Issue 1102
News The monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club
DID YOUR Witty Caption
WIN?
We found a rather compromising photo that was just crying out for a caption. Have you won one of three Sleekster Everything Selections up for grabs? See page 15 for the winners!
There’s a
brand New Selection coming! The exciting, new Purist Selection will soon be available for members. But what will be in it and who is it for? Simpe hands over Terry’s prize cockerel while Isaac (of Green Tropics Group) receives some eggs
Welcome to
Simpe’s Farm
With all of the different projects going on in Ghana, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of all that we have achieved and the people who benefit. Something we were reminded of when we visited Simpe’s farm.
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Every time we visit Ghana, we drop by to see Simpe, which is why you’ll see him and his family in photos going back quite a few years and the veteran Tasting Club members amongst you will definitely recognise him.The reason we always visit him is something that struck us during our last trip to Ghana – it’s that he’s keen to participate in all he can, he volunteers for projects and in short, continued on page 8...
Turn to page 12 to find out!
TIME TO GET
Cracking! Before you know it, Easter will be upon us. So now is the perfect time to discover this year’s Tasting Club Easter Selection. See page 5 for more
W
Letter from the
Editor
elcome to your latest edition of Club News, this month, as you’ll see from the front page, is all about one particular Ghanaian cocoa farmer who we have come to know quite well. It dawned on us during our last trip to Ghana that Simpe is in fact something of a cheerleader for our Engaged Ethics programme in Ghana. He enthusiastically embraces and supports everything we do and, as a result, you can see examples of nearly all of our projects on his farm. You’ll also find the results of The Excellence Collection 2010 on page 6. As always, the scores are high with only two in the Elements Collection dipping below the eight mark. But even more remarkable is the enduring popularity of Griotte Deluxe. Could another chocolate ever reach those heights? We think we might have found a contender…
“
It dawned on us during our last trip to Ghana that Simpe is in fact something of a cheerleader for our Engaged Ethics programme Elsewhere in this edition, you’ll see that apart from Simpe, I ran into another familiar cocoa farmer in Ghana. It’s always inspiring to catch up with farmers and hear how our programmes have helped. And finally, don’t forget to let us have your Egg orders as, believe it or not, Easter is creeping up on us, and find out if your caption was amongst the winners on page 15. Until next month, happy tasting!
Does it get any better than this? There’s only one way to find out – last orders for Six of the Best 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 We are waiting to hear from you!
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Improve your chocolate knowledge
FEUILLETINE
Feuilletine... W
ith an irresistible, delicate crunch, once you’ve tasted feuilletine you tend to be forever smitten. It is made from baked pancakes, or crêpes dentelles, that are crushed into tiny pieces.The delicacy of the crunch comes from the thinness of the pancakes – the name stems from the French word ‘feuille’ meaning leaf.
Like many chocolate recipes, it was apparently invented by accident as patisserie chefs used up broken crêpes by sprinkling them into other desserts. It’s most commonly blended into smooth praline or simply pure chocolate to create a superb contrast of textures.
This month’s Prize Draw
Winners last CALL for...
D130 Classic Selection prize draw
winner is Alan O’Donnell from Manchester who wins a classic Truffles Sleekster Collection
Next month’s prize is a Less Sweet Sleekster Selection.
K63 Dark Selection prize draw winner is Mrs R. Ehsanullah from Chalfont St Giles who wins a Fruit & Nut Dark Giant Slab.
Next month’s prize is a Le Grand Crunch Dark Giant Slab.
S41 Elements prize
draw winner is Mrs C. Morgan from Kidderminster who wins a Le Grand Crunch Milk Giant Slab.
SIX of the Best! Last spring we released The No 1 Collection, which featured only the best winning chocolates from an entire decade of monthly tasting box winners. Many members commented at the time that they would love to get their hands on whole boxes of their favourites... Which brings us to Six of the Best, which does indeed have four each of the six favourite chocolates from that box, the ultimate champions of champions. A decade of delicious tasting has brought us to this pinnacle, so brace yourself for Six of the Best – it doesn’t get better than this.
Make sure you get yours! Please order now at: www.chocs.co.uk/SIXOFTHEBEST or call us on 08444 933 933.
Next month’s prize is The Baton Selection.
Don’t forget – score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk 4
and you’ll be automatically entered into the prize draw
The Tasting Club
Easter
Collection
Specially made for chocolate lovers like you‌ There’ll be only one making of our exclusive Easter Collection, so please get cracking to guarantee yours.
Reserve online at www.chocs.co.uk/EASTER or call 08444 933 933. 5
Excellence 2010
...the results are in!
