Club News D154

Club News

The monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club

Issue 1210

Brrrrr…

Wrap up warm and be prepared for chilly weather with Winter Puddings – but hurry.

Find out more on page 4

GOLD! Top up your Olympic spirit with the Gold winners from Team HC at the Great Taste Awards.

See page 7

Get chocolaty Stephen (Green Tropics Group) and Adam helping to turn and sort the drying beans – as is the etiquette in Ghanaian villages

Back to Ghana As we reported last month, the key part of Club Director, Terry, and Hotel Chocolat Head of Chocolate Development, Adam’s, recent trip to Ghana was to establish the basis for the Medical Centre at Osuben – but there’s lots of other good news to tell you about too as Terry reveals:

1210NL

We first met up with our partners from The Green Tropics Group (GTG) – Isaac, Stephen and Robert – at our usual ‘base camp’, the Hotel Rojo in Nkawkaw. Together we visited the District Health officer Eric Odei to discuss the medical centre.

And from there we paid a visit to the Chief of Obokwahu, Osabrima Yeboah Afaris Boagyam II, to secure his support for the medical centre.

continued on page 8...

FOR LESS Join our National Chocolate Week celebrations with a special offer for members.

See page 13

Letter from the

Editor

S

ince 2004 I’ve been on each one of our regular Ghana trips but, unfortunately, I had to sit this latest one out. And reading Club Director, Terry’s, account of his visit that starts on the front page, it certainly sounds like I missed out. Not only did they make great leaps forward with our health centre project, they also met up with some old friends like Moses the cocoa farmer, David our Farmer Centre manager and, of course, Stephen, Isaac and Bob – the three Green Tropics guys with whom we’ve been working since 2002. That’s as well as a return visit to the beautifully kept grounds of the Pankesi cocoa research station, but that’s for another issue.

Also in this edition you’ll see that the Tasting Club is going to feature quite prominently in a number of selected Hotel Chocolat’s stores. As you’ll see on page 6, it makes clear the link between the ‘arduous’ tasting of brand new chocolate recipes we do here and the highest rated then going on to feature in the Hotel Chocolat range.

And finally this month, on page 15 we reveal the brand new beauty range from Hotel Chocolat – developed at

“

They also met up with some old friends like Moses the cocoa farmer, David our Farmer Centre manager and, of course, Stephen, Isaac and Bob…

”

Boucan Hotel on Saint Lucia. Cocoa is rich in all sorts of beneficial things and this range puts them to good use, which you can see for yourself on page 15!

Until next month, happy tasting!

Specially created to warm the cockles… your last chance to reserve Winter Puddings is on page 4

Simon Thirlwell Club News Editor

Send your letters to The Chocolate Tasting Club, Mint House, Royston SG8 5HL, or simply email me on simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk or via our website: www.chocs.co.uk We are waiting to hear from you!

Club News Editor: Simon Thirlwell; Contributors: Simon Thirlwell, Terry Waters.

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© The Chocolate Tasting Club plc 2012

Anatomy of a

truffle

D

ue to their similar shapes, chocolate truffles are

named after the highly sought-after fungi that have been dug up and used in cooking since time immemorial. But when we talk about truffles we most definitely mean our ganache filled creations that can come in a vast array of recipes – and shapes!

The ganache is one of the all time classic fillings, said to have originated in France during the 1850s. At its most simple it is a mixture of cream and chocolate, to which you can add any number of flavours. In French, the word ganache can also mean ‘fool’ and legend has it that it was created when a clumsy chocolatier’s assistant spilled

cream into a bowl of chocolate he was mixing. “Ganache!” the chocolatier bellowed at him…

As you can see from our cross section, the anatomy of a truffle is quite simple, with a moulded shell that can be enrobed with another layer of chocolate if needed. Inside is our ganache filling and outside there are the finishing touches – a sprinkling of biscuit, nut pieces or some stripes of chocolate for decoration.

You might notice that some of our truffles now come in rectangular ‘ingot’ shells – this is a shape we have specially developed not just to be interesting to look at, but also to provide a greater chocolate-to-filling ratio.

