Venchi 75% Chilli Chocolate

Somewhere in Scotland?

Before we get down to the delicious subject that is chocolate, I wanted to talk a little about politics. It struck me recently that both Scotland and Ukraine are fighting to remove a government that they despise, albeit in totally different ways, to stand alone. Why is it that the UK government is acting like particularly difficult parents who will not allow their errant tenagers to expand their boundaries. As Scottish Independence looms, both George Osborne and the EU pile on their 'school boy' bullying tactics. If they will not let Scotland share their currencies what options are there for Alex Salmond? Perhaps, they'd prefer the 'renminbi' currency of The Peoples Republic of China. They could probably buy Scotland! How would you like that George? Let the Scotts rule and stand alone from what is fast becoming the United States of Europe.......obviously George isn't aware that curling is taking over the world, they'll be no stopping them now. 

As I taste chocolate the other half is scraping and scratching her way through the downstairs cloakroom as the decorating season begins in earnest once again. I say, "DIY" but, I will supply encouragement and coffee from the sidelines. Anyway grouting is hard work and bad for a man's knees. In fact, I have outsourced all DIY to the other half without having to go through an expensive re-tendering process. A masterstroke which I'm sure I will regret in years to come!

£3.50 for a 45g bar

Venchi - in the 1800's Silviano Venchi, based in Turin, brought his passion for fine chocolate to fruition. From the ripe old age of 16 he was engrossed in the making of chocolate and in 1878 he opened his first shop. His forte was dark chocolate with chopped, and caramelised hazelnuts that eventually became known as nougatine. Venchi chocolate is Gluten Free.

Today, Venchi is a gourmet chocolatier producing over 350 different chocolates exporting them across the world. 

Venchi are also into artisan Gelato and you can find their shop in London's Covent Garden where the gelato is made on the premises everyday. Many of their products can be purchased online from Amazon.

Break off a little Venchi square and pop it into you mouth. Don't chomp it! 

A chocolate with a 75% cocoa content takes a while to melt but eventually the warmth of your mouth melts the chocolate releasing the chilli heat which builds in intensity. 

The subtle burn gradually moves from the tongue and roof of the mouth to the back of the throat leaving your tongue slightly numb.

Overall not a bad experience as chilli chocolate goes and I'd probably only have a couple of squares and then squirrel the remainder away until later.

Venchi use a chilli powder to produce this bar and the heat factor is not overbearing in any way, but the dryness of the mouthfeel is not to my liking. 6/10. 

Belle Epoque Handmade Chocolates

We discovered Belle Epoque at the recent Abergavenny Food Festival. They were doing a blistering trade in their honeycomb chunks and chilli discs! First thoughts, packaging is simple and does the job but overall presentation could be better.

Seven seriously lovely big chunks of milk chocolate covered honeycomb. A milk chocolate with a 39% cocoa content was used to make this rather wondrous and very delicious chocolate confection.

Chunky handmade honeycomb dipped in chocolate. Honeycomb is light, airy, gooey with a slightly chewy and crunchiesque texture. Just how I like it!

Not overly sweet and guaranteed to stick to every part of your molars. Your tongue will be wiggling for ages. I really enjoyed this and a lot of care has gone into producing the honeycomb, perhaps one of the better ones that I've experienced in a long while. 8/10.

Five dark chocolate (54% cocoa content) disks sprinkled with dried chilli flakes.

The amount of chilli flakes on each disc sets you up for possibly a mind blowing 'heat' experience when in fact it is all a little bit mellow.

The dark chocolate has a good snap and is fairly sweat but goes well with the chilli. However, both the chocolate and chilli lack a bit of bite, for my tastes. The heat does linger on but it is not overly strong. Unlikely to cause any lasting scarring! Perhaps, a little more experimentation required with different varieties of chillies will resolve this. 5/10.

Belle Epoque describe themselves as a small artisan chocolate maker creating wedding and party favours for special occasions. Happy times!