News The monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club
Issue 1103
HAVE YOU WON
FREE TASTING for a year?
If you were one of our active members on 31st January, then you might well have won in our Members’ Prize Draw. See page 13 for the winners!
PURIST IS COMING!!
Next month sees the release of a brand new monthly box, The Purist Selection. Fancy giving it a try? Head Sous Chef Fabian Vigée and Chefs David Demaison and Olivier Nicod perfecting the menu in The Boucan kitchens
Boucan
opens for business!
The Boucan Restaurant & Bar, situated on the Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia is now open!
A
nd although The Boucan is officially the restaurant of the hotel (open 1st March) – the stunning setting, the unbeatable views and the exclusive cuisine of the restaurant, mean that it is set to become a destination in its own right. The restaurant’s name, incidentally, comes from the estate’s original ‘Boucan’, which is a local term for a cocoa drying facility. 021601
continued on page 8...
Turn to page 5 for more
IS THAT THE
Easter Bunny
we hear?
The most exciting date in the chocolate calendar is coming. Make sure you don’t miss the Tasting Club Easter Selection! See page 4 for more
W Letter from the
Editor
elcome to your latest edition of Club News. This month we lead with news of the opening of The Boucan Restaurant, which is situated in the grounds of our own Rabot Estate on the island of Saint Lucia. It’s great to see it up and running and with 30 bookings on its opening night too! One of the most exciting aspects of this new restaurant, apart from its stunning location and jaw-dropping views, is the cacao cuisine that is being pioneered by our chefs. I for one can’t wait to get there and try it out, but strangely, despite the promise of a favourable review, I’m still waiting for my invitation! Speaking of cocoa, you’ll also see that we’re launching a brand new monthly tasting selection next month and there’s an article on the different types of cocoa bean. That’s as well as an update on what’s happening with the borehole in Ghana, which was sunk with help of your kind donations back in 2008.
“
“
…but strangely, despite the promise of a favourable review, I’m still waiting for my invitation!
And finally, this month we’re also revealing the winners of our Members’ Prize Draw, with 10 lucky members winning a whole year of free tasting selections. Did you win? See page 13. Until next month, happy tasting!
With a long weekend and the Club’s Easter Collection to look forward to – no wonder it’s one of the most exciting dates in the calendar. See 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!
2
Improve your chocolate knowledge
THE CHOCOLATE SHELL
O
f all the trailblazers in the world of chocolate, there’s one who is often overlooked, Jean Neuhaus. His invention, in 1912, created a whole new type of chocolate that also helped to propel Belgium into the major league of chocolate makers, where it remains to this day.
In his chocolate shop in Brussels, Jean invented the humble chocolate shell and changed the face of chocolate making. Before this invention, chocolate makers could only make firm fillings that they enrobed in chocolate. Now, they could use a whole array of semi liquid fillings injected into this new hollow shell – a whole new genre of ‘filled’ chocolates was born.
This month’s Prize Draw
Winners TIME TO GET CRACKING... Don’t miss your
Easter Collection
D131 Classic Selection prize draw winner is Mrs B Meehan of Walsall who wins a Less Sweet Sleekster Collection.
Next month’s prize is a Milk Chocolate Easter Eggsposé.
K64 Dark Selection prize draw winner is Mrs Sarah Thomas of Chelmsford who wins a Le Grand Crunch Dark Giant Slab.
Next month’s prize is a Dark Chocolate Easter Eggsposé.
S42 Elements
prize draw winner is Mrs Colleen Hyam of Cromer who wins the Baton Selection.
B
efore you know it, Easter will be well and truly upon us, so now is the time to get cracking and make sure your Tasting Club Easter Collection is ordered. As always, there’s a real adventure in store for you – with our renowned, extra thick shells; a stunning collection of freshly made Easter chocolates; and an exclusive Easter Treats gift too. Just choose your favourite from The Classic with 40% milk shells, The Dark with 70% shells and The Mix with one of each. Available for just £22.95 (including delivery). Alternatively, if you prefer something flatter that will get through your letterbox, then the Easter Egg Box Collection of 30 mini eggs is the one for you – available for the members’ price of £21.95 (£18 + £3.95 p&p).