Our annual Excellence Collection is all about celebrating the best chocolates of the last 12 months and, judging by the high scores, this year’s crop was amongst the elite. However, there is one chocolate superstar from yesteryear that has been showing the young upstarts how it’s done – Griotte Deluxe. Classic Excellence Scores 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Caramel Cheesecake by E Desmet 8.85 (44% scored it 10/10) Strawberries & Cream by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 8.62 (38% scored it 10/10) Pistachio Praline by K Kalenko 8.57 (34% scored it 10/10) Caramel Crisp by K Kalenko 8.56 (31% scored it 10/10) Caramel Milk Chocolate Batons 8.56 (32% scored it 10/10) Hazelnut Light by O Nicod 8.47 (29% scored 10/10) Brandy Butter by JC Vandenberghe 8.47 (35% scored it 10/10) Whisky Truffle by M Meier 8.45 (30% scored it 10/10) Cherry Surprise by J Child & E Desmet 8.45 (37% scored it 10/10) Lemon Truffle by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 8.41 (33% scored it 10/10)
Dark Excellence Scores 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Griotte Deluxe by E Desmet 8.96 (48% scored it 10/10) Warming Walnut by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 8.93 (39% scored it 10/10) Caramel Cheesecake by E Desmet 8.82 (38% scored it 10/10) Cherry Surprise by J Child & E Desmet 8.77 (34% scored it 10/10) Zesty Toffee Pudding by O Nicod 8.73 (36% scored it 10/10) Arabica Star by K Kalenko & O Nicod 8.67 (29% scored 10/10) Coffee & Walnut by M Meier 8.64 (37% scored it 10/10) 74% West Africa Dark Batons 8.60 (32% scored it 10/10) Saint Lucia Praline by EJ Whalley 8.58 (28% scored it 10/10) Relaxed Raspberry by E Desmet 8.55 (28% scored it 10/10)
Elements Excellence Scores 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 6
Sticky Toffee Slab 8.69 (39% scored it 10/10) Classic Belgian Blend Milk Chocolate 8.49 (35% scored it 10/10) Caramel Cheesecake by E Desmet 8.34 (27% scored it 10/10) Billionaire Shortbread by O Nicod 8.32 (27% scored it 10/10) Caramel Crisp by K Kalenko 8.23 (21% scored it 10/10) Milky Milk Chocolate Batons 8.21 (25% scored 10/10) Java Milk Chocolate Batons 8.18 (31% scored it 10/10) Pistachio Praline by K Kalenko 8.05 (39% scored it 10/10) Lemon Truffle by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 7.89 (31% scored it 10/10) Arabica Star by K Kalenko & O Nicod 7.45 (18% scored it 10/10)
First seen in 2004, this chocolate held the record for the highest score for over two years. No wonder it was voted the Members’ Choice chocolate in Dark Excellence and so it should be no surprise that it scored a huge 8.96 with 48% of members giving it 10/10. Will there ever be a chocolate to rival Griotte Deluxe? Time will tell, but Caramel Cheesecake seems to be doing quite well…
See page 11 for a selection of Excellence comments!
Essie and husband David during their flying visit to Saint Lucia – in front of the Rabot Estate sign and with their newly grafted seedlings that will be planted out on the estate
Cocoa Cruise... When Tasting Club Co-ordinator, Essie Westbrook, set off on her honeymoon cruise around the Caribbean, she just had to arrange a visit to Rabot Estate, as she explains… “Having spoken to the guys in Saint Lucia, exchanged emails, seen the photos, read the articles and eaten the chocolate, I felt as if I’d already been to Rabot Estate. So you can imagine that when I knew our ship was stopping over in Saint Lucia, there was no way I was going to miss out on actually getting there! I wasted no time in arranging a time for our visit. We started off with the same fascinating estate tour that hotel guests will enjoy, including
a spot of local history, grafting and labelling our own cocoa seedlings and even helping out with turning a few beans on the drying tables.Then it was time to try out the Boucan Restaurant, where we enjoyed an amazing lunch made with fantastic local ingredients – not even the stunning view of the Piton Mountain could distract us from it! But all too soon it was time to return to the ship and head for another island. I vowed that I’d be back!” 7
continued from page 1
Welcome to
“
Simpe’s Farm
That was when we started to look around for dependable people who could manage smaller satellite nurseries on their farms. Yes, you guessed it, Simpe was one of the first names on the list...