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Winners

This month’s Prize Draw

Classic Selection

Prize draw winner is Mrs Susan McClenayian from Cheshire who wins an Exuberantly Fruity Selection.

Next month’s prize is a Truffles Selection.

Dark Selection

Prize draw winner is Mr R McLean from Brighton who wins a Midnight Mints Selection.

Next month’s prize is a Dark Signature Collection.

Elements

Selection

Prize draw winner is Mrs F Mould from Market Harborough who wins a Peepster Summer Sizzler Selection.

Next month’s prize is a Rocky Road Giant Slab.

Purist

Selection

Prize draw winner is Mrs A Nunns from Ashtead who wins a Rare Collection.

Next month’s prize is a Purist Collection.

All Milk Selection

LAST call FOR…

Winter Puddings It’s the perfect time to enjoy these comforting puddinginspired recipes created to warm the cockles of the heart, like crumbles and cobblers, custard and steam puddings, sticky toffee, brownies and tarts.

Winter Puddings features such national treasures as Rhubarb Crumble, Apple & Blackcurrant Cobbler, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Bakewell Tart, Sussex Pond Pudding and more!

Available to members-only for just £18 (plus £3.95 P&P) – reserve now for release in November at www.chocs.co.uk/winter or call 08444 933 933.

Prize draw winner is Mrs D Barker from Manchester who wins a Milk Oblivion Selection.

Next month’s prize is an Exuberantly Fruity Selection.

Don’t forget

4

– score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk and you’ll be automatically entered into this prize draw.

THE NEW

Fortified Selection

Photograph by Tom Mannion

is coming…

Don’t miss the next delicious instalment of our quarterly Club – including fine Tawny Port, Highland Whisky Truffle, Mojito Cocktail, warming St Remy Brandy and exclusive Kaszebe Vodka and more.

Make sure yours is reserved via Manage My Membership at www.chocs.co.uk/MMM or call 08444 933 933.

You’ll soon be able to see the familiar sight of Tasting Selections in more Hotel Chocolat stores

THE TASTING CLUB

in-store

Those of you who have been into a Hotel Chocolat store recently may well have spotted a very familiar sight on the shelves – Tasting Club boxes.

T

hey have been in specially selected Hotel Chocolat stores for several months now as part of a trial and they’ve stirred up quite a bit of interest amongst customers. Not surprisingly really, as they are striking looking boxes and, as we all know already, the contents are pretty special too! As a result of this successful trial, the Tasting Club will soon be getting a more substantial, more permanent presence in Hotel Chocolat stores across the country.

The idea is let customers know where their chocolates come from – that is, that they are first developed, tasted and rated right here in the Club before anyone else gets their hands on them. The recipes that receive high member ratings then go on to be part of Hotel Chocolat’s ever-popular Selector range. It’s a strong message to those Hotel Chocolat customers who love discovering new recipes in the Selector range – by becoming a Club member they can be part of the tasting panel!

So look out for the new bays coming this autumn, which will include a video screen 6

telling the story, a new leaflet to explain more about the Club, as well as All Milk and Dark Tasting Club boxes to take there and then. We’ll also be highlighting the most recent Tasting Club Winners in the Selector range – so the link will be there for all to see and to taste.

You’ll also notice that the prices of boxes instore are higher than members pay to reflect the additional costs involved – so the best way to get your tasting selections is still by post direct from the Tasting Club, where members will always get the best deal!

Team hc Wins Gold!

While we may not be have been allowed to even mention the fun and games going on in London… Team Hotel Chocolat did have its own successes to report around the time of the Olympics, with the winning of several golds.

W

e’re delighted to announce that Hotel Chocolat has no less than seven Gold Star winners in this year’s Great Taste Awards. The even better news is that they include two awards for chocolate made with Saint Lucian cocoa – a result of our Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme at Rabot Estate.

To have won so many is a real seal of approval for what we’re doing and we’re particularly pleased that two of our core passions have been rewarded – our ‘Less Sugar, More Cocoa’ philosophy and our Saint Lucian cocoa. Both of which can be seen and tasted in the 50% Cocoa ‘Dash of Milk’ Pralines and the 100% Island Growers Bar. The Great Taste Awards are acknowledged as one of the benchmarks of high quality food and drink here in Britain and have been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and ‘the epicurean equivalent of the Booker Prize’.

