new year we would like to create a ‘chocolates for breakfast’ range. It just sounds like the perfect breakfast idea!
Our Christmas gift boxes always include something special (a new flavour). We will be exploring ruby chocolate this year …we now need to finalize our Christmas truffles but we will keep that as a surprise for now.
We also plan to introduce some team building chocolate work shops during 2025.
Sjukla can be found and reached through the following:
Sjukla slabs and hot chocolates are available at certain retail outlets in Port Elizabeth, Graaf Reinet, Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay.
Our truffles are available directly from Sjukla (to ensure their best possible condition) and can be ordered via our website www.sjukla.com. To request a Sjukla brochure/price list or to place an order, please WhatsApp Ela on 0616110901.
We also deliver within the Port Elizabeth area and can arrange overnight courier delivery anywhere in SA.
We also recommend following us on social media @Sjukla, where we post our most current happenings.