Hei Cenato - Have you had dinner?

 

Jason Atherton, ignores recent downturn in the service sector and opens yet another restaurant, Hei Cenato, for our delectation and delight. Temple and Sons, based in the City, opened to rave reviews a few weeks ago and now he's heading south into relatively unknown territory, Nova, Victoria. 

This is Jason's first venture into the Italian restaurant scene and I sense a possible theme that could be replicated in other parts of the UK...Jamie Oliver watch your back!

Frustratingly, this restaurant is very hard to find. Located in the middle of a building site and well hidden from obvious view it is only 5 minutes walk (when you know where you're going) from Victoria main line and underground stations.

Nova, is a massive development boasting 17 restaurants. A smorgasbord of culinary delights, including Shake and Shack, Aster, and Greenwoods, to name just 3.

The restaurant officially opens on 7th February but I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of what to expect. Once through the curtained doorway your straight into the restaurant and immediately two huge pizza ovens grab your attention. This is where all the action is and the closeness of the tables to the kitchen adds to a buzzy but relaxed atmosphere.

The menu is extensive with a wide variety of 'small plate' starters, pizzas, pastas and desserts. Many dishes are available to share. This will suit  the business brigade and hordes of hungry shoppers looking for a glass of Prosecco and pizza combo before heading home. Early morning commuters will also be able to pick up their caffeine shots and pastries to go.

This new venue also has its own bar, The Drunken Oyster, which will serve classic Italian Cocktails with typical Jason Atherton twists.

Starters of Octopus and Black Bean and Sea Bass are beautifully presented on colourful plates. Whilst presentation is fairly minimal and some might even say rustic the overall flavour and tenderness of the octopus was awesome as was the ceviche of Sea Bass which was again full of wonderful flavours.

 

It should be said that the team are full of energy and keen to explain every element of the menu. Unsurprisingly, they almost all seem to be Italian!

 

Artichoke Pizza - New York

Obviously, pizza, features heavily on the menu. Each pizza is presented on a stand which encourages you to share with your dinner date. 

 

In comparison to a typical New York pizza from Artichoke Basille, these have been scaled down to suit the UK waste lines and it just goes to prove that size isn't everything especially when it comes to pizzas! The fennel sausage topping was delicious and not at all overpowering, perfectly balanced.

 



Artichoke Pizza - New York

 

 

Whilst starters and main courses received high praise I could not say the same for my dessert, Brioche and Gelato Burger,  which had me beaten. It was just too much after pizza. It didn't help that it was also lacking any colour.

 

Overall a promising start and an enjoyable and tasty meal. Fairly pricey for an Italian. Jason and his team seem to have every hour of the day covered!

Hei Cenato - 2 Sir Simon SW1E 5DJ, Milton Rd, London SE24 0NL

  

New Row - London

Dark clouds, rain lashing down with no sign of abatement, protected only by a flimsy umbrella that has seen better days, is certainly not the best time to be walking the streets of London in search of new food ideas. 

Of course, weather has no impact and does not deter the serious foodie from its quarry, no matter what is thrown at you the prize will always be obtained. New Row is just off St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden. Business was 'slack' and dribbling much like the rain...

Pan de Vie is relatively new to the food scene in London according to the Catersales website, opening in December, 2015. Pan de Vie, described as a French-Chinese fusion offering good coffee and even better patisserie. Their website is still under construction.

The shop is bright, with white counter tops and good lighting around the main counter. My only criticism would be that the lighting in the corner requires a torch in order to see some very interesting baking products including: Japanese Matcha Melon Bread; Japanese Beef Curry Bread; Cherry Bacon Mayo Bread; Japanese Chicken Teriyaki Bread. 

All items are ready to grab and go priced from £1.95 upwards. I was slightly alarmed that many of these products were not chilled...one can only assume a coach load of Japanese tourists were due in soon! Great blocks of Matcha Castella, a popular Japanese honey-sponge cake, were on sale at £8.95, gift boxes available.

