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

Labooko Zotter Kaffee

The St John Betjeman train

Southend-on-Sea, reminds me of an old mans mouth slightly fleshy, watery and slack after years of consuming too many sugary donuts and greasy fish n chips. A face battered by strong oily winds blowing in across the Thames estuary from Canvey Island. Teeth resembling a mix of slightly yellowing crowns, a few unsightly gaps, the odd blackened incisor and finally a splattering of pearly white shinners that are so intense they blind you with their brilliance. Southend-on-Sea, similar to Las Vegas is perhaps better seen at night. 

Dream Machine Classic Lancia Flaminia

Southend pier is without doubt a 'pearly white' if we are to continue the mouth teeth thing... It is the longest pleasure pier in the world and a Grade 2 listed building with amazing views of mudflats that extend for miles. 

Apparently, in the 19th century wealthy tourists would not stop at Southend preferring to birth their yachts at Margate thus avoiding the mud. In the olden days, when Councils had bright ideas, they decided to build this lengthy piece of wood into the estuary. This meant you could dock your schooner at anytime without having to worry about tides or mud, for that matter. 

The pier has its own train that runs up and down the whole length but you can walk the 7,080 ft for £1 and back again after a rest on the sundeck. 

This is not Jamie's Cafe

Disappointingly, Jamie Oliver's cafe looked as though it had seen better days. The film production team had long left and the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Jonathan Ross and friend Jimmy Doherty had obviously moved elsewhere. Jamie Oliver refurbished the cafe in 2013, turning it into an ice-cream parlour. Not much going on now? Well, who needs Jamie Oliver when you can have fantastic views of mudflats, big ships, Curlews and Oystercatchers!  

ACHTUNG nicht essen!

Ok, lets talk about chocolate from Zotter. I purchased this bar of Zotter Kaffee from a fantastic market in Vienna several months ago and as all the packaging is written in German I can't tell you too much about it. However, Zotter does have a good tip and warns you not to eat the chocolate unless you follow his top tip, "If you want to be a fine chocolate maker then you must not chew the chocolate but, enjoy the melting". Well something like that...

This has to be one of the most straightforward and underwhelming chocolates I've ever tasted from Zotter. Perhaps that's the point.....If it hadn't been for the packaging I'd find it hard to believe it was from Zotter. A million miles away from 'Plum and Caramelised Bacon'. I can only say the milk chocolate is smooth, creamy and sweet with a delicious and inoffensive coffee flavour. The packaging is probably the best thing about this bar but I did polish off both bars!

Labooko 2 Bars - Zotter Coffee

Chai Tea Milk Chocolate - Sue Gilmour

Sue Gilmour's Wonderful World of Chocolate, is the 'Kew Gardens' of the chocolate world. Sue is a keen gardener according to her website and can often be found in a polytunnel busy cultivating her veggie patch. 

On the surface gardening and chocolate don't seem to go 'hand in hand' but combining flavours and chocolate is obviously Sue's forte. 

The wrapper is as important as the chocolate according to Sue who gained inspiration from illustrators of the early 19th century when designing her cover.  

As it happens Sue's husband, Doug Gilmour, just happens to be a talented artist and actually designed and created the wrappers for each of the Botanical Bars. What a team!

I came across Sue's chocolate at last year's fantastic Abergavenny Food Festival, she was tucked away in a very busy and humid tent some way away from the main halls. However, as it was such a lovely day the whole event was mobbed and location didn't seem to matter. 

It is only now that I thought I'd better write a review of this lovely looking chocolate bar. It was good to see the 'best before' date was still several months away! My draw is full of chocolate and I have to keep an eye on dates and sometimes I just lose track! 

Her bars are very reminiscent of those of Amelia Rope and Rococo and her current range includes some interesting flavours such as 'Luxury Salted Lemon' or 'Orange Chilli'. Prices for bars start at £2.50 for a 45g bar and £4.50 for a 100g bar. Postage and packing is £2.80. 

A range of plain bars, using chocolate from around the world, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Tanzania are also available online. However, the website is still under construction and a number of products are yet to make it onto the world wide web. 

I selected the Chai Tea Milk Chocolate bar which won a 'Great Taste Award in 2013'. Chai is the word for tea in many parts of the world and is usually a combination of spices including cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger to name just a few.