Make sure you get yours! Please order now at: www.chocs.co.uk/EASTER or call us on 08444 72 70 70.
Next month’s prize is White Chocolate Easter Eggsposé.
Don’t forget – score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk 4
and you’ll be automatically entered into the prize draw
Introducing the...
Purist Selection
Love exploring the distinctive flavours and aromas of rare cocoa? Then the brand new Purist Selection could well be the one for you.
F
eaturing predominantly dark chocolate, but with some high cocoa milk too, The Purist Selection is devoted to exceptional cocoa from around the world, including rare Trinitario beans from our own Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia – and that’s not all. There’ll be pure and simple recipes that blend superb chocolate with succulent fruit, crunchy nuts, or cookies, as well as premium whole nuts and fruit that are
simply enrobed in chocolate and there’ll also be one or two filled chocolates too. But, above all, everything will be made to extremely simple recipes created to showcase premium ingredients and single estate and single origin chocolates. Purist won’t feature any alcohol-led recipes, although some filled chocolates may contain a tiny amount of alcohol – it’s there simply to help preserve the filling and cannot be tasted.
Find out more and try the very first selection at www.chocs.co.uk/PURIST or call 08444 72 70 70
d – the
Richar
butler
John – Vice admira
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first wi Victoria – the
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Victor – the ne
Micha – the new wif
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loomsworthy
Reverend B
Over the Christmas party period in sitting rooms across the country, Club members sat down to find the dastardly culprit and solve The Chocolatier’s Mystery.
B
ut our chocolate-loving sleuths weren’t just in it for the glory – there was also a Prize Draw at stake. So don’t miss next month’s issue when we’ll be revealing our six winners, who will all be enjoying a whole year’s worth of FREE chocolate tasting. In the meantime…
…Who did do it then? Just to recap – all of the action took place at Ganache Towers, the home of Jan Duya, the world’s most famous chocolatier. He also happened to be the unlucky victim. However, in his last few moments, Jan Duya did manage to leave some vital clues behind in the shape of five chocolates carefully arranged in order on the table in front of him. He had cleverly used the chocolates to spell out the culprit’s name, by taking the first letter of each chocolate’s key ingredient. 6
Jan Duy
a
So all our amateur sleuths had to do was to taste the chocolates and find the culprit! The last three chocolates were by far the easiest and gave us cashew, amaretto and rum – spelling CAR – and that ruled out all but two suspects. Chocolates one and two then gave us balsamic vinegar and Irish coffee, but was it the B of balsamic or the V of vinegar? That’s to say, was it the butler or the vicar? By carefully considering the other evidence provided, it becomes clear that the culprit must be the vicar – because the butler had the opportunity to destroy the chocolate evidence and didn’t. Which, for butlers everywhere, must make a nice change!
Next month we reveal our six PRIZE DRAW WINNERS!
Two and half years on and the borehole is in pristine condition and clearly working well – as confirmed by Isaac of The Green Tropics Group (left) and Simon & Terry (below)
Return to Borehole... As some members will recall, in 2008 we sank a borehole in Ghana with the generous help of members’ donations, and it was a delight for us to see it in action again during our last visit to the Osuben Basin.
A
lthough we had seen it in when it was first sunk, it was somehow even more gratifying to see it two years on and to see it in such pristine condition. We were told at the time not to worry about its maintenance because the six villages that used the borehole would make sure that it was kept clean, tidy and correctly maintained. And how they have! Every Tuesday some time is set aside to attend to the well and in true democratic style, each of the villages take turns to do this.
There’s even a saving scheme under way to pay for future repairs – one of the village elders has set up a bank account into which each village pays a small amount, usually around the time of the cocoa harvest when farmers are paid for their cocoa. It really did bring home to us just how vitally important this water supply is to these cocoa farmers, their families and the surrounding villages. 7
continued from page 1
Boucan “
opens for business!