Two employees were working in the shop on the day of our visit both extremely well presented, engaging and obviously loved their jobs! 

Across the road from Pan de Vie is the Jamaica Patty Co. Jamaican food
has been around for a long time but has kept a low profile. This was one of the main reasons that Jamaican born Theresa Roberts decided to open her business, frustrated by a limited Jamaican food offering on the high street, JPC came to fruition in 2013. 








Unlike Cornish pasties the crust is made with Tumeric to give it's distinctive colour. Fillings include, Jerk Chicken; Beef; Spicy Beef, Curried Goat and Vegetable. The owners other half was braving the rain providing samples on the day... and very tasty they were indeed. Having a sweet tooth meant that the Tortuga Rum cake was to die for!

Interestingly, at the top of New Row you will find Benito's Hat a bustling Burritos bar which was doing a roaring trade on this wet and grey day, selling tacos and Mexican tapas all washed down with a Margarita cocktail or a chilled bottled beer. Posted by Spike.

Fancy a PLOPP?

PLOPP...yes, you did read that correctly. 

Plopp, is a popular Swedish chocolate bar but alas I had never come across these humorously named bars until I met the guys from Hej Coffee who were handing out some freebies at a recent event, much to me delight.  How can anyone make it through the day without a Plopp?! Ok, I promise to keep the lavatorial jokes to a minimum. 

Plopp, produced by Cloetta, founded in 1862, is a leading confectionery company in the Nordic region, employing 2,500 people, 6 countries, according to their website. Plopp was created in 1949 as a small bar and has been improved upon ever since with interesting flavour additions such as Liquorice; Currant; Caffe Latte and Tutti Fruitti. Has anybody tried these?

Unfortunately, I left my Plopp sitting in the baking July sunshine and you know what that means. A few minutes in the fridge helped rescue my melting bar! Fortunately, its taste was not impaired by being zapped by the sun. Overall, this is a pleasant and not too sweet, milk chocolate and soft caramel snack. 

Swedish Milk Chocolate and Caramel Centre

Totally Swedish sell this chocolate bar which is available online or in their stores located in Marylebone and Barnes. Totally Swedish provide anything from herring to books in an attempt to satisfy our lust for all things Swedish and of course the many Swedes that have made London their new home and might feel a little homesick. To buy online click here

Doisy & Dam - goji & orange

Before we get down to the delicious subject of chocolate lets talk coffee...

Inspiration comes in many guises and a recent visit to The London Coffee Festival certainly helped provide that necessary ingredient by the bucket load. It has been a while since I've attended such a vibrant and enthusiastic event. It made me realize how creative, diverse and brilliant the London coffee scene is. 

As you'd expect I literally left the place buzzing, not from the caffeine hit, I didn't touch a drop, but the sheer vibrancy of the place. 

So, even if you don't know your v60 from your espresso why not percolate yourself down to The London Coffee Festival, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. 

Grab a deckchair, watch the coffee masters fight it out, visit a lab, indulge in some Bavarian comfort food from Herman Ze German and finish off with a joyous sticky Crosstown doughnut. Follow the exit signs and wander through Milk and Sugar for some retail therapy. Festival ends 3rd May...

Doisy & Dam - Goji and Orange

New kid on the chocolate block is Ed Smith's, Doisy and Dam. Made in Norfolk...yes you heard me correctly, made in Norfolk. Has climate change shifted dramatically in the night? 

Not only is their dark chocolate organic it is also suitable for vegans, gluten free and soy-free diets...ticking a lot of boxes so far. Current range is made exclusively from Dominican cacao, 74%. But a little birdie tells me white and milk chocolate varieties are not far off coming to market. 

Chocolate is always finding new ways of promoting itself as being healthy and Doisy and Dam has gone down the the super-food route. Introducing interesting but little known ingredients such as, hemp seed and Lucuma, a fruit native to the Peruvian Andes, that you wouldn't necessarily come across in other chocolate bars.