Chai Tea Milk Chocolate 45g

This particular bar contains, tea, cinnamon, ginger, cassia and cardamom. This bar is all about flavour rather than chocolate. The sweet milk chocolate melts quickly and your mouth is quickly enveloped by the taste of Chai and then cinnamon and then cardamom....my palette isn't great and I couldn't pick out the ginger and have never knowingly eaten cassia so didn't know what I was looking for. The flavour of Chai lingers on but the overall impression is that this bar of chocolate is well balanced and I just love the flavour. 8/10. 

Good job Sue!

Florentines - Essex Style

Apart from the cream these are all the ingredients you require.

Now all chocolate production has come to an end for a few weeks, I can turn my attention to baking. 

If my memory serves me correctly I don't believe I have made Chocolate Florentines since I was at school which is far too long ago to even think about. 

From what I can remember these can be tricky little blighters especially in terms of timing so, don't have too many Christmas Disaronnos' as you will require all your faculties for this one! 

They will make a fantastic gift for somebody if you're still out there searching for that special, handmade gift.

Ingredients:

25g butter
75g golden caster sugar
10g plain flour
65 ml double cream
50g whole almonds, cut into thin slivers
50g ready flaked almonds
50g whole candied peel, chopped
25g glace cherries, chopped
25g angelica, finely chopped
175g milk chocolate


Method:

• Using a heavy based saucepan pour in the butter and caster sugar and allow to melt on a very low heat and continue stirring until mixture has melted. 

• Add the cream and stir until blended

• Stir in the cherries, angelica, nuts and peel and flour and continue cooking for a further minute.

• Remove the saucepan from heat for a few minutes and allow to cool

• Place heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto prepared baking sheets ensuring there is sufficient space between each one, as they expand while baking.

• Flatten each spoonful with the back of a teaspoon and then bake on a high shelf for about 10-12 minutes at 190 degrees or 170 C, fan oven or gas mark 5. Watch them carefully as they will change colour very quickly from golden to deep brown in an instant!

• When ready take them out of the oven and allow them to cool and harden for 2-3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a wire baking tray.

• Melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of warm water making sure the water does not touch the basin. This will take between 5 and 10 minutes. 

• Using a teaspoon coat the bottom of each Florentine with melted milk chocolate.

This recipe makes 20 Florentines and will take approx. 60 minutes to make a batch. Top Tip: I will make them slightly smaller next time to make approx. 30.

Swiss Milk Chocolate with Almonds

Lindt - Swiss milk chocolate with Bourbon Vanilla Flavouring. Today, time is short so, this is my idea of speed dating chocolate style!

Setting the scene - Chocolate reviewer meets chocolate bar.

First impressions - Smart outer packaging with gold lettering make a good impression. A bit old school, stuffy and colours not really to my liking.  A cheeky transparent window is catching my attention though......a little tease of what's to come maybe. Wording is all in French so, some things may get lost in translation.  This is a new bar from Lindt's Passion range using nibbed almonds and bourbon flavoured vanilla from Madagascar.  In fact it is so new it isn't even featured on their website?

31% Cocoa - Swiss Milk Chocolate

Aroma - very strong vanilla with undertones of bourbon. Not always a good thing on a first date. How rude is that smelling of alcohol on a first date! The smell is very sickly sweet and a bit cloying.

Naked Chocolate - This is our first date and we're already naked.....well the chocolate is, not me. Who do you think I am!  The bar is studded with nibbed almonds and dusted with vanilla seeds. The strong bourbon aroma is now actually very appealing.  The mix of textures, rough nuts and creamy sweet chocolate is delicious and I'm already demolishing this bar.

Conclusion - After this little soiree I think we'll be going out on a second date! Overall slightly too sweet for me but undoubtedly enjoyable, 6/10.

Chocolate Bunny - Marks & Spencer

Its all been happening in Chelmsford this week.  A deer runs through the town centre knocking a pedestrian to the floor and Simon Burns, Minister of State, Department of Transport, declares that he spends £80,000 per year on a chauffeur-driven ministerial car to and from Westminster.  Surely, a First Class rail ticket to Westminster would be more cost effective?  Simon defended his use of a government car by stating that he had classified papers that he needed to work on.  Isn't the Minister aware that there must be hundreds, no thousands of business men and women carrying sensitive documents to and from work......Simon, they use a briefcase and it has a lock. You must try one. 