From the moment I set foot on Rabot Estate I knew it was a special place and I knew we had to create something worthy of these stunning surroundings.
As we reported last month, Tasting Club Co-ordinator, Essie Westbrook had the chance to visit Rabot Estate recently as her honeymoon cruise stopped over on the island. So she’s one of the few who has first hand experience of The Boucan, “I can tell you that, no matter how good the photos are, they could never do justice to the views – they are simply stunning. I wish we could have stayed long enough to experience a sunset there, but I suppose we’ll just have to go back for that!” It’s no accident, however, that The Boucan occupies such a prime site with beautiful views overlooking Saint Lucia’s iconic Pitons. Hotel Chocolat Founders, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, have spent hours poring over maps and plans to make sure The Boucan has the best seats in the house. And the beauty doesn’t end there, as Angus Thirlwell explains, “The Boucan is where the magical beauty of Saint Lucia and our world of cacao meet. It’s where our guests can soak up the ambience of the estate that dates back to 1745, then taste the gorgeous surprises that our chefs have created with fresh ingredients and a menu inspired by the cacao groves. From the moment I set foot on Rabot Estate I knew it was a special place and I knew we had to create something worthy of these stunning surroundings.” Another of Angus’ priorities has been the development of ‘Cacao Cuisine’, which incorporates cacao in all its forms into savoury and sweet dishes. Inspired by the millennia that cacao has been used as an ingredient for
”
cooking, the Cacao Cuisine menu at Boucan Restaurant brings together amazing local ingredients with the savoury and sweet notes of Rabot Estate cacao. From meat, poultry and seafood, to salads, vegetables and fruit – everything is freshly prepared using the best seasonal produce of the region. Guests can enjoy exciting, new savoury dishes like Cacao Gazpacho, Flame Grilled Cacao Marinated Red Snapper and King Crab Verrine with Cacao Guacamole. That’s in addition to an array of mouth-watering desserts that includes Cacao Crème Brûlée and Saint Lucian Chocolate Tart. The Boucan menu was created by Chef David Demaison, who drew upon his experience with Michelin starred chefs in his native France and the cuisine of the Pacific Rim. Head Chef Jon Bentham will be overseeing the day to day running of the kitchen. For twenty years he cooked alongside London’s top celebrity chefs, including Gary Rhodes as Executive Chef. Chef Bentham was most recently the Executive Head Chef at the Anse Chastanet Resort in Saint Lucia. Finally, let’s not forget that The Boucan also offers a remarkable setting in which to enjoy one of the West Indies’ most traditional moments, the ‘sundowner’ cocktail – and with views like this, it’s a tradition that is sure to last! The Boucan is open for lunch between 12-2:30pm and Dinner 6:30-9:30pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Call 00 1 758 457 1624. 9
scores
Classic
Selection – D131