Dominican Cacao 74%

For this particular bar goji berries have been added and in my opinion not necessarily for the better.  The dark chocolate is certainly delicious but the goji berries are an unwelcome guest in this menage a trois of chocolate, orange and berry. However, the other half did say that the addition of the chewy goji berries added another texture...so there! The bar is well balanced and the orange is not at all over powering. However, coming across a goji berry lurking in the depths is like chomping on a piece of foil and needless to say you know what that feels like...I enjoyed this bar, minus the goji, and look forward to trying the other varieties in their range including, ginger, chilli flakes and hemp seed; coconut and lucuma.

Ocado and Planet Organic currently stock Doisy & Dam priced at £3.75 for a 100g bar. Click here to buy online or go directly to the Doisy & Dam shop.

Sea Salted Caramel Bar - Paul A Young

An early raid on Easter chocolates was usurped by a bar of Sea Salted Caramel from Paul. A. Young. Phew...that was a close one!

For those of you who are new to the world of chocolate, Paul.A.Young, is a confectionary wizard when it comes to making fine chocolates with fresh ingredients. You can find PAY stores in Wardour Street, Camden Passage, The Royal Exchange and Heals. His empire is certainly expanding! I recently discovered that you can buy some of his chocolates online at Craved. 

You can find such flavours

including Sourdough; Chilli and that old favourite you either love it or hate it, marmite. Not surprisingly this rather edgy marmite bar is on offer at £3.50 reduced from £5.90.

Paul and his team of apprentice wizards, that's certainly an apprenticeship to end all apprenticeships if they offer such things, make all their chocolate delights without the use of complicated tempering machinery preferring the coolness of marble to facilitate the magical process.

As you would expect, the chocolate, a 64% Madagascan dark chocolate, is delicious,  delivering a woody and fruity almost zesty aroma.
 

50g - Sea Salted Caramel Bar

The soft caramel has been sandwiched in between two pieces of chocolate which have been cleverly glued back together. Maldon sea salt has been combined with the sweet caramel to provide a little astringency;  very subtle. This particular bar won Gold at the International Chocolate Awards European Semi-Final. You can now learn how to make this bar by joining one of his workshops,  but hurry as these events are selling out fast.

Little effort or for that matter expense has been made in regards to packaging. A simple piece of fairly thick clear plastic held together with two labels and a purple bow. Paul makes it clear he wants his chocolate to do all the talking. Substance over style. 

Nowadays caramel and sea salt is probably the most popular flavour in the world and can now be found in absolutely anything. I enjoyed this bar which is really well balanced but to be honest I prefer a plain bar rather than the squidgy mix.

Ecuador - Marks and Spencer

Hopefully, today we will be on safer ground and the actual wording on the outside of the packet will represent what is on the inside, see my previous post regarding the Marc De Champagne Egg.

On first inspection this looks like an interesting bar of chocolate titled, 'Equador' - single origin dark chocolate, from Marks and Spencer.

As with the Marc De Champagne Egg, this piece of chocolate also seems to be part of 'The Collection' which I now believe is a totally overused term and meaningless, as everything sold in Marks and Spencer seems to be part of The Collection. 


For some bizarre reason the packaging designers have become all excited and decided to go with two alternative spellings for the words 'Ecuador', spelt 'Equador' and 'Ecuadorian' spelt 'Equadorian'. Why?

The chocolate slab itself is bright and ebony in presentation and has an excellent snap. Marks and Spencer has described this chocolate thus, "this Equadorian dark chocolate possesses floral Jasmine notes with a slightly nutty aftertaste. The touch of astringency gives a surprising wholeness to the flavour profile. Perfectly paired with an aged tawny port". 

I have noticed more and more retailers are now pairing their chocolates either with fine wines, ports or surprisingly beers. Another retail opportunity never to be missed! In fact you can now buy some interesting bottled beers from M&S...try their Cheshire Chocolate Porter.