It wasn't a wild rumor after all! Marks and Spencer has already started selling their Easter range of chocolate novelty items. The tins of Quality Street are still only half full and chocolate Easter eggs start appearing on the shelves! 

So, having waited patiently in the 'Returns' queue at my local Marks and Spencer's for far too long I decided a little treat was in order. 

Foiled Bunny

Described as a 'hollow milk chocolate bunny, weighing in at 180g. Priced at £5.00 or £2.78 per 100g. Wrapped in 'Easter' green foil, easily detachable bow and fluffy tail. All very cute!  In my opinion this is Marks and Spencer's take on the famous Lindt Gold Bunny.  Tesco is currently selling 3 Lindt Gold Bunnies for £1.20. At 10g each this makes them £6.00 per 100g.  Alternatively, you can buy a 200g Lindt Gold Bunny for £4.49 or £2.25 per 100g plus shipping from Lindt direct and your bunny comes with a little red bell.

30% cocoa solids

Unfortunately, my bunny looks like it has met a blunt instrument head on! I was very careful with bunnykins but, alas he has sustained a bit of damage and perhaps some outer packaging would have helped.  But, hey its going to be broken where its going!  None of the features are highlighted so the overall presentation is a bit plain and flat.  Interestingly, the chocolate is made in the UK but ribbon and fluffy tail are made in China.  Can't we make anything in our own country anymore?

The figure is well made with an even spread of chocolate throughout. Whilst the chocolate is sweet it is not overly sickly sweet and cloying.  Made with dried whole milk it has a smooth and velvety feel with an enjoyable caramel flavour.  An tasty piece of chocolate but, perhaps slightly expensive for what it is.  Some hidden chocolate treasures hidden within the bunny would have made its £5.00 price tag more attractive. Overall 6/10.

Posted by Richard.

Cinnamon by William Curley

Before the onset of a serious dose of cabin fever and the imminent arrival of the next weather front, we made a hasty exit into the murk.  Seriously, there is only so much Christmas TV a person can take!   With more than fifty shades of grey clouds rolling in over the horizon we decided Thorndon Country Park was just a bit too far and headed for Galleywood Common instead.  What an insightful decision that was to be.  

I have visited Galleywood Common several times in the past and walked through and around it on several occasions.  I have always been struck by the white fencing that can be seen from the road at various points. It never dawned on me that Galleywood Common was once a racecourse. Doh! How did I miss that?  

Apparently, the vibrant and colourful sport of horse racing had been taking place in Galleywood for 176 years from 1759 to 1935.  Allegedly, it was one of the oldest racecourses in the country probably dating back to King Charles ll (1660-1680).  

Galleywood Racecourse

It must have been an extremely exciting place to visit with all types of gambling and prize fighting taking place including, cock-fighting, rat-hunts and dog-fights to name just a few.  There were also special booths set up around the racecourse where visitors could part-take of food, beer, some fighting before finishing off with a spot of dancing...not Strictly I'm sure.  

Thousands of people came to see the steeplechase meetings which must have had a huge economic impact on the local community.  

In 1803 the English were particularly concerned about being invaded by Napoleon so, a huge star shaped Fort with artillery batteries was set atop massive earthworks to keep the French at bay should they decide to pay us a visit.  Galleywood Church is the only church in the country to be built in the middle of a racecourse. Unfortunately, the money ran out and the racecourse closed and was sold to Chelmsford Borough Council in 1942.  Interestingly, racing could be set to return to Essex at Great Leighs racecourse in April 2013.......I wonder if they'll have any cock-fighting?  

All that walking and fact finding has given me an appetite for some chocolate. Not that I really need any after all those mince pies and slices of Stollen! 

32% Milk Chocolate

This particular bar of chocolate is produced and presented in the same style as William Curley's House Bars.  The outer packaging and thick gold paper is excellent providing a quality feel to the product.  This bar itself is described as, 'milk chocolate hinted with cinnamon, the delicate spicing adding to the caramel notes'. 

