If only all hotels were like this... (Hotel Chocolat)

Member Name: cheetarah

Product:	Hotel Chocolat
Date:	27/09/08 (296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous high-quality chocolates, wide variety, helpful staff

Disadvantages: No stores outside England, may impact on your waistline and your wallet!

My name is Cheetarah and I'm not a chocoholic.

This was the rather startling revelation I made last year when I gave up chocolate for a month (yes, I am that mad). I felt I was just eating too much of the stuff and needed to overhaul my diet a bit.

So, what's a non-chocoholic doing writing a review about a chocolate shop then? Well, a shopping trip to Hotel Chocolat was my reward at the end of that month. And boy was it worth it. In fact, it was so good, I'm doing something similar again this year!


The story starts a few years ago when Mr Cheetarah and I were given a gift of a Tasting Box from Hotel Chocolat. We enjoyed this so much that we decided to keep up the subscription ourselves and now receive a delicious boxes of chocolates every six months.

You can purchase most of Hotel Chocolat's goodies through their mail order catalogue or online - for which you will incur postage charges of £3.95 for one item, or £4.95 for two or more items. Alternatively you could visit one of their shops where you will see the full range of products. They are slowly opening more stores in various locations across the country. Although when I say country, I mean England. They haven't ventured north of the border up here to Scotland, or west to Wales. Therein lies a bit of a problem - its 250 miles to my nearest store, so visits to my parents will often include a trip to stock up with a few supplies! And this was to be my treat after a month of chocolate abstinence.


I have been into two stores: Metro Centre Gateshead and Kensington High Street (which has a café). As the most frequently visited store, I will use the Metro Centre one as the basis of my review.

The shops, like the packaging of the products, are sleek and sophisticated but unpretentious. Friendly staff make you feel welcome as you are left to wander round the calm and cool store (don't want those chocolates melting!) wondering just how much you can justify buying. I have found the staff to be knowledgeable about the product range, and more than happy to help. Sometimes, if you're lucky, a staff member will have a selection tray for you to sample one of their chocolates from. I've had to take other people's word on this though as it hasn't happened to me............yet! As an added bonus, Tasting Club members (and their families) get 5% off all purchases simply by presenting their membership card at the till.

Within the store, the range is handily grouped together in broad sections - Purist, Cuisine, Slabs, Selection boxes, Gifts, and Seasonal. For me, one of the advantages of the shops over the online/mail order stores is the wide range of small packets of chocolates on sale. Here, grouped under white, milk, and dark, you will find mini slabs and packets of 6 chocolates - these are priced at £2.75 each or £2.25 for 3 or more. It's a great way to sample different truffles and new recipes, or pick up a packet of a specific chocolate you've particularly enjoyed before. These are a nice size for stocking fillers or as a treat for yourself.


For anyone who has already enjoyed Hotel Chocolat's wares, I'm probably preaching to the converted, but for the rest of you, let me tempt you further with a taste of the goodies you can buy.


The Hotel Chocolat range spans the small packets mentioned above to the wonderfully named "Chocolatier's Table" selection box containing 125 chocolates and weighing in at a whopping 1.4kg (£75). In between are all manner of sizes and combinations of products with the standard selection box of 30 chocolates costing £18. A range of gift boxes and hampers are also available with prices from £15 to £200. The signature half kilo Chocolate Slabs (£12) are truly awesome bars of chocolate around the size of an A4 pad of paper.

The "Cocoa Cuisine" section houses items such as Cocoa Nib Balsamic Vinegar, Cocoa Bean & Chilli Olive Oil, Cocoa Pasta, Spiced Savoury Chocolate Sauce, and 100% Cocoa Sticks. I have to admit to not being brave enough to try any of these but I have to assume they are popular as the range is expanding.

For those looking for the ultimate chocolate hit, try The Purist range of solid bars including 100% Cocoa Organic Dark, 72% Cocoa Organic Dark with Chilli & Pink Peppercorns, 62% Cocoa Milk, 52% Cocoa Milk with Himalayan Salt & Caramel.


Now, a few of my personal favourites......

Mini Slabs are the much smaller cousins of the Chocolate Slabs include plain chocolate varieties such as White, 40% Cocoa, 50% Cocoa Milk, St Lucia Single Estate 42% Cocoa, Non-bitter 85% Cocoa, as well as flavoured bars such as Honey Milk Chocolate, Chilli & Orange Dark Chocolate, and slabs such as Strawberry & White Chocolate, Dark & Almond, Rocky Road which have fruit, nuts, or cookies in them.

Tasting Batons are solid bars about 6x1x1cm which are available in a variety of different percentage cocoa levels and sourced from different estates, with my absolute favourite being the 50% Cocoa baton.

Liquid Chocolate is Hotel Chocolat's hot drinking chocolate and comes in the form of a jar of chocolate flakes - which may be milk, dark, or flavoured. The flakes are melted gently in a pan of simmering milk, to produce a wonderfully rich drink. I have found (after extensive experimentation!) that using less milk to make the portions cup-sized rather than mug-sized results in a thicker, more satisfying drink.

As a huge fan of praline, I of course had to try Smudge - Hotel Chocolat's Nutella. When I say Nutella, I mean a chocolate hazelnut spread, as that's where the similarities end. This is heaven in rich, unctuous, smooth and spreadable form! (Also available in chunky variety for those who like their nuts a little bigger!)


I'm realising that I could go on for a while more, but all those rumbling stomachs are making me feel guilty for talking about chocolates for this long, so I'll wrap it up now.


There's no denying that these chocolates aren't cheap, but this for me is another case of quality v quantity. I often find that just one chocolate is enough to satisfy my craving - I put this down to the quality, intensity and depth of flavour of both the chocolate and the filling.


I would encourage anyone who likes chocolate to venture into a store and pick themselves up a treat. And they do make great gifts as well, you know!


Right, I'm away for a quick raid of our latest Tasting Selection....



Extra info:
At the time of writing store locations are:
Basingstoke
Birmingham
Bluewater, Kent
Brighton (coming soon)
Bristol
Bromley
Cambridge
Canterbury
Dudley
Exeter
Heathrow Terminal 5
Kensington, London
Kings Road, London (coming soon)
Knightsbridge, London
Lakeside, West Thurrock
Leeds (opening October)
Maidstone
Manchester
Metro Centre, Gateshead
Milton Keynes
Moorgate, London
Norwich
Nottingham
Plymouth
Reading
Solihull
Southampton
St Albans
Telford
Watford
Windsor
York

Web: http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/
http://www.chocs.co.uk/ (Tasting Club)

Summary: Fantastic chocolates for yourself or as gifts.