To be honest I can't place the Jasmine but I can certainly pick up a slight tobacco aroma with a hint of lemon. Just breathe it all in...delicious! 

The dark chocolate melts quickly with a slight sweetness and a fair amount of acidity which hangs around for a while. This is not unpleasant and compliments the rich, silky smoothness of the melting dark chocolate. 

In terms of ingredients there are not many, including: Cocoa Mass - Sugar - Cocoa Butter - Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin...which is good news if you are allergic to Soya Lecithin.

Single Origin Dark Chocolate - Ecuador

I really enjoyed this bar of chocolate and at £3.00 for 80g it proves to be good value for money. If you are looking for alternatives check out similar chocolates from Chocolatiers but expect to pay a bit more.

Marc De Champagne Egg - M&S

Marc De Champagne Egg

Remember that old saying, "All that glitters is not gold" and so it would seem with this Easter Egg purchased from Marks and Spencer earlier today. Beware and read the label carefully before purchasing one of these colourful eggs...unlike me. 

At a quick glance you may be forgiven for actually thinking that you are buying a chocolate egg filled with marc de champagne truffles. When in actual fact you are buying a decorative piece of cardboard, tied with a turquoise bow, in the shape of an egg filled with marc de champagne truffles. 

This attractive and eye catching Faberge style egg stands about 6.5" or 16.5 cm high and is filled with 10 marc de champagne truffles, approx. 145 g, sealed within a plastic bag to stop the icing sugar going all over the place. This particular egg has been earmarked as being part of "The Collection" which as far as I can make out could apply to anything from denim jeans or a pair of slingbacks. So, just another nonsensical marketing ploy to make you think somebody has selected this item for its uniqueness and quality.   

Made in Ireland

I've never been a great fan of Marks and Spencer truffles and this offering is very much the same old, same old, sugary and overly sweet concoction that I have come to expect from them. Each truffle is well made and covered liberally in icing sugar, perhaps best eaten naked. The soft sweet ganache is en-robed in a fairly thick casing of milk chocolate. I suggest you cut the truffle in half and scoop out the ganache with your tongue. 

The marc de champagne is not overpowering and adds a slightly pleasant alcoholic flavour. If only Marks and Spencer could cut down on the sugar and increase the cocoa content of their truffles then this might be a fairly pleasant experience. However, after the sugar hit you are left with a gloopy and slightly acidic feeling as it slides down your throat. Not the nicest of experiences and on reflection I've had more enjoyable sore throats.

Marc De Champagne Truffles - 30% Cocoa

I was disappointed from the start with this egg especially on discovering that there was no actual chocolate egg for me to crack open! So, staying objective was a problem from the beginning. However, the egg is well presented as are the champagne truffles. For the cost of £9.00 you do get a lovely egg shaped box and 10 'gob stopper' size champagne truffles. 

However, I feel that I could have done better with my money and perhaps I should have gone with a Percy Pig! However, if M&S is not your thing then here are a couple of examples of Easter chocolates available on the internet and high street:

This year's Easter gifts Chococo-style from £9.50...

Or

Something with imagination from Hotel Chocolat from £7.00...

Van Der Burgh Chocolaad - 72

72% Fairtrade Cacao

If you're looking to escape the busy canals and hedonistic but picturesque streets of Amsterdam then a trip to the historic town of Delft on a Monday is surely the place to go. Where clearing the beautifully kept canals of discarded bikes is probably the highlight of the day for most inhabitants and for that matter most visitors who unfortunately find themselves in this situation. This is no fault of the town or the good townsfolk of Delft its just what happens when you visit out of season.  

Delft is about an hour away by Intercity train from Amsterdam's central station. Double decker trains run every 15-20 minutes and are speedy, fairly tidy and reliable as they whisk you through the flat, yet to be filled with tulips, countryside. 