1. Blackberry & Pear by O Coppeneur 8.57 (35% scored it 10/10) 2. Pecan Danish by C Brown & E Desmet 8.42 (28% scored it 10/10) 3. Passion Fruit Pannacotta by O Coppeneur 8.31 (31% scored it 10/10) 4. Caramel-Eyes by G Pereira 8.30 (28% scored it 10/10) 5. Gin Ingot by R Macfadyen 8.10 (25% scored it 10/10) 6. Eton Mess by E Desmet 8.06 (25% scored it 10/10) 7. Nougat Star by M Meier 8.01 (23% scored it 10/10) 8. Fudge & Walnut Slice by R Macfadyen 8.00 (26% scored it 10/10) Blackberry & Pear 9. Drunken Pineapple by E Desmet 7.97 (26% scored it 10/10) 10. Coffee Almond Crunch by K Kalenko 7.95 (22% scored it 10/10) 11. Advocaat Smoothie by JC Vandenberghe 7.94 (27% scored it 10/10) 12. Coconut Bombe by K Kalenko 7.93 (23% scored it 10/10) 13. 35% Ivory Coast Milk Tasting Batons 7.86 (18% scored it 10/10) 14. White Chocolate Tasting Batons 7.84 (23% scored it 10/10) 15. Whisky Toddy by R Macfadyen 7.72 (31% scored 10/10)
Dark
Selection – K64
1. Blackberry & Pear by O Coppeneur 8.47 (24% scored it 10/10) 2. 71% Guaranda Dark Tasting Batons 8.34 (24% scored it 10/10) 3. Pecan Danish by C Brown & E Desmet 8.33 (26% scored it 10/10) 4. Whisky Toddy by R Macfadyen 8.31 (29% scored 10/10) 5. Drunken Pineapple by E Desmet 8.28 (26% scored it 10/10) 6. Passion Fruit Pannacotta by O Coppeneur 8.24 (18% scored it 10/10) 7. Gin Ingot by R Macfadyen 8.20 (27% scored it 10/10) 8. Coffee Almond Crunch by K Kalenko 8.09 (27% scored it 10/10) 9. Advocaat Smoothie by JC Vandenberghe 8.07 (18% scored it 10/10) 10. Fudge & Walnut Slice by R Macfadyen 8.05 (18% scored it 10/10) 11. Caramel-Eyes by G Pereira 8.01 (20% scored it 10/10) 12. Eton Mess by E Desmet 7.87 (25% scored it 10/10) 13. Coconut Bombe by K Kalenko 7.78 (15% scored it 10/10) 14. Nougat Star by M Meier 7.75 (9% scored it 10/10)
Elements
– S42
1. Le Grand Crunch Milk 8.35 (25% scored it 10/10) 2. Caramel-Eyes by G Pereira 8.28 (38% scored it 10/10) 3. Pecan Danish by C Brown & E Desmet 8.18 (24% scored it 10/10) 4. Fudge & Walnut Slice by R Macfadyen 7.98 (36% scored it 10/10) 5. White Chocolate Tasting Batons 7.97 (21% scored it 10/10) 6. 35% Ivory Coast Milk 7.91 (18% scored it 10/10) 7. Eton Mess by E Desmet 7.91 (29% scored it 10/10) 8. 71% Guaranda Dark Tasting Batons 7.55 (9% scored it 10/10) 9. Coconut Bombe by K Kalenko 7.49 (23% scored it 10/10) 10. Coffee Almond Crunch by K Kalenko 7.23 (21% scored it 10/10) 10
Blackberry & Pear
Le Grand Crunch Milk
feedback
Have Your Say! Bouquet Blackberry & Pear – Classic “This was a shocker, much, much nicer than I expected, very clever combination as the flavours work so well together, stunning chocolate!” Warren Thomas, Llanelli
Bouquet Pecan Danish – Classic “Nuts, caramel and praline, what more could a girl ask for. A well-deserved winner of the Create a Chocolate Competition.” Kathryn Turner, Blackpool
Brickbat Coffee Almond Crunch – Elements “More coffee and it would have been a winner.” Stacey Shaw, Buntingford
Bouquet Passion Fruit Pannacotta – Classic “This has to be my all time favourite chocolate. It was genius – hats off to the creators. I would quite literally give a limb for a box of these!”
Nicola Paternoster, Ipswich
Bouquet Almond Cheesecake – Dark “Putting the chocolate into the mouth and allowing the dark chocolate to melt into the milky caramel praline centre was a sensation for the senses.”
