Pret A Manger - Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt

Happy Saturday! 

And they size isn't everything and Pret's dark chocolate bar with sea salt only weighs in at a mighty 25g and I quote, 'full of melt-y, chocolate-y loveliness'.  It is even made in a tiny chocolate kitchen, images of Oompa Loompas spring to mind as they beaver feverishly away in this little cuisine of chocolate.

If you're not aware of Pret A Manger then I can only assume you've been living in the Outer Hebrides for many years!  To my surprise they do have an outlet in Aberdeen so it is likely that they will have a shop in the Outer Hebrides in the not too distant future!  Pret provide a quality range of handmade sandwiches, salads, soup, porridge, and much, much more, using natural ingredients. They originated in London (circa 1986) and have been slowly setting up outposts across the land and even Chelmsford can boast of having a Pret!  Essex will never be the same. Hong Kong, Paris and New York also have a Pret. 

Their sandwiches and snacks are not cheap but even in these harsh, must watch the pennies times, you very rarely see an empty shop.  Customers just can't seem to get enough of them and I suppose they are the Whole Foods of the sandwich world. They have high ethical values when it comes to ingredients and imaginative sandwich fillings seem to hit the spot with their clientele.  Their only achilles heel for me is their coffee which has a very strange aftertaste.

Obviously, Pret have a genius or two working in their marketing department and their products always have a great look and feel with a particular message or passion fact.  According to Passion Fact No.10 and I quote. 'Having seen the ruthless buying of commodity crops (like cocoa) firsthand, our chocolatiers are passionate about trading fairly '.  From the sale of every bar a donation is made to organisations that support West African farmers.

This 54% dark chocolate gives up a good but certainly not overpowering aroma of tobacco as the silver wrapping is removed. A very 'liquid' and smooth dark chocolate that melts quickly to reveal the salt. The idea of mixing salt and chocolate always sounds weird to me but the combination is fantastic.  The salt will certainly set tongues a wagging!  The cocoa flavour is not all together lost as it hides in the background playing second fiddle to the salt.  Overall this is a tasty piece of chocolate ideal for that mid-day snack. This little bar of deliciousness will set you back a pricey £0.99 for 25g. A deserved 7/10.

Chocolate News:  Chocolate Week (8-14 October) is only a few days away and you can check out some of the great events taking place by following this link, Chocolate Week.  The main event Chocolate Unwrapped  takes place on 13 October will attract a lot of attention so book your tickets early to avoid disappointment!  This year's event has moved to the Film Museum in Covent Garden. All the great names of chocolate will be attending including Paul A Young, William Curley, and Duffy Sheardown from Red Star, to name just a few.  Interesting to see that Bakeries and Delis are now included in the line up this year. The power of the Great British Bake Off indeed! 

In other news Mars has distanced itself from deep fried mars bars a well known  Scottish snack that apparently originated in Stonehaven, Aberdeen.  Lovers of this snack even prefer their batter to be made with Irn-Bru. Mars argued that this product does not fit the companies promotion of healthy living. Need I say more. On the plus side Mars have opened a dedicated Research Centre in Slough at a cost of £6M and employing 100 people. Since 1932 Mars Bar have been made in Slough producing 2.5 million bars a day from their Dundee Road plant. Staggering!

At Barry Callebaut's factory in Banbury, Oxford workers have gone on strike. As profits have steadily increased bosses have been topping up their wage packets and given themselves pay rises of 79%. Whilst their hard working employees only receive a 2% rise. Naughty, naughty....

More about Pret chocolate read one of my previous reviews.. http://chocchick.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/prets-milk-chocolate.html

Chocolate Unwrapped 2010

Well I managed to fit in a visit to one event during Chocolate Week and I'm really pleased I did. What a great show. Chocolate Unwrapped took place at Vinopolis just off Stoney Street. It was a beautiful day and London was looking  it's best. Fortunately we managed to arrive just in time to listen to Paul A Young and taste some of his delicious chocolate brownies and sample some of his juniper berry and cocoa nib creations. There were a lot of people there but he managed to provide everybody with a generous sample. Not only was he presenting but he was also manning his stall which is always good to see.