A bonus of travelling by train in Holland is that as long as you 'touch in and touch out' you can stop off at every station without paying any additional fee which is not necessarily the case in the UK. Stop off at The Hague or continue onto Rotterdam if you choose. A visit to the Royal Delft Potteries is well worth a trip located outside the town centre. If you fancy a stroll alongside the canals and into residential Delft, allow 20 minutes for an easy walk from the town centre.

Where many bikes and even cars end up!

To my surprise one of the few shops that was open for business was a chocolate shop that of Van Der Burgh Chocolaad. A the time of our visit the occupants were busy making and hand wrapping big bars of chocolate. Unfortunately, my Dutch isn't what it used to be and we just had to gaze at the 00's of bars that were being wrapped for sale. 

Historical Chocolate Shop

According to their website the business was founded in 2011 by Richard and Joyce van der Burgh as a result of an extensive search for handmade chocolate bars. No boring packaging for them! Their bars are indeed resplendent and made in one of the most picturesque locations of town. 

Using only Fairtrade cacao they make a variety of bars including milk and dark either on their own of mixed together with nuts, Ethiopian coffee or dried fruits such as cranberries. It was difficult to tell whether they actually make their chocolate from scratch but they do seem to imply this in their message? 

Handmade in Holland

Their chocolate bars are certainly beautifully packaged and have the wow factor. Unfortunately, in terms of design there is no inkling as to where their inspiration came from.

I picked out a 72% dark chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts. These are certainly hefty bars weighing in at 100g and the fact that they have used whole nuts makes the packaging feel even bulkier and almost fit to burst. 

Personally, I thought the dark chocolate was too thick and if you are worried about your dentures take a hammer to the bar before you get your pearly whites around this little bruiser of a bar. The chocolate itself is not particularly big on flavour and whilst it is well made the depth of flavour is somewhat lacking with little fruit or acidity....all a bit flat, like the landscape, in my opinion. The hazelnuts provide extra crunch. To buy click here.

Chunky Van der Burgh

Lime and Ginger Chocolate

Lime and Ginger Chocolate Shards Merry Berry

A visit by my daughter to a recent Chelmsford beer festival resulted in a surprise gift of chocolate from Merry Berry, based in Burton-on-Trent. 

Chocolate has taught me one thing, 'never judge a book by its cover'. However, I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical about the combination of chocolate and beer festivals. Where was the link? 

Well, a quick look at Merry Berry's Facebook page showed me that there were indeed a lot of people out there pairing up chocolate with beer and actually enjoying it. Ok, I have heard a lot about pairing wines with chocolate but never beer. This is not just your bog standard industrial brewed beer but artisan, handcrafted, extraordinary beers from the likes of Brewdog. So, there must be something to it. Check out December's tasting at Brewdog, Liverpool. 

The chocolate (Belgian?) has a cocoa content of 53.8% and does not overpower the lime and ginger. However, the light dark chocolate goes perfectly well with both. There is a strong aroma of crisp, fresh lime on opening the packet. The chocolate melts quickly and smoothly in the mouth with loads of tangy lime. The ginger comes later offering up a little heat at the end with the lime continuing. 

This is a very agreeable and well balanced piece of chocolate, priced at £2.20 for 50g. To buy follow the link here.

Merry Berry Truffles also make truffles. Quelle Surprise! Interestingly, they make a chilli bar which is rather dramatically named 'Scorpion Death Chilli Chocolate' which has a disclaimer as people have been made to cry. I can only assume they've been using it as a face pack? The mind boggles! The reviews of this chilli chocolate are great....enjoy!

When I'm next in Southwold I'll try a piece of chocolate with some Adnams Old Ale which has an aroma of caramel and nutty chocolate.

Peruvian Gold

Chulucanas 70

Not wanting to start this post on a downer...but our bodies have just made it through January and we're now talking about chocolate and 50 shades of something, blah, blah, blah. 