he is involved is just about everything we’re doing in the Osuben Basin in order to improve his farm and his livelihood. Back in 2002, when we first teamed up with The Green Tropics Group and started our programme of Engaged Ethics, we began with the seedling project, which is still one of our mainstays.There are no prizes for guessing, however, who was amongst the first to take seedlings from us to extend his farm. A couple of growing seasons later it became clear that there were a great many cocoa farmers that we couldn’t reach with our seedlings, simply because their farms were too far away from our nursery.That was when we started to look around for dependable people who could manage smaller satellite nurseries on their farms.Yes, you guessed it, Simpe was one of the first names on the list, despite the fact that he had quite a trip to get water for the seedlings. And that’s why, when we were looking for a suitable area to sink our borehole, Simpe’s farm was once again in the frame.The fact that there were two nurseries within reach, as well as six villages that would all benefit from easier access to water, clinched the deal. But crucially, we also knew that Simpe could be depended upon to organise the maintenance of the borehole and keep it in fine working order.
”
However, that’s not the end of the story yet... Two years ago we were looking for land upon which we could test our mucuna project. Mucuna is a rapid-growing plant that ‘swamps’ infertile land and, when cut down, imparts enough nutrients to make the land fertile once more. Simpe found us the perfect site on his farm and helped with a very successful trial. Most recently, Simpe was also a volunteer for our plantain project, whereby farmers were taught how to successfully split plantain roots and grow numerous seedlings from them. Plantain can be used as both a source of food and a vital shade tree for young cocoa seedlings, so it’s a very handy skill to have mastered! In fact, during our last visit to Simpe’s farm, it dawned on us that every major project we’ve done or are still doing could be seen there – from seedlings and satellite nurseries, to our borehole, mucuna land reclamation and the plantain project. What’s more, every time we visit Simpe, he always has a warm welcome for us and Club Director,Terry Waters, won’t forget the welcome he received during his last visit – it came in the form of a prize cockerel presented as thanks to all at the Chocolate Tasting Club. Sadly, despite egging Terry on, he decided to leave the cockerel in Ghana.
Clockwise from top left – Essie and Simon on Simpe’s farm; talking cocoa with David and Isaac of The Green Tropics Group; former Club Manager Lynn Cunningham meeting Simpe and his family; Simon saying goodbye for another year; hand pollinating cocoa flowers and a couple of ripe cocoa pods
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scores
Classic 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Selection – D130
Berry Bonanza by O Coppeneur 8.46 (34% scored it 10/10) Toffee Apple by E Desmet 8.38 (30% scored it 10/10) Amarula Dream by H Smith & JC Vandenberghe 8.33 (28% scored it 10/10) Caramel Star by M Meier 8.28 (27% scored it 10/10) Nibbly Nut by R Macfadyen 8.26 (25% scored it 10/10) Mocha Choca by R Macfadyen 8.23 (25% scored it 10/10) Orange Smoothie by O Nicod 8.22 (29% scored it 10/10) White Port Cooler by K Kalenko 8.18 (30% scored it 10/10) Limoncello Light by E Desmet 8.12 (26% scored it 10/10) Almond Cheesecake by E Desmet 8.07 (21% scored it 10/10) Crushed Caramel Milk Tasting Batons 8.07 (19% scored it 10/10) Raspberry Brownie by K Kalenko 7.97 (23% scored it 10/10) Berry Bonanza 47% Rio Caribe Milk Tasting Batons 7.90 (16% scored it 10/10) Cognac Cuddle by R Macfadyen 7.81 (37% scored it 10/10) Pistachio Praline by G Pereira 7.70 (21% scored 10/10)
Dark
Selection – K63
1. 71% Ocumare Dark Tasting Batons 8.53 (38% scored it 10/10) 2. Mocha Choca by R Macfadyen 8.37 (27% scored it 10/10) 3. Nibbly Nut by R Macfadyen 8.22 (15% scored it 10/10) 4. Toffee Apple by E Desmet 8.17 (19% scored it 10/10) 5. Orange Smoothie by O Nicod 7.95 (12% scored it 10/10) 6. Cognac Cuddle by R Macfadyen 7.93 (27% scored it 10/10) 7. Almond Cheesecake by E Desmet 7.93 (23% scored it 10/10) 8. Amarula Dream by H Smith & JC Vandenberghe 7.90 (11% scored it 10/10) 9. White Port Cooler by K Kalenko 7.88 (23% scored it 10/10) 71% Ocumare Dark 10. Limoncello Light by E Desmet 7.84 (15% scored it 10/10) Tasting Batons 11. Caramel Star by M Meier 7.77 (12% scored it 10/10) 12. Berry Bonanza by O Coppeneur 7.76 (11% scored it 10/10) 13. Raspberry Brownie by K Kalenko 7.71 (19% scored it 10/10) 14. Pistachio Praline by G Pereira 7.69 (23% scored 10/10)