50g Milk Chocolate with a
hint of Cinnamon. £4.50

 The finish of the chocolate surface looks scuffed and scratched and I'm not sure whether this is due to the packaging or whether it was due to my poor photography skills?  The not overly sweet milk chocolate melts quickly with a smooth buttery mouth feel and caramel taste.  Unfortunately, after several chunks more I'm still trying to find the cinnamon.....not even a hint. 

Disappointingly, an indifferent bar of chocolate which didn't set the taste buds a bubbling. A hint of cinnamon is not enough....I need a nudge, nudge, wink, wink's worth of cinnamon! Overall 5/10. To buy click here.

Meiji Milk Chocolate

I wish I could say that I personally purchased this bar from a little corner shop in Tokyo. But, that would be telling an untruth so, I have to admit that one of my more well traveled acquaintances actually picked this up for me on a recent business trip to the mysterious land of Japan.  

From what I can gather from the Company Website, thank goodness for Google Translate, they produce anything from powdered milk and baby food to chocolate bars and mouthwash!  As a group the company employs just over 15,000 people and has sales revenues of one hundred million trillion Yen. My calculator just broke....Click here for more behemoth facts!

Unfortunately, this bar was damaged in transit so apologies to Meiji. I like the packaging and for a moment its dark colour makes me think I'm going to be eating a dark bar of chocolate.  

Once out of its packaging the bar smells strongly of condensed milk mixed with cocoa. The bar is split up into 15 little squares each bearing the mark of Meiji.  Weighing in at a mighty 55 grams this bar looks like it should weigh twice as much.  However, the chocolate is extremely thin similar to Easter Egg chocolate or perhaps a bar of Lindt.  You can feel the chocolate melting in your fingers as the first chunk is broken off.  

The not overly sweet tasting chocolate melts quickly with a slight cloying mouth feel with a hint of bitterness at the end.  In comparison to a European milk chocolate that I've just tasted it is certainly nowhere near as sweet and you don't get that overpowering 'milk powder' taste. According to the company website this product is ideal for chocolate ganache and chocolate cake. 

Overall not a bad bar of chocolate but the a slightly cloying mouth feel makes you wish you'd purchased a bottle of Meiji mouthwash at the same time! 5/10. To save money on air travel you can buy direct for Amazon UK at £2.05 per bar. 

House Milk - William Curley

Today, I'm starting off on a bit of a downer. I'm not impressed. Nothing to do with William Curley's chocolate as not a chunk has passed my lips. It is my awful lack of planning that I have real concerns with. Not only did I manage to miss 'Chocolate Unwrapped' in London this year but, somehow Salon du Chocolat also managed to escape my chocolate radar. Perhaps, the old grey cells are not firing on all cylinders. More planning is required next year to ensure I make one or both events. If you're free for the next couple of days you still have time to take a trip across the channel. The Salon du Chocolat ends on 4th November so, you still have time. But, if you like me and can't get your house in order then read all about it on this great blog, Paris Breakfasts.

Maybe some House Milk will cheer me up?  I was rather taken by the House Dark a few days ago and having just eaten the last few morsels I'm now getting 'liquorice' that wasn't there a few days ago....delicious.

House Milk 32%

As with the House Dark the packaging remains similar with just a change of colour. All very elegant and the thick gold paper adds a touch of opulence.  There is no indication as to where their chocolate originates and I do find this a little frustrating.  I did follow this up with William Curley's office. However, I received a slightly evasive answer to this question and I quote, "The House Bars (as with some restaurants who have house whites and reds) are there to compliment a variety and range of other products we create. If a customer simply cannot choose or wishes to take something that best represents us, then the House Bars best represent this". It wasn't quite what I was hoping for but I do agree with their reasoning. 

House Milk - 50g

This is a milk chocolate with a 32% cocoa content including cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and whole milk powder. As you would expect this is a well made bar of chocolate which has a good snap. In terms of flavour it is light with a very slight aftertaste in the background.  There is just enough cocoa to give it some depth but, I believe it lacks real charisma and oomph! Mouth feel is smooth and the chocolate melts easily on the tongue.  Personally, I think a higher cocoa content should have been used to represent a House Bar, but maybe that's just me. Sweetness levels are just about right.

Overall the improvements made in packaging are there for everybody to see and it will make a lovely gift. However, flavour is generally lacking and more work is required to improve this especially as it is a House Bar. Hence, why my score is on the low side, 5/10. A 50g bar will cost you £4.50 when you buy on line. Buy now!