This year over 2,500 producers entered over 8,800 of their products for blind tasting by over 350 judges.

The full list of Gold Star Award Winners: • Spotlight On Midnight Mints • 50% ‘Dash of Milk’ Praline (made with Saint Lucian cocoa) • Salted Caramel • Chocolate Bûche • Orange Tangs • 100% Island Growers Bar (made with Saint Lucian cocoa) • Caramel Smudge.

So although the Olympics may be over, you can still find lots of Gold winners at hotelchocolat.co.uk For more on our Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme please see hotelchocolat.co.uk/ethics 7

cover story – continued

Back to Ghana

“

The last time we were here it was just scrubland but now it was open with over 1,000 seedlings already available for sale.

Next we headed up the infamous 12km dirt road to Osuben, the base of our programmes in Ghana. As well as seeing our Farmer Centre manager, David, we met with two old friends of a different kind – the truck and the motorbike.

We were delighted to see the truck in good shape and well cared for and the bike looked good too, but seemingly it needs quite an overhaul – again due to the punishing roads it has to bounce along!

After a night back in Nkawkaw, we met with the Chief and Elders of Osuben to inspect the three sites that had been offered for the medical centre. And we also dropped in on two satellite nurseries – one at Banko, which is managed by a very happy lady called Sarah and the other at Praeso overseen by Moses, who we have met on several previous occasions. It was interesting to contrast the two and try to determine which was the better – we did come to a conclusion but that will be left for another time.

The next day we drove to Demensu to see the new satellite nursery that sits alongside the ‘Cocoa Road’ – a new double carriageway bypass of Nkawkaw. The last time we were here it was just scrubland but now it was open with over 1,000 seedlings already available for sale.

The even better news was that they had just sold their first batch of 120 seedlings as we arrived!

That afternoon, we visited Virgin City Radio, a local station with a farmers’ programme that we, through the GTG, sponsor. At the studios we met with five local farmers who explained

”

the value of the programme but also raised another very valuable concern, which we’ll cover in a subsequent issue.

The following day, it was a great pleasure to return to the cocoa research station at Pankesi from where we buy a few thousand seedlings every year. Cocoa is now the only agricultural crop that the Ghanaian government fund for development – such is the importance of cocoa to the economy. Pankesi is one of many research stations tasked with providing naturally crossed hybrids that will mature quicker, provide bigger crops and be more resistant to disease.

On our return to Accra, we took the opportunity to visit the cocoa warehouses and the docks themselves to see the end of the journey for the cocoa beans. And reflecting on the end of our journey, what unquestionably came across was that we are making real progress and changing lives for the better.

The boreholes are a great asset, the truck is taking healthy seedlings further afield than ever and if there was one thing that epitomised that progress it was the nursery at Demensu –18 months ago it was a piece of tropical wilderness alongside an unopened road with just four concrete posts marking out the area. Today it is a working nursery with a borehole, a caretaker’s building and it’s open for business. That’s success and we’ll bring you more on all of that in future issues.

Clockwise from top left – cocoa flowers in Pankesi; grafting explained to Robert and Adam; Sarah with her seedlings at Banko; Isaac with the children of Osuben village; Terry, Robert and the Chief looking at sites in Osuben; the docks in Accra; Frank Sinatra’s lumber yard?; a tasting box reaches Nkawkaw; David’s trusty transport; hand pollination of cocoa flowers; the ‘Tasting Club Truck’ funded by members; the long road from Osuben