Elements
– S41
1. Nibbly Nut by R Macfadyen 8.50 (27% scored it 10/10) 2. Walnut Choc Chip by R Macfadyen 8.48 (33% scored it 10/10) 3. Crushed Caramel Milk Tasting Batons 8.46 (27% scored it 10/10) 4. 47% Rio Caribe Milk Chocolate 8.09 (9% scored it 10/10) 5. Zesty Praline by E Desmet 8.00 (22% scored it 10/10) 6. Almond Cheesecake by E Desmet 7.83 (22% scored it 10/10) 7. Raspberry Brownie by K Kalenko 7.52 (17% scored it 10/10) 8. 71% Ocumare Dark Tasting Batons 7.50 (14% scored 10/10) 9. Mocha Choca by R Macfadyen 7.18 (18% scored it 10/10) 10. Pistachio Praline by G Pereira 7.13 (22% scored 10/10)
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Nibbly Nut
feedback
Have Your Say! Bouquet Nibbly Nut– Classic “Never nibbled nicer nuts!” Gordon Smith, Machynlleth
Brickbat Cognac Cuddle – Classic “Cognac my foot! This tasted exactly like a Victory V lozenge!” Mary Smith, Belper
Bouquet Almond Cheesecake – Dark “By far the best chocolate I have ever tasted in my life. It is actually better than a real cheesecake!”
In The Postbag… EXCELLENCE COMMENTS Griotte Deluxe “Blew my socks off. I don’t normally like cherry chocolates but will make an exception for this one.” Louise Chamberlain, Putney
Anastasia Doronina, London
Caramel Cheesecake
Brickbat Pistachio Praline – Dark
“Perfect – I would happily eat these all the time.” Beryl Blackburn, Manchester
“Lovely dark chocolate, but the pistachio remains bland. A little more salt or sugar or both in it would enhance its taste for a real treat.”
Dr Yoann Le Teuff, Birmingham
Bouquet Cognac Cuddle – Dark “YUM! More of a ‘brandy bear hug’ but all the better for that.”
Sticky Toffee Slab “A triumph! Excellent, smooth caramel. Perfect chocolate combination. Hurrah!” Catherine Ridgeon, Haslemere
Samantha Bullock, Walton-on-Thames
Warming Walnut
Brickbat Almond Cheesecake – Elements
“Warming walnut describes the taste and texture of this experience to perfection.” Heather Watson, Market Drayton
“The sour taste almost ruined the experience for me.”
Julie Hutchings, Chelmsford
Bouquet Raspberry Brownie – Elements “Comfort food in perfect little squares.”
Lorna Gold, Birmingham
Bouquet Berry Bonanza– Classic “Oh Mr Coppeneur, you are the only man my husband has to worry about.Your chocolate is always the last to be eaten and never fails to hit the spot!”
Strawberries & Cream “I think I have eaten the perfect chocolate – I can die happy now!” Julie Nerney, Hove
Pistachio Praline “The only thing wrong with this was that I only got two of them.” Isabel Stainsby, Glasgow
Alison McGrath, Grantham 11
preview
The Purist Selection Hotel Chocolat’s Purist range is devoted to letting the flavours of rare and vintage cocoa shine through – and in a couple of months they’ll be doing just that in a brand new monthly Purist Selection for Club members.
C
ocoa is primarily divided into two classifications, bulk and fine. Bulk cocoa makes up around 95% of the total and, as you can imagine, makes perfectly good chocolate. The other 5%, however, is classified as fine cocoa and it is where things can get very interesting indeed for the chocolate lover. These rare strains of cocoa are sought after for their distinctive flavours and aromas, influenced by the terroir in which they were grown – unique factors that include such
Purist Selection – prime cocoa and simple recipes
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things as location, soil, sun and the amount of tropical rain. Unlocking that story and revealing their flavours is what the very special, Purist Selection will be all about. It will feature predominantly dark chocolate, but with some high cocoa milk chocolates too. It will be a selection created to showcase exceptional cocoa from around the world, including the rare Trinitario beans grown on our own Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia – and that’s not all. There’ll be tablets of pure chocolate, mini chocolate logs blended with succulent fruit or crunchy nuts and cookies, premium whole nuts or pieces of fruit panned, or enrobed in chocolate and there’ll also be one or two filled chocolates too. But, above all, everything will be made to ultra simple recipes so that all of the hand picked ingredients, single estate and single origin chocolates can be shown off to their absolute best.
updates
Taste test Coming with your monthly selection soon!