Milk Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts - Swiss Style

Is it me or is it just coincidence that things happen in threes. For example, at the weekend a Swiss customer visited my chocolate stall and tasted my chocolate explaining that, "10 o'clock in the morning is not my usual 'chocolate time',  I have 200 grams of chocolate at 2 o'clock everyday".  He wasn't joking either!  A few days later a friend visited Switzerland and returned laden down with many chunky and colourful chocolate bars, without any prompting from me.  Today, I read in the Metro that the Von Trapp family who inspired The Sound of Music and escaped from Austria into Switzerland had ancestors in Bolton!  Uncanny, don't you think. Obviously, if I'm reading the signs correctly I need to book a skiing holiday immediately. But, maybe not.  If I remember the last time I visited Switzerland, some thirty years ago, I came down the mountain on all fours and minus a couple of ski poles! Not something I wish to repeat.

Visit their Swiss Website to enter a Competition

Nestle UK and Ireland is a subsidiary of Nestle SA, described interestingly as the world's, nutrition, health and wellness company. In the UK and Ireland alone they employ 7,000 people. They produce well known brands such as, Kit Kat, Nescafe, Smarties, Buxton, Go Cat and Shreddies.  The majority of these products originated in Vevay, Switzerland. The company started in 1866, was the brainchild of Henri Nestle, who came up with a substitute for breastfeeding mothers who could not feed their children.  His first product had a really catchy name, "Farine Lactee Henri Nestle", the brand name might not have been a success but his formula was and he saved many children. Read more here about the history of Nestle. 

The Cailler connection came about when in 1819 Francois-Louis Cailler opened the first chocolate making factory in Switzerland.  His first shop was near Corsier-sur-Vevay.  He bought an existing chocolate factory in 1825, the Chenaux Ziegler mill, to produce high quality chocolate using industrial processes, that ordinary people could afford.  Cailler’s greatest innovation was a delightfully smooth chocolate that was formed into bars. The idea quickly became a sensation all over the world. In 1875, Daniel Peter combined Cailler’s quality chocolate with his neighbour, Henri Nestle’s condensed milk to produce a deliciously smooth and creamy milk chocolate. Cailler soon merged with Charles Amedee Kohler, known for the invention of hazelnut chocolate, and were later purchased by manufacturing giant, Nestle, in 1929.

This 100g bar is described as, 'Milk Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts', containing sweetened condensed whole milk 39%, sugar, hazelnuts 24%, etc, etc. It also contains 28% cocoa solids. It has a GDA of 5% (Guideline Daily Amount) but, as it is all in Swiss I can't translate it. You'll not be surprised to learn that there is a powerful aroma of hazelnuts coming from this bar. At this time of year don't leave your bar unattended in a park or a squirrel might nab it!  And yes, "what has a hazelnut in every bite", does spring to mind as the first chunks are devoured. The chocolate is silky smooth and sweet but not over the top and reminds me of Topic without that distinctive caramel flavour.  The nuts are crunchy and plentiful. 

An enjoyable 'industrial' bar of chocolate that's just an 'easy eat'.  I'm sure Swiss chocolate has much, much more to offer in terms of quality but, where can the best Swiss chocolates be found? Over to you.....

Rajoles - Chocolate Con Leche 40%

On a recent trip to Whole Foods I picked up a fantastic looking bar of chocolate, Rajoles, by Enric Rovira of Barcelona. But, before we get to those sweet delights lets talk retail. 

If you are like me and enjoy everything there is to know about food and retail then I highly recommend a visit to the Kensington branch of Whole Foods.  There are other outlets in Camden, Clapham, Piccadilly and Stoke Newington.  I guarantee it will be an education on how our food should be presented and prepared.  You may balk at some of their prices, which I agree are off the scale when compared to the likes of Tesco, but, I guarantee you will come out more informed, wowed and perhaps a little lighter in the wallet.  No product is undersold and marketing is bold and in your face!  There are tasters everywhere and opportunities to win prizes or obtain sizeable discounts on certain offers.  The cheese-mongers was one of the best in terms of choice and just general presentation.  I was amazed to find out that you can even make your own peanut butter!  There are restaurants situated on the top floor, but they were going through an upgrade at the time of my visit so they're not looking their best right now. 