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scores

Classic Selection – D150 No. Chocolate Name

Chocolatier

10/10

1

Strawberry Affair

K Kalenko

39%

Average 8.4

2

Smoother Gianduja

O Nicod

38%

8.6

3

Nut Soother

G Pereira

35%

8.3

4

Nibbly Praline

E Desmet

34%

8.4

5

Berry Lemon

K Kalenko

32%

8.4

Chocolatier

10/10

Average 8.6

Strawberry Affair

DARK Selection – K83 No. Chocolate Name 1

Nut Soother

G Pereira

30%

2

Smoother Gianduja

O Nicod

30%

8.4

3

Raspberry & Hibiscus O Nicod

O Nicod

28%

8.3

4

Boston Bullet

R Macfadyen

27%

8.5

5

Berry Lemon

K Kalenko

27%

8.1

Nut Soother

Elements Selection – S61 No. Chocolate Name

10/10

Average

1

42% Lower Sugar Batons

Chocolatier The Tasting Club

37%

8.4

2

Berry Lemon

K Kalenko

34%

7.8

3

Nibbly Praline

E Desmet

33%

8.6

4

50% Milk Chocolate Slab

The Tasting Club

30%

8.2

5

Pecan Vanilla

G Pereira

30%

7.8

10/10

Average

42% Lower Sugar Batons

purist Selection – p15 No. Chocolate Name

Chocolatier

1

60% Madirofolo Dark Chocolate

The Tasting Club

75%

9.4

2

Hacienda Iara Praline

K Kalenko

72%

8.5

3

Piedmont Hazelnut Bûche

R Macfadyen

50%

8.0

4

70% Kallari Dark Chocolate

The Tasting Club

48%

9.2

5

70% Chuao Dark Chocolate

The Tasting Club

32%

9.2

60% Madirofolo Dark Chocolate

ALL MILk Selection – M05 No. Chocolate Name

10

Chocolatier

10/10

Average

1

Coconut Bombe

K Kalenko

45%

8.2

2

Nibbly Praline

E Desmet

44%

8.5

3

Cherry Bombe

R Macfadyen

38%

8.5

4

Nut Soother

G Pereira

32%

8.3

5

Pecan Vanilla

G Pereira

32%

8.1

Coconut Bombe

feedback

Your Tasting Comments!

Raspberry & Hibiscus – Dark Superb! Not surprised it won an award – and I only read the description after I had tasted and scored it. Sean Conlin, Walderton

Bouquet

Amaretto & Coconut – Classic Bouquet I am loving all the coconut flavour chocolates coming through recently!

Coconut and amaretto do indeed go well together, who would have thought it!

Amanda McKenzie, Aberdeenshire Nut Soother – Classic Now I REALLY want to go to St Lucia, just to try the cocktail that inspired this delicious chocolate! Mary Tweedale, Antrim Raspberry & Hibiscus – Classic Raspberry – yes, with the “interesting added dimension” – no thank you. Trevor Gill, Weston

Bouquet

Brickbat

Bouquet Crisp Cinnamon Crunch – Elements Oh yes. More please. Let my daughter (17) try some, then she accused me of child cruelty when I wouldn’t let her have seconds! B Missen, Weston-Super-Mare

Strawberry Affair – Elements White chocolate shell too sweet for us then followed the sweet strawberry filling. Looks pretty though. June Davis, Pontyclun

Brickbat

IN THE POSTBAG… Dear Simon Re: In The Postbag, Club News (#1208) I was interested to read the letter from Jan Foster regarding taking her Tasting Club chocolates on cruises with her. Might I make a suggestion? I’ve cruised since 2005 and the last few years we’ve sailed from Southampton. Before joining our ship, we usually pop into the town to the large shopping centre... which houses a Hotel Chocolat shop. Last year I bought some selectors for my travelling companions (and some raspberry white hearts for

me – I couldn’t be without them for 2 weeks!). They were very well received, I can assure you. So maybe if Jan sailed from Southampton, she wouldn’t have to save any of her Club selection chocs and wouldn’t have any baggage restrictions either!

I know it might be extreme, but let’s face it, us Tasting Club members will go to any lengths!

Regards, Helen Lambert, Huddersfield

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I’M DREAMING OF A…

huge Christmas!

Whether you’re dreaming of a milk, dark or even a white Christmas this year, one thing we can say is that this is going to be the biggest Christmas yet!

The Classic Collection includes – the winter spices of Mulled Wine, Spiced Rum, Christmas Cake and Gingerbread… the warmth of Eggnog, Ardbeg Single Malt and Rum & Raisin… Mini Yule Logs that are just made for slicing and sharing… mellow Fig & Honey Chocolate, the Alternative Mince Pie, melt-away pralines and soft Caramel Star… zesty Cranberry Truffle, sparkling Champagne Truffle and much more.