Many of you will understand and recognise this never ending

nightmare, that we find ourselves in. Throughout January you will have religiously attended many exhaustive, hot and sweaty sessions at the local gym and consumed vast quantities of stomach stripping detoxing 'green juices' in a never ending futile attempt to rejuvenate, replenish and miraculously turn that Christmas Pudding shaped stomach into something representing a washboard. 

Unfortunately, come February everything and everybody is plotting against us and as soon as we have shed those few pounds our bodies are thrown into the next retail battleground that is Valentine's Day. Even the government is getting in on the act deciding it is a good time to slap our lardy arses and cut benefits to the plumpy dumpies amongst us. Where can we find salvation? Could this spell the end for chocolate? Uh, no I don't think so. Not when it comes to tasting such delicious and possibly 'healthy' offerings from the likes of Willies Cacao.

Two Squares of Peruvian Gold 80g

Willie Harcourt-Cooze founder of Willies Cacao and real life Willy Wonka has not been seen on our tv screens for several years when he was last seen running naked down that Exeter country lane. There is nothing he doesn't know about chocolate and he will go to great lengths to bring us delicious and flavoursome chocolate without the necessity of adding processed sugar or other additives. 

Chulucanas 70 is described as instant gratification... how appropriate. 

Made from single origin Criollo beans this chocolate has distinctive notes of raisins and plums. For a 70% dark chocolate it melts quickly in the mouth giving up it's citrus flavours with additional plum and liquorice. This is a beautifully balanced piece of chocolate and if anybody thinks dark chocolate is bitter then you have to try this bar.  

The word Chulucanas actually comes from a town in the Piura region of Peru. The town of Chulucanas is apparently famous for its black and white pottery and ceramic characters. 

This bar is priced at £2.99 and you can buy online by following the link here.

Spiced Apple Cake

This particular recipe was taken from English Patis who tweaked a Delia recipe. I used golden caster and left out the pecan nuts to please all members of the family.

Ingredients:
350g peeled and chopped apples - I used Braeburns
275g plain flour
110g butter - melted
2 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)
1/2 whole nutmeg - finely grated (about 1 tsp)
170 g golden caster sugar
175 ml milk


Topping:
75g  Demerara sugar
75g  self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
25g  butter - softened
50g  pecans or walnuts - roughly chopped - optional
1 Tbsp cold water

Method:

Preheat oven to 165C fan. Grease the bottom of a 3 lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof to aid removal once cooked.

Mix the topping - combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a small bowl. Cut in the soft butter with two butter knives into the mixture. Then proceed to rub in it with your fingertips. Add in the nuts - mix well. Sprinkle the cold water and toss. Set aside.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
Put the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the milk, sugar, and melted butter.
Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon and mix well stirring in the chopped apples.

Pour into the greased cake tin

Sprinkle the topping on the surface of the batter.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes, turn out from the pan then cool completely.

Serves 10-12 portions and at the time of writing this recipe the cost of producing this cake was £2.75.

Shoreditch

SHOREDITCH

Shoreditch, home of Yalla Yalla and The Hoxton, is just a 5 minute walk away from the busy train terminus that is Liverpool Street station and the City, work place of bankerman. 

We nipped over to Shoreditch or as it was known in a previous life as 'Sewer-Ditch' when the area was not much more than a boggy landscape. 

Well, you'll be pleased to know things have moved on since then even though the weather may still be the same, wet and very, very cold. Us Southern folk are such wimps when it comes to the cold. Fail!

The thrust of urban development is creeping little by little with new flats rising from what seems like the very cracks in the pavement and interestingly we came across the March for Homes, a demonstration against "social cleansing". Hundreds of people walked the streets protesting against the lack of affordable housing. Like most modern cities London is a place of extremes with people sleeping rough alongside 3 bedroom flats on sale for £2.4M. The March for Homes is said to be the first of its kind, bringing campaigners, retailers and trade unionists together to highlight the lack of affordable housing and spiralling rents.