My only gripe with Whole Foods is their staff.  At the final stage of the journey the cashiers were an absolute let down.  None of them smiled and barely offered a welcome such was their boredom!  Ok, it was early in the morning but there can be no excuse for such poor customer interaction. I'm always impressed with female cashiers that can chug down 4 pints of water before you reach their till point!  Unfortunately,  I just can't shift that image however hard I try. Plus, the online survey monkey doesn't work...grr. Apart from that it's great.

Chocolate from Spain?  That certainly wasn't on my chocolate radar but this distinctive looking bar grabbed my attention. Rajoles, made by Enric Rovira.  According to his website it all started in 1993 whereupon a plan was hatched to open a new bakery selling all manner of chocolate delights created by Enric. If you have not come across Enric before you should check out some of the coolest looking chocolate images I've ever seen, especially the Easter Egg creations.  His chocolates are inspired by architectural elements of Barcelona.

Rajoles is the name they use for their chocolate bars. It is a polysemous (never used that word in a sentence before) word in Catalan meaning both slab and chocolate bar. 

This milk chocolate slab has a cocoa content of 40% and is sweet but not overly so.  Butterscotch is the main flavour to come through and the smooth milk chocolate melts sublimely on the tongue. I can't tell you where his cocoa originates but who cares when it tastes this good!

This is a delicious bar of chocolate that has been well made with perfect shine, snap and best of all no holes! A lot of thought has been put into the creation of this bar. In terms of price you're looking to pay £3.99 for a 100g slab which in comparison to some 'high end' chocolates is excellent value for money. 9/10.

In Barcelona the streets are paved with chocolate not gold!  How interesting and creative. Now, I only wish I'd picked up more than one bar!

Enric will be at Chocolate Unwrapped this weekend. To buy online click here.

Salted Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate

In terms of sport, summer seems to have arrived, but there are signs in the garden that things are also beginning to flourish.  Rather than fifty shades of green we now have some blue highlights making a brief appearance!  

England are progressing in the Euros and as usual driving us all crazy with their hopeless attempts at defending that goal mouth!

The British MotoGP is about to start with the gritty Carl Crutchlow back on his fearsome machine after falling off during practice. Thank god for air bags! Not only has he fractured his ankle but he also dislocated it!  British sportsman are a tough breed indeed!  So, Olympian's, I hope you're paying attention..... no backing out with a strained hamstring. No excuses allowed!


Okay, lets try some chocolate.....This particular bar of chocolate has been sitting at the bottom of my 'tasting bag' for ages, probably for good reason. Marks & Spencer must have decided to reign in the marketing budget on this one as the packaging isn't exactly
enticing and I have to say I've been putting this review off for sometime now. There is enough silver foil wrapped around this bar to roast a small chicken! Perhaps that's how you're supposed to recycle it?

100g Salted Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate

The Chocolate:  A milk chocolate containing 35% cocoa solids and made in Ireland doesn't fill me with optimism.  Described as a milk chocolate bar (60%) filled with smooth flowing salted caramel with a hint of sea salt (40%). The main ingredient is sugar with sea salt being at the very end of the list. Yeah, I know you only need a little salt! So, I'm not expecting this to be exceptional. In terms of aroma there are 'full on' wafts of caramel and sweet, sweet chocolate. The bar itself has a very shiny almost plastic appearance.  I have tasted Salted Caramels before but they are something I associate with skilled artisan chocolatiers such as Paul A Young rather than mass produced in a factory.

The chocolate itself is disappointing with very little cocoa flavour and just fades into the background. The liquid caramel is good and not overly strong but just lacks sufficient salt. This bar is never going to offend anybody as it is duller than a wet weekend, 4/10. Goes nicely with a cup of tea though!  Oh, here comes the sugar rush, temples throbbing...ouch this bar bites back!

La Gauloise and Classic Wheels

A French cafe, fine patisserie and chocolate from Belgian all on sale in a London side street.  Yes, a surprisingly strange mix indeed!  Situated between Baker Street tube station and Marylebone you can find La Gauloise. 
Surrounded on either side by two omni present high street food outlets, Pret and Tesco, this small but perfectly formed homage to French sweet delicacies continues to soldier on, well for the time being that is. There isn't room to swing a chat and you probably can't get WiFi unless you can log onto Pret next door. It always has a fantastic display of cakes and chocolate shapes to drool over in its front window.  The walls inside are packed with boxes of Panettone and what seems like a never ending selection of chocolates from Classic Wheels. Who?  Yes, ok we'll get to them in a minute.  Back to the cakes.....which I have to say are excellent and great value for money.   