Elaine Louis Beech, Lutterworth
Brickbat Whisky Toddy – Classic “Far too strong, even for alcoholic loving chocoholics!” Deborah Proudfoot, West Byfleet
Bouquet 71% Guaranda Dark Tasting Batons – Dark “The best batons produced to date. Intense sophisticated flavour.” Susan Crossan, Chester
Bouquet White Chocolate Batons – Elements “Delicious. I usually find white chocolate too creamy, but this was just right.” Denise Gibson, Shildon
In The Postbag… “I like the fact that some work and some don’t. Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to play safe to bump up the scores.” Jack Drever, Orkney “What about adding a ‘fruity’ selection to the monthly selection boxes? The success of the Summer Desserts Collection bears witness to the popularity of ‘fruity’ lovers!” Rita, online “Preferred the previous tasting box. Maybe too many fruit chocs this time. Purely subjective opinion! Enjoyed the box hugely nevertheless!” D Nicholson, online “A box full of surprises. Loved some of the ones I only expected to like!” Bethan Dartnaill, Ruislip “Wow! Most impressive box ever. It was full of classics. I particularly loved how sturdy lots of the chocs were. Nice firm textures to crack through. Gorgeous.” Sarah Toney, Lutterworth “How do they keep coming up with these great new ideas?” Elise Richardson, Warrington “One of the best selections ever. Real variety, rather than nuts, nuts and more nuts that some have been in the past.” Ralph Duckworth, Tarporley 11
preview
Create a
Chocolate COMPETITION
GET YOUR THINKING CAPS ON – THE CREATE A CHOCOLATE COMPETITION IS COMING!
If you’ve ever dreamed of creating your own chocolate, then keep a look out for our unique competition that could well make all your dreams could come true!
O
ur annual Create a Chocolate Competition is your chance to show us what you’re made of by designing your own chocolate. Our very own chocolate expert Angus Thirlwell then judges the entries and chooses the winners. But that’s not all – each winning entry is then made up by one of our chocolatiers and features in a monthly Tasting Selection. That means it will be assessed and scored by your fellow members, which is nail biting stuff as any of our featured chocolatiers will tell you.
Now in its eighth year, we receive more and more entries as the years go by, which is a double-edged sword for Club Founder, Angus Thirlwell, “Every year we get more and more entries and, incredibly, every year the standard goes up a notch too. Of course, it makes it much harder to judge the competition now, but I find it so uplifting to see how talented and creative our members and how much they know about creating chocolates!”
Don’t miss your chance to enter this unique competition – coming next month!
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updates
!!!
WINNER !!!
Congratu lations! you are a WINNEr !
WINNER!!! Congratulation s! you are a WIN NEr
WIN !
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Members’ Prize Draw
THE WINNERS ANNOUNCED! You might remember we recently announced that there would be a Members’ Prize Draw at the end of January – and entering couldn’t have been easier because we automatically entered all of active members as on 31st January... The prize is an entire year’s worth of FREE tasting boxes, as per your current frequency. So, for example, if you are taking every other selection, then the prize is 7 FREE boxes. On the other hand, if you are taking every monthly selection, then the prize is 13 FREE boxes. What’s more, there are no less than 10 lucky winners, picked at random. So, without further ado, congratulations to our 10 lucky members –
Green Shoots At the end of January we played host to the government’s new Trade & Investment Minister, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, as part of a tour of the country.
A
s he embarked on a series of regional visits Lord Green said, “I want to hear from British small and medium-sized companies how we can help them to become a bigger part of the export economy. Exporting is going to be core to the UK’s economic recovery and we need to encourage more UK firms to venture overseas.” Hotel Chocolat co-founders, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, were on hand to show Lord Green around the factory and talk to him about the company. Angus told us, “Lord Green was very interested in our business and the fact that we have more than doubled our exports over the past year. Hotel Chocolat sends chocolate to the USA, Bahrain, Dubai and Kuwait, while the Tasting Club is recruiting more and more overseas members – with Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the USA all part of the family now.”
Ms J Mather Knarsborough Mrs J Hart Harlow Mr S Payne Exeter Mr J Flindall Nottingham Mrs S Standen Keighley Mrs M Crossley Nottingham Mrs B Toms Southampton Mrs J M Somers Liverpool Mrs K Smart Cambridge Mrs E Hudson Princes Risborough
We hope you enjoy your year of FREE chocolate tasting!