The list of exhibitors was impressive including Artisan du Chocolat, William Curley, Paul a Young, Melt, Rococo, Rabot Estate, Duffy Sheardown, Divine, Matcha, chocolateandlove, Auberge du Chocolat, Baruzzo, GoDo chocolate, The Chocolate Café, Original Beans, Cocouture, Cacao Sampaka, Lucky's, Jeff de Bruges, Nicky Grant, Cococru, Patchi, Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons.


Chocolate samples were everywhere and by the time we'd been round the room a couple of times we couldn't eat anymore. William Curley had some delicious chocolates to sample and one that sticks in my mind was a dark truffle filled with a dark chocolate ganache and raspberry jelly. It was amazing. Slightly odd was the SMOKE offering from MIST which will not be on my Christmas list as it didn't agree with me. However, I did buy a SEA SALT bar which will be featured soon. GoDo Chocolate also had some interesting and very tasty bars. The oddly named chocolateandlove had a mix of their own brand and other Chocolatiers, a 70% wild Bolivian dark chocolate was available to taste which was excellent. 


Nicky Grant had some fantastic wedding cake ideas and beautiful fresh chocolates which tasted divine. The centre piece on the right is made with white chocolate from Venezuela. Nicky, apologies for the awful picture! 
If you have time I recommend a visit to Nicky's website for some truly stunning pictures!


These are just some of the goodies that we amassed from today's visit all to feature on the blog at some stage. I was interested to see the huge range of packaging used and how the majority of the more expensive brands had fairly basic packaging for their bars e.g. William Curley and Paul A Young. I purchased a 70% Autumn bar from Paul A Young which was in a simple cellophane wrapper, nothing flash about that but the chocolate tasted fantastic. Isn't that what we want?

A very enjoyable couple of hours!

Chocolate Week - 11th to 17th October 2010 - Update

OCTOBER IS CHOCTOBER

TOP LONDON CHOCOLATE WEEK EVENTS

Chocolate Week, the nations favourite themed week, celebrating real chocolate takes place from 11^th-17^th October and involves events all over the UK.

·        Chocolate Unwrapped, Chocolate Unwrapped; stands from top chocolate companies, talks from authors and chocolatiers, chocolate experiences and a stunning exhibition of chocolate art. 16^th & 17^th October at Vinopolis, Borough, London. www.chocolate-unwrapped.co.uk

·         Claridges - William Curley will be setting up shop at Claridges and creating his signature chocolate mousses and pastries for the hotels famous afternoon tea

·         Test your chocolate knowledge with our chocolate week quiz. Renowned food writer and author of’ How to be a Better Foodie’, Sudi Pigott, has come up with this delectable, fun and tongue-in-cheek quiz - give your innate chocolate knowledge a gentle work-out and exercise your tasting skills to identify some mystery chocolate centres through this one off event. Tuesday 12^th October £30 including 3 course dinner. Northbank Restaurant, One Pauls Walk, London, EC4V 3QH Tel: 020 7329 9299 or e: info@northbankrestaurant.com to book

·         A week of events at Selfridges including a La Maison du Chocolat pop-up chocolate shop and a tasting and book signing from chocolate maker Willie Harcourt-Cooze.

·         Brown’s Hotel chocolate pedicures, guests can sip either a chocolate martini, or a hot chocolate whilst enjoying this pedicure which starts with a gentle foot massage using warm chocolate sauce and is followed by an invigorating exfoliation using brown sugar and chocolate. . This 90 minute pedicure costs £85.  For spa reservations please call 0207 518 4009. Brown’s Hotel, Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4BP The hotel is also offering chocolate afternoon teas, chocolate cocktails and sweet suite treats.