Nearly everything is made by the owners with the exception of the Portuguese Custard Tarts which were very tasty by the way.  If you're rushing home and want a little taste of naughtiness without breaking the bank then this is the place for you.  La Gauloise can be found at 3a, Melcombe Street, London, NW1 6AE.  


So, from France to Belgium and the strangely named chocolate bar, Classic Wheels.  I'm sure J Clarkson would have a field day with that one. Perhaps, I should send him a bar especially as it has a picture of a very fast racing car on the front...I know its a tenuous link but, its a link!

The company originated back in 1998 and was part of the larger family run business, Gilis Group, a fine food company that started in 1909.  An interesting combination of art and food. Jaak De Konninck, the Belgian artist and Patrick Gilis, the food manufacturer resulted in the creation of a range of chocolate products under the brand names, Starbrook Airlines, Classic Wheels and Fleet. The company has a worldwide distribution and can be found in 76 countries and 170 airports.  The packaging is definitely retro and conjours up images of the 50's when the world was really changing for the better. To read more about their story follow the link.

The chocolate: Classic Wheels a chunky 100g bar with a cocoa content of 31%.  A sweet chocolate aroma with a smooth buttery taste. It's not too sweet and the cocoa is not too strong. It will not set the world of chocolate on fire but it does the job.  Especially if you're looking for that last minute gift as you rush through the airport terminal before your flight taxis down the runway without you!  If they don't like the chocolate they'll certainly enjoy collecting the beautifully decorated tins! Checkout the chocolate planes....


Overall I give this bar 5/10 for flavour and 9/10 for their original packaging concept which is totally different to the norm. This bar cost me £3.45 from La Gauloise.

36% Peruvian Milk Chocolate

A bank holiday weekend of flash floods, lightning, dramatic seas, bright sunshine and huge billowing cloudscapes. Southwold looking at its best and most dramatic. Not the type of weather for fishing but these guys don't seem to care, like water off a ducks back, they slip out from the safety of the harbour into the rolling and bubbling sea bringing home flashing Sea Bass, slippery brown Dover Soles, and long sword like Mackerel. A trip to Samantha's, one of the few fishmonger's left in Southwold, is a great place, excuse the pun, to realise that cod and haddock are not the only fish in the sea worth eating! 

Hissing Sid's Sssssister

Fish were not the only thing on the menu this weekend. Snakes, well a Grass Snake to be exact was momentarily stunned as we explored the reed beds just outside Wangford. Good picture of my shadow don't you think! I've been searching for Grass Snakes for years and in one weekend I've seen three!  Interesting to read in the Times that the average price of a house in Southwold is now £366k. So pleased I picked up two for the price of one in the 80's. Had I had the foresight then perhaps that last statement might be reasonably accurate. I can remember when 'Gingers' house, located on South Green, came on the market, if only I'd had a few extra quid in the bank! Oh,well no point crying over spilt milk and talking of milk that leads smoothly into my next review.

The Chocolate: As with my previous review of their Peruvian dark chocolate this is another Fairtrade and Carbon Neutral product care of Marks and Spencer. The full story can be found here. The packaging is attractive and as you would expect can be easily recycled. 

The chocolate itself has a 36% cocoa content which producers a delicious cocoa aroma without the background sweetness I've come to expect with some bars. This particular bar is described as being full bodied with rich caramel nutty notes. Well it does exactly what it says on the tin. The chocolate melts slowly and has a delicious velvety mouth feel with little sweetness in the background. Caramel is the main flavour that comes through as you move the chocolate around with your tongue.


For me this is a good bar of chocolate and at £1.99 for 100g it is excellent value. Its not outstanding but it is different to some offerings I've tasted recently. If you want to explore chocolate this is a good place to start especially with English tastes preferring such sweet, rough textured chocolate. I would like to see Marks and Spencer expand their range and experiment with some different chocolates. Fingers crossed!