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For many who celebrate holidays at this time of year, the advent calendar is an exciting ritual to count down December days until Christmas. A Windsor chocolate shop has sweetened the tradition by making it all about bonbons. The shop, Fleur Sauvage Chocolates, has attracted a cult following over its Bonbon Advent Calendar, a box with 25 gourmet chocolates behind 25 little paper doors. More than 150 calendars sell for $89 apiece and are available through early December while supplies last. The bonbons are the work of chef and co-owner Robert “Buttercup” Nieto, a local chocolatier who won the Food Network’s “Holiday Wars” in 2019. And according to co-owner Tara Nieto, Robert’s wife, no two bonbons are alike in any given calendar, and several flavors change every year. “The calendar started as something small, and it has turned into something that people absolutely love,” she said. “It’s pretty special that we’ve been able to take it this far.” Origin of an idea For the uninitiated, advent calendars were originally a religious tradition for Christians to mark the coming of Jesus. Over time, however, modern versions have become more secularized and designed to appeal to people of all backgrounds. The idea behind the calendars is simple. Each calendar has 25 doors for the first 25 days of December, and participants open one door every day starting Dec. 1. Traditional advent calendars had toys, pictures, or other small trinkets behind each door. More modern versions reveal tiny nips of alcohol, jams, LEGO sets, even jewelry. The Fleur Sauvage calendar, of course, features bonbons. Robert and Tara Nieto debuted the concept for the holiday season in 2022, one year after Fleur Sauvage opened its storefront near the roundabout on Windsor River Road. At the time the duo was still in startup mode, and they were willing to try anything to generate revenue. For Tara, the calendar was a fond memory; she did an advent calendar as a child and every day revealed little pieces of chocolate shaped like Santa Claus. “I still remember it being a fun little treat the excitement of getting it every night,” she said. Robert, who came from a much larger family, didn’t have experience with advent calendars, so Tara took the lead. She researched and ordered boxes. She found special paper for the guide. She even sourced special cellophane bags in which to package and present the tasty treats. Next came the fun part: Making and organizing the chocolates. Anatomy of a calendar That, of course, was Robert’s job. The first year the Bonbon Advent Calendar had several duplicates. By Year No. 2, however, Robert was producing 25 different chocolates for each box. Some of the bonbons are the same flavors you’ll always find in the case at Fleur Sauvage: orange honey, maple caramel, lychee raspberry, and candy-cap mushroom. Nearly half of them, however, have a notable holiday flair. That means flavors such as eggnog, rosemary caramel, speculoos Belgian spice cookies, black forest (which is chocolate and cherry), gingerbread and honey, horchata and cinnamon caramel, Mexican chocolate, pecan praline, cookies and cream, and molasses and chicory. Because Fleur Sauvage makes roughly 150 advent calendars every year, Robert must make 150 bonbons in each flavor. Do that math and that comes out to a minimum of 3, 750 bonbons just for the calendars. “All the hard work is absolutely worth it once we get to see everyone enjoying their bonbon calendars throughout December,” Robert said. Packing the calendars takes time. Lots of time. As Tara explains it, the couple packages calendars each night after the shop closes. They cover all the tables in the shop with 11-inch-by-11-inch plastic tray inserts and fill the trays one flavor at a time. The couple then folds each of the advent calendar boxes, slides in each tray, and closes each box. Tara applies the finishing touches by packaging calendars in the cellophane bags and adding the flavor guide, which she prints on demand. Calendars in the wild Most of the Fleur Sauvage Bonbon Advent Calendars are ordered in advance; when customers order them, they schedule a pickup date so the Nietos don’t have to package all 150 of the calendars at once. Every year there are usually at least a few calendars that go unreserved these are available at the shop on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers who do reserve calendars in advance say the item is a highlight of the holidays. “We love the beautiful chocolates and we love an excuse to shop local,” said Claire Ernst, a 27-year-old resident of Windsor. Ernst has ordered the calendars for her mother and sisters for the last few years. “The presentation is almost as special as the flavors they come up with, and every chocolate looks like a little present,” she said. Michelle Rynn, who lives in Larkfield-Wikiup, agreed. This year is the second year Rynn has ordered two calendars one for each of her two daughters. Tradition in the Rynn house dictates that daughters can open the door for the day when they wake up, meaning the girls typically down their bonbons around 645 a. m. Last year Rynn expected she’d get at least a few discards, but she never did. This year, she made sure she could get in on the fun; she ordered a third calendar for herself. “Strangely enough around Christmas the girls are willing to experiment with different chocolate flavors, but they remain unwilling to experiment with different veggie flavors,” Rynn joked about her girls, ages 9 and 6. “The bonbons are so delicious, I guess I can’t really blame them.” Other holiday treats If you miss out on Fleur Sauvage’s Bonbon Advent Calendars this year, fear not: the Nietos have plenty of other goodies to keep sweet-tooths satisfied. For starters, the shop has its usual complement of bonbons in the case all the traditional flavors plus any extra holiday flavors that are left over from stuffing the advent calendar boxes. Fleur Sauvage also has a scaled-back, a la carte version of the tea service it offers in spring and summer. For those seeking holiday-oriented items stocking stuffers, perhaps? Robert makes his own hot chocolate and mocha mix, and the Nietos sell the mix in a reusable glass. According to Tara, one package makes about 10 cups of hot cocoa or mochas, offering several days of chocolatey bliss. Fleur Sauvage also makes and sells actual-size chocolate wine bottles; these are always fun presents for oenophiles or someone in the wine business who might not suspect a 750 ml dessert. Finally, the shop will be celebrating its 4-year anniversary Dec. 14 and will be giving away free hot chocolate all day long. “We are grateful to be a part of this community,” said Tara. “We’re delighted to give back.”.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/11/25/windsors-fleur-sauvage-chocolates-readies-for-holidays-with-advent-calendar/