All Milk – with Christmas classics like Mulled Wine, Eggnog and Gingerbread, the Alternative Mince Pie, Cherry & Cinnamon, sparkling Champagne Truffle and more.

Dark Collection – including the gentle spice of Gingerbread, Christmas Cake Slice and Mulled Wine, Rum & Raisin and Syllabub, Walnut & Coffee and more.

Elements Collection – featuring the unmistakable spices of Gingerbread, and Christmas Cake, mellow pralines, Fig & Honey chocolate, Brownies, Penguins, Reindeer and more.

It really wouldn’t be Christmas without it – reserve yours now for £24.00 (plus £4.95 P&P) at www.chocs.co.uk/christmas or call 08444 933 933

Photograph by Tom Mannion

That’s because we’ve added another row to our selection box, so it now features 38 filled chocolates, 4 solid chocolate Christmas shapes and 2 irresistible mini Yule logs. What’s more, there are 4 versions to choose from – Classic, All Milk, Dark and Elements.

update

GET WRAPPED UP THAT’S

in chocolate week! Entertainment Hotel Chocolat is launching an exciting trio of events to celebrate National Chocolate Week, which runs from 8th to 14th October this year.

After the busy summer we’ve had celebrating the Diamond Jubilee and staging the most successful Olympic Games of modern times, this autumn is most definitely the time to sit back and take it easy.

F

A

irstly, you’ll be able to find Tasting Adventures in different store locations around the country, learning how to taste and how to pick out nuances of flavour by tasting 12 different chocolates. Places are available via the Hotel Chocolat website at the address below.

Secondly, there’s an exclusive Supper Club, which will be a delicious introduction to Hotel Chocolat’s exclusive ‘cacao cuisine’ style of cooking, pioneered at Boucan Hotel & Restaurant. Held on 12th October at the flagship Roast+Conch in Covent Garden, Supper Club places are strictly limited, so please hurry and book through the Hotel Chocolate website address below.

And finally, you can attend Chocolate Week’s crowning event, Chocolate Unwrapped held in Covent Garden, where Hotel Chocolat will have three stands including a Roast+Conch Pop Up Café.

Tasting Club Members can receive 50% off the Chocolate Unwrapped ticket price when booking at www.chocolateunwrapped.co.uk and entering rabotestate at checkout.

Supper Club and Tasting Adventures places can be booked online at hotelchocolat.co.uk/tastingadventures

nd for many of us that will also entail more staying at home and entertaining at home, which is something that Hotel Chocolat can assist in with the launch of their new Entertaining range.

As the name suggests, these are the delicious finishing touches that can take the strain out of entertaining, or if you’re a guest, they make perfect gifts to take along for your hosts. The Party Piece and the seriously huge Ultimate Party Piece are showstopping centrepieces for any drinks or dinner party and are beautifully presented, so they’re ready to hand around at once.

And there are plenty more fantastic ideas where they came from – like the range of Chocolate Canapés featuring caramel and sea salt, Earl Grey tea, ginger and more; dipping adventures with bowls of molten chocolate; and a stunning new Take Home Tasting Adventure that will keep everyone thoroughly entertained!

Don’t forget Tasting Club members are entitled to a 5% discount with their membership card – see hotelchocolat.co.uk for the full range.

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results

The fortified selection f09

summer desserts

Our latest quarterly Fortified Selection included a good mix of alltime classics and exciting new recipes throughout the box and amongst our ultimate winners – with Cognac & Raisin, a new take on the classic rum and raisin recipe, in third, one of the world’s best know single malt whiskies, Glenmorangie, in second and the triumphant winner of the box, a feisty rum cocktail that blew us all away, The Hurricane.

Summer may be just a distant and slightly soggy memory, but we can always look back through the rose tinted results of our Summer Desserts Collection!