Lord Green (centre) makes off with his goody bag, while Angus (left) and Peter look on 13
and finally
ANGUS TALKS AT
The Academy of chocolate The Academy of Chocolate recently held its first conference that brought together a diverse blend of people from across all areas of the chocolate world – from chocolatiers and pastry chefs, to chocolate makers and industry professionals.
Club Founder, Angus spoke about originality, authenticity and ethics
The Academy, whose patron is Michel Roux OBE, was set up in 2005 to improve the standard and knowledge of chocolate and its ingredients in the UK, as well as to encourage a greater understanding amongst chocolate lovers of fine chocolate. Tasting Club Founder, Angus Thirlwell was amongst those invited to speak, as well as former Club Manager, Lynn Cunningham. Angus’ talk,
which was entitled ‘Commercial without Compromise’, spoke of his own experience of growing a business without losing sight of the founding principles – originality, authenticity and ethics in the cases of both Hotel Chocolat and The Chocolate Tasting Club. Lynn, meanwhile, spread the word about our unique Engaged Ethics programme in both Ghana and Saint Lucia.
New Designs
on your box...
Don’t worry, we haven’t got those kinds of designs on your chocolates – we’re talking about the designs on the lids of your boxes! Over the last few months we’ve been taking a long, hard look at the whole range of lid designs across The Tasting Club, from monthly selections to special editions. And over the course of the next few months you’ll start to see the fruits of that long, hard look starting to appear. The idea is to create certain elements of design that are common across the whole range of boxes and so that you can see they all belong to the same happy Tasting Club family. The first of these new designs can be seen on the brand new His & Hers Collection – with a smart white frame and centre panel.
Do let us know what you think! Still celebrating the Season of Love? Valentines may have gone but if the love remains there may still be some His & Hers Collections available. Try online at www.chocs.co.uk/HISHERS or call 08444 727 070 14
competition
KNOW YOUR
Arriba
FROM YOUR Elbow? The exact origin of cocoa is still hotly disputed, with the Amazon basin, the Orinoco Valley in Venezuela and Central America all considered possibilities. One fact that isn’t disputed is that cocoa, much like grapes and fine wine, falls into two distinct categories – bulk or fine. Next it is divided into three main types – Criollo, Trinitario (both fine cocoas) and Forastero (bulk cocoa), which all have their own characteristics. Criollo, meaning ‘native’, probably originated in Central America and is traditionally considered the king of cocoa beans. However, due to natural cross breeding, there are hardly any pure Criollo trees left, indeed, many believe that they do not exist at all. Due to its rarity and fine qualities, it is the most expensive cocoa in the world. With a high percentage of cocoa butter, the beans have an aromatic, distinctive, lingering flavour and lack bitterness, which makes them much sought after.
Whether it’s bulk or fine, every bean has its own story to tell and flavours to discover
Trinitario cocoa originated on the West Indian island of Trinidad and is a natural hybrid of Criollo and Forastero trees. Consequently, it combines the flavours of Criollo with the robust, disease resistance of Forastero, but quality can vary depending on the ratio of Criollo to Forastero. In general though, Trinitario beans are known for their Forastero, meaning ‘foreigner’, is thought complex, fruity flavours and make excellent, to have originated in the Amazon basin. It is a hardier, more productive strain than the Criollo, characterful chocolates. which makes it the preferred variety for many Through DNA mapping by cocoa experts planters. Its robust, classically chocolaty, but at Reading University, we have discovered limited flavours make it the perfect cocoa for that the cocoa trees at Rabot Estate are fine, blended chocolate. However, there are some old, Criollo-rich Trinitarios – that produce exceptional ‘fine’ Forastero beans, such as the characterful chocolates, with deep red fruit prized Ecuadorian Arriba, known for its floral flavours and hints of spices. aroma and flavour. 15
The Tasting Club
Easter
Collections
Reserve online at www.chocs.co.uk/EASTER or call 08444 727 070
EASTER GIFTS Online NOW In store from 21st February 2011 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. Š The Chocolate Tasting Club plc 2011