·         Hotel Chocolat launch a series of Tasting Adventures – comparative chocolate tastings aimed at encouraging chocolate lovers to take the next step in their chocolate appreciation. Taking place at their Rabot Estate store, Borough on 11^th, 13^th and 16^th October and their High Street Kensington store on 14^th October. www.hotelchocolat.co.uk

·         Thorntons – free continental chocolate for everyone visiting a Thorntons store during the week. www.thorntons.co.uk

·         Have you cried laughing watching Lucy (from the classic I Love Lucy) trying to pack chocolates as fast as possible at the end of a belt? Well Artisan du Chocolat have, so are inviting 6 pairs to experience a fun competition doing just that. 13^th October at their Kent atelier. http://chocolate-week.co.uk/index.php/event/lucy_and_the_chocolate_factory_fun_event/340/

·         Divine chocolate recipes from top chefs such as Tom Aiken, Richard Bertinet and Lilly Vanilli. www.divinechocolate.com

·         Charbonnel et Walker host a chocolate and fragrance evening, English chocolates, truffles and fragrances are paired to create a unique sensory experience. Wednesday 13^th October at Charbonnel et Walker in Mayfair. http://chocolate-week.co.uk/index.php/event/charbonnel_et_walker_and_miller_harris_chocolates_fragrance_evening_-_/384/

·         Chocolate Week and Cocktail Week to meet in this chocolate and cocktail evening hosted by Chocolate Ecstasy Tours. Drink cocktails, see a cocktail making demonstration, taste a selection of tempting chocolate truffles from the UK’s fantastic chocolatiers, expand your chocolate knowledge and leave with a Chocolate Ecstasy goody bag. There will also be live music and savoury tapas. 14^th October £45 per person  e: booking@chocolateecstasytours.com to book

·         Chocolate dinner on the Banks of the Tay with The Highland Chocolatier. 15^th October including Roast Venison, 100% Chocolate Sauce, Pierre Kauffmann Cabbage & Roasted Potatoes. http://chocolate-week.co.uk/index.php/event/the-night-of-the-golden-ticket/534

More details on the above events and the hundreds of other events taking place around the country at www.chocolate-week.co.uk/events

Contact kate@nudgepr.co.uk mbl: 07801 442733 for more information on

Chocolate Week or for an informed spokesperson to talk about chocolate

and the UK chocolate industry.

Chocolate Week - 11th to 17th October 2010

Chocolate Week is almost upon us and there are a number of very exciting events taking place all over the United Kingdom. Take a peak at the Chocolate Week website for further details of some of the brilliant events coming up over the next few days.


I've picked out some of the events that I think deserve a little mention.


Divine is sponsoring this celebration of chocolate for another year and has events going on throughout the week and across the United Kingdom. 


If you're in Brighton why not pop along to the Terre a Terre vegetarian restaurant on 13th October.


Rococo are putting on a blindfolded chocolate tasting which sounds amazing and difficult! To quote the website, "A higher level of chocolate tasting! By using only four senses you will be transported by smell, taste and your memories." This takes place on 14th October from 6pm, booking essential. I have to say that Rococo Chocolates are involved in loads of events going on, some from just £5.00!




In celebration of Chocolate Week, The Botanist on Sloane Square is offering a limited edition luxury Chocolate Afternoon Tea. There will be plenty of chocolate treats to choose from including homemade chocolate chip scones served with Devonshire clotted cream, chocolate lavender tart, chocolate cherry roulade, chocolate brownie, a peppermint slice and chocolate delice. If you have the space then there's a selection of Rocco chocolate truffles on offer. To wash all this down you can choose from a pot of Jing tea or the Botanist's acclaimed hot chocolate made with chocolate flakes and served with a Rococo chocolate stirring stick. At £17 per person this is pretty reasonable.

If you're in Chelsea next week pop into Demarquette Fine Chocolate where they are offering 'Buy One Get One Free' throughout chocolate week. Why not meet Marc Demarquette in the chocolate department at Fortnum and Mason on 14th October from 13:30 to 17:00 and sample some of his chocolates.


There are just too many events to mention but visit the Chocolate Week website and you can simply choose events in your area. Nothing in Essex though!


Whatever you do have a fantastic Chocolate Week!