As revealed in last month’s Club News, we’ve created a brand new way to discover which tasting selection would be best suited to our members’ preferences. And the best news is that it won’t be just for new members only!
RETURN OF THE Lady Cocoa Farmer With five trips now under his belt Club News Editor, Simon Thirlwell, often bumps into people he knows in Ghana, but it never fails to surprise him!
A
nd the last time he was there he had a lovely surprise when, during a farm visit, a lady cocoa farmer called Alice dropped by to say hello. Simon first met her back in 2006 when he and Lynn visited her farm to give her a prize as part of the first ever annual Farmers’ Awards. Alice had been singled out for a prize because of her extremely well kept, weed-free farm, which helps enormously in growing cocoa – she won a length of cloth and a set of cooking pans. Simon wasn’t just pleased to hear that in the intervening years her farm has expanded and done well, but also that the pans she won five years ago are still in working order! What’s more, the young trees that Alice has planted out in recent seasons already have big cocoa pods on them, which is a very good sign for the future. Alice also said that she would soon be learning how to hand pollinate the delicate cocoa flowers on her trees, which will greatly enhance the production of pods. There’ll be more on that story at a later date.
Our new Chocolate Baton Tasting Test has been created to accompany the new Introductory Selection. It’s the entry point for all new members and it’s the perfect time for us to provide extra help in deciding which tasting selection they should go for. And as we aren’t one of those companies that reserves things for new customers only, we’ll be sending it to all of you current members too, as a free gift. Just make sure you look out for it accompanying selections despatched in May! So how does the Chocolate Baton Tasting Test work? Well, it features five different chocolate batons, cast in an array of chocolates that will take your taste buds across the chocolate spectrum. So you’ll get to start off with the ultra mellow flavours of Caramel Batons, then onto the slightly deeper notes of Praline Batons, finishing off the mellowness with 40% Milk Batons. After that there’s a special blend of our own 65% Saint Lucia Dark to give a taste of fine Trinitario cocoa, before finishing off with a powerful 85% Dark with a big, no-nonsense cocoa hit. And at the end of it all, you rate each one and find out what kind of chocolate lover you really are! 13
and finally
AS IF WE NEED
Another Reason! For those of us who love chocolate, it really isn’t necessary to have any other reason for a quick nibble than the fact that it’s wonderful. But scientists have come up with another…
I
t seems that a natural compound found in chocolate and cocoa, called theobromine, has proved to be effective in treating persistent coughs. Scientists have developed a drug containing the compound and final tests are currently being conducted. It’s being hailed as a breakthrough because most other medicines to treat persistent coughs are based on opiates, which cannot be taken
by everyone.Theobromine is thought to work by suppressing the activation of a particular nerve, which is the cause of the cough. And, they say, because it is flavourless even those who dislike chocolate can take it… But for those of who do like chocolate, perhaps a square of good dark chocolate would do the trick?
WHO UNLOADS THIS DISHWASHER? If you’re anything like us, then you’ll grumble a little every time you open the dishwasher and find it full of clean plates. It seems to happen much more often than it should… So, next time just spare a thought for the poor soul who has to empty this enormous dishwasher. It’ll make you feel a whole lot better! But why, you may ask yourself, do they need such a large dishwasher at a chocolate factory and why do they need one at all? Well, the answer is that many of the chocolates that feature in monthly selections are made with shells cast in chocolate moulds. After the chocolate has set and the shells have been removed, those tray-like moulds need to be washed. And we’re sure you’ll agree when we say that we’d much rather empty the machine than have to wash hundreds of plates!
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competition
Caption COMPETITION AND THE Winners are...
Thank you to everyone who took the time to send us hundreds of witty captions for this incriminating photo. Club News Editor, Simon Thirlwell, will soon have some explaining to do, but first here are our three winners who each win a Sleekster Everything Selection.
“Branch manager hits out at major stakeholder.” Donald Glass
“Gosh, Terry’s tough but, if I just hammer this stake in a little further…” Niall McCutcheon
“Chocolatier’s Mystery Solved – it was Simon, in the Jungle, with the Cocoa Branch” Jacqueline Ireland
Each of our three lucky winners will be tucking into a Sleekster Everything Selection...
WELL DONE! 15
It’s All About MUM! Sunday 3rd April
The All About Mum Selection
www.hotelchocolat.co.uk Telephone: 08444 93 13 13
Write to us at: The Chocolate Tasting Club, Mint House, Royston, SG8 5HL Email: simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk or via our website: www.chocs.co.uk Club News: Editor: Simon Thirlwell; Contributors: Simon Thirlwell, Terry Waters, Essie Westbrook. Š The Chocolate Tasting Club plc 2011