March for Homes

Stopping off for an impromptu haircut at a Turkish barbers I managed to get warm again, whilst my old man had the haircut to end all haircuts.  Not having witnessed the intricate skills of a Turkish barber I nearly jumped off my seat when said barber set fire to my husbands hair and then proceeded to slap him with hot wet towels, followed by intense massaging of the upper body. With only a slight whiff of burning protein in the air my husband escaped with his hair intact, well what was left. In fact it was the best haircut he'd ever had, certainly the most entertaining.

Street art is everywhere....

Smokers take shelter

Foxy....

Damien Hirst at The Tramshed 

By chance we came across The Tramshed, Mark Hix's celebrated Chicken and Steak eatery and headed inside mainly to escape from the weather. Fortunately, for my purse, the Weekend Brunch menu was available and we sat and enjoyed a 'Cock 'n' bull hash with a double yolker' and a Salt beef sandwich. Its not everyday that you can sit under a piece of Damien Hirst artwork. A word of warning don't have the fries they're more expensive than the main course....cunning naughty sides! Well worth a visit and not just for the food. At the moment kids under 10 eat free!

Cock 'n' bull hash with a double yolker

Salt beef sandwich

Staff are friendly and food was delivered quickly and efficiently, they even had time for a chat. If you have time, pop into the Cock n Bull gallery for some arty inspiration.  Shoreditch....we'll be back when the sun comes out again.

Marou - Ben Tre 78% Dark Chocolate

At Christmas I am your ideal person to buy a gift for. Why? Well, just gift me a few chocolate bars, truffles or such like and I'll be as happy as Larry for several days, possibly months! 

Of course, this year all my presents were wonderful even those pairs of socks! But one of them particularly appealed to me. A bar of Ben Tre 78%, single origin dark chocolate, that had been on my list of chocolates to try for 2015.

Vietnam is not a country that springs immediately to mind as a cocoa producing country. My memories of Vietnam were shaped by the many Hollywood blockbusters including Apocalypse Now, Hamburger Hill, Full Metal Jacket and of course images of Napalm Girl. Oh, and not forgetting MASH! The Americans infamously dumped millions of gallons of Agent Orange onto the country in order to destroy Vietnam's jungles and ultimately the cover it provided the Viet Cong. Interestingly, Ben Tre was mentioned in the Viet Cong's failed Tet offensive of 1968 where the town was pretty much destroyed by the Americans who were actually trying to save it.

Well things have certainly moved on in terms of agriculture since the 60's. Overseas investment has meant that small businesses such as cocoa farmers have flourished, making Vietnam one of the newest and most exciting cocoa producers in the world. 

In 2010, I reviewed two limited edition bars of chocolate from the UK's very own Marc Demarquette, a fine chocolate specialist. You can read the review here. The quality of Vietnam's cocoa is born out by the fact that Marc is still using their cocoa today, to find out more click here.


Ok, back to Samuel and Vincent, two Frenchman who followed their gut instincts and set up Marou. Essentially these guys have escaped the daily grind in spectacular fashion. Landing in Saigon where they literally hunt down the best and most interesting cocoa beans, design their own chocolate making equipment and then produce some amazing bean to bar chocolates. Voila! Now their chocolate is sold and enjoyed around the world.

Firstly, this is a big bar of chocolate not your measly 70g that seems to be standard and secondly it has been beautifully packaged and presented especially with a sumptuously thick golden outer. If James Bond purchased chocolate then this is what he'd buy.

I'm not usually a great fan of chocolate with a cocoa content over 65%. However, the fluidity of this bar is excellent with only a slight chalky mouthfeel.
A deep 'forest floor' aroma emanates from the bar as you open up the packaging. The chocolate is really well made and melts quickly with a relatively high fruit acidity with hints of liquorice. Overall a very enjoyable bar of chocolate, irresistible and super sexy....I've obviously eaten too much chocolate!

Buy online from Chocolatiers, priced at £5.35.

Marou is certainly doing good!