It was Raspberry Mousse that scooped the top spot – and by quite a way – but then again, here in Britain you can’t get much more summery than the raspberry. In second place we see a real Tasting Club favourite, Caramel Cheesecake and hot on its heels a brand new recipe, Summer Pudding, which clearly brightened up everyone’s day.

No. Chocolate Name

10/10 Average

No. Chocolate Name

Chocolatier

10/10 Average

1

The Hurricane

R Macfadyen

42%

8.8

1

Raspberry Mousse

R Macfadyen

46%

8.9

2

Glenmorangie Truffle

G Pereira

38%

8.8

2

Caramel Cheesecake

E Desmet

45%

8.4

K Kalenko

3

Cognac & Raisin

E Desmet

38%

8.7

3

Summer Pudding

44%

8.5

4

Celtic Dream

R Macfadyen

35%

8.6

4

Rum & Raisin Semifreddo M Meier

44%

8.5 8.8

5

Irish Coffee

G Pereira

34%

8.5

5

Summer Berries

K Kalenko

43%

6

Caipirinha

R Macfadyen

34%

8.4

6

Blackcurrant Bombe

O Nicod

41%

8.7

7

Champagne & Cranberry O Nicod

33%

8.3

7

Strawberry Cheesecake

E Desmet

41%

8.8

8

No 3 Gin Truffle

O Nicod

32%

8.5

8

Eton Mess

E Desmet

39%

8.8

9

Apple Shooter

G Pereira

32%

8.4

9

Lemon Meringue Pie

E Desmet

36%

8.3

K Kalenko

31%

8.5

10 Blackberry Mousse

O Nicod

35%

8.7

10 Lychee Martini

1st The Hurricane

14

Chocolatier

2nd Glenmorangie Truffle

3rd Cognac & Raisin

1st Raspberry Mousse

2nd Caramel Cheesecake

3rd Summer Pudding

feature

Where it all began – the rare cocoa on Rabot Estate and the CocoaJuvenate Spa at Boucan Hotel, Saint Lucia

THE BEAUTY OF COCOA… Together with our sister company, Hotel Chocolat, we have an exciting link with cocoa and a fascinating story to tell. And the story just got even more exciting.

A

s one of the world’s few chocolate makers to actually grow cocoa, we can tell you that it’s not an easy occupation (cocoa is notoriously finicky and susceptible to all sorts of pests), but we can also tell you it is incredibly rewarding.

At Rabot Estate we have been able to make a direct link from our members all the way back to chocolate’s very origin – the beautiful pod hanging from a tree.

And it is the beauty of cocoa, as well as the stunning landscape of the cocoa plantation that led us to build Boucan Hotel, in the grounds of Rabot Estate – so that others could experience the amazing natural beauty and experience the serene calm of shady, sun-dappled groves too.

At Boucan we have also revealed another side of cocoa through the ‘cacao cuisine’ pioneered in the restaurant – where the bean is used as a gentle spice and as a subtle infusion.

But it is at the hotel’s spa that our latest link to cocoa began… As a grower and a chocolatier, we know better than most that cocoa is rich in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and natural moodlifting compounds. But until now we

had only considered cocoa as providing happiness on the inside. At the spa we began to create treatments from the cocoa growing all around to bring happiness to the outside too, with great success.

And so the brand new CocoaJuvenate was born, a range of exclusive spa treatments perfected on Rabot Estate using our rare Saint Lucian cocoa. Each product in the range has been formulated to protect, renew and enliven. But don’t expect these new products to smell of chocolate! They all have an invigorating scent inspired by the refreshing, uplifting tang of a freshly cut cocoa pod.

The CocoaJuvenate range launches this autumn in Hotel Chocolat stores and online.

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Gather, give, go nuts Autumn is the ultimate nut season and you don’t have to go far to enjoy it, as we’ve done the gathering for you – so whether it’s a treat for home, a little gift for someone special or something to share at a dinner party, this is where you get your nibble on.

View our entire Autumn Collection at hotelchocolat.co.uk/autumn

The Squirrel’s Stash

Caramel Pecan Pie 500g Slab

Winter Warmers H-Box

ref 111319 £4.50

ref 310231 £15

ref 260590 £12

hotelchocolat.co.uk Tel: 08444 93 13 13