Club News
The monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club
Issue 1109
NEW WATERING
HOLE?
Thanks to our members’ help we’ve been drilling for water in Ghana again. Find out more on page 7
DID YOU WIN THE CAPTION COMPETITION? We already had a caption, but did you manage to correctly guess what it was? There’s only one way to find out! Murray (left) patiently teaching Simon how to graft a cocoa seedling
Life amongst the
COCOA GROVES
Last month Club News Editor, Simon Thirlwell, headed off to Saint Lucia to stay at The Hotel Chocolat and this is his account of what happened.
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As I packed for my week-long stay at The Hotel Chocolat on Saint Lucia, I found myself packing quite a few of the items that I take on my frequent trips to Ghana – all-terrain shoes for walking, waterproofs and industrial strength mosquito repellent to name but a few... After all, I was visiting during the rainy season and I hoped to spend a good amount of time exploring the cocoa plantation and visiting some of the island’s local cocoa farmers. continued on page 8...
Turn to page 14
I should cocoa –
or is that cacao… We take a look at the ongoing cocoa or cacao debate. Which side will you be on? More on page 13
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Editor
“
I must confess that they almost had to have security remove me from the premises – I just didn’t want to leave!
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Letter from the
s you’ll already have gleaned from this month’s front page, I have recently returned from a flying visit to Saint Lucia. I must confess that they almost had to have security remove me from the premises – I just didn’t want to leave! But believe it or not, it wasn’t just The Hotel Chocolat and Boucan Restaurant that had me captivated… It was also the cocoa.
It was fascinating to compare the techniques employed at Rabot Estate and those used in Ghana. The former is a large plantation devoted to raising fine, extremely rare cocoa, whereas the latter is made up of smallholdings where growing cocoa of any quality is the primary goal. And more than that, I also had the opportunity to speak to some Saint Lucian farmers who are part of our Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme. It’s clearly a very different scheme to our projects in Ghana, but the basic goal is similar – to improve the standard of farms and the cocoa they grow and, therefore, their livelihoods. I look forward to relating more about what I discovered in future editions of the Club News. Elsewhere in this edition, there’s a double helping of news from Ghana on pages 7 & 13, we take a look at some of the members of the chocolate aristocracy on page 6 and, finally, we delve into the ‘cocoa’ or ‘cacao’ debate on page 13. Until next month, happy tasting! We’re calling last orders on the brand new Fortified Collection – see page 4 to order yours now!
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 2011
Improve your chocolate knowledge
MARZIPAN
L
ove it or hate it – there’s no escaping the fact that marzipan has a long, rich history that goes back to the ground almond delicacies enjoyed in ancient Persia. It was introduced to Europe during the 13th century via the Crusades and by the 14th century it was a luxury to be found only at the tables of the rich, because sugar was so expensive. With the discovery of the new world, sugar became cheaper and marzipan
really took off in Europe, with the Baltic city of Lübeck becoming the specialist centre, as it remains to this day. Sugar is now marzipan’s cheapest ingredient and many mass produced marzipans are overly sweet – doing its popularity no favours! The secret to making good marzipan is to use as much ground almond paste as possible and therefore as little sugar as possible – much like chocolate.
This month’s Prize Draw
Winners D137 Classic Selection
prize draw winner is Miss B Hole from Rugby who wins a Summer Goody Bag. Next month’s prize is a Purist Pralines & Caramel Selection.
K70 Dark Selection
prize draw winner is Mrs J Y Fox from Exeter who wins a Midnight Mints Selection. Next month’s prize is a Serious Dark Fix Selection.
S48 Elements
prize draw winner is Mrs A Cotterell from East Grinstead who wins a Nut Mania Giant Slab. Next month’s prize is a Cookie Choc Chip Giant Slab.
P02 Purist Selection
prize draw winner is Margaret Watson from Newcastle-UponTyne who wins a Purist Pralines and Caramel Selection.
LAST CALL FOR…
Fortified If you love your boozy chocolates to have an extra kick, and you haven’t ordered your all-new Fortified Collection yet, then hurry!
T
he infamous Fortified Collection is back and this time it’s deliciously different – because now it’s a quarterly collection and the first box is due for release imminently. Featuring one of the Club’s all-time favourite liqueurs, amaretto; warming Saint Lucian golden rum; a mellow splash or two of marsala fortified wine; a rather special bison grass vodka and much, much more. Plus, each collection includes a brand new set of Provenance Cards – giving you fascinating insights into a select few of our featured alcohols, including their origin, history, tasting notes and more. The Fortified Introductory Selection is available for just £14.95 (incl. delivery) – regular selection £19.95. But hurry – reserve yours now at www.chocs.co.uk/ FORTIFIED or call 08444 72 70 70
Next month’s prize is a Purist Collection.
Don’t forget
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– score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk and you’ll be automatically entered into this prize draw
Your invitation to an exclusive members-only event
The
Excellence Collection
The very best of the best from the past year are back in three stunning Excellence Collections – Classic, Dark and Elements. It’s the ‘Oscars’ of the chocolate world and it’s certainly not one to miss! Most members are automatically eligible to receive Excellence – check yours is reserved at www.chocs.co.uk/EXCELLENCE or call 08444 72 70 70.
RESERVE YOURS TODAY!
The Chocolate
ARISTOCRACY
Champagne Truffle
Brandy Bonanza
As any Tasting Club member can attest, there’s a vast array of chocolate recipes available and many more that are just waiting to be created! But wander into those specialist chocolate shops (particularly in France or Belgium), and you’ll find that there are a few chocolates that every chocolatier must make. They are the Chocolate Aristocracy, often used as a yardstick for judging a chocolatier’s skill. Needless to say, just about every chocolatier will have his or her own recipe for each one – closely guarded, of course, because their recipe is surely the best! Here are our top 6 must-have, aristocratic recipes…
Boutique Rum Truffle
The Champagne Truffle This undisputed Queen of all
truffles. Usually made with marc de champagne, an eau de vie, but our most recent recipe uses a drop of the real thing for more delicate flavours.
Cognac Truffle Cognac is one of the all-time aristocratic
spirits, so it’s no wonder that the Cognac Truffle features here. Usually paired with dark chocolate, but its warming notes mingle well with mellow milk chocolate too.
Intense Praline Dark
Rum Truffle Thanks to France and Britain’s long association with the West Indies, rum is also one of the key spirits when it comes to making truffles – its caramel-like notes blend well with those of chocolate.
Praline To some, a praline is just a praline, but we must agree to disagree on that! There’s a massive array available – for example, our flagship pralines use less sugar than the average to let the full, earthy nut notes come through. Gianduja Dark
Extreme Caramel 6
Gianduja Allegedly invented by Italian chocolatiers to make their cocoa go further by blending it with milled hazelnuts – there is very little else in the world that can match them for mouth-meltingly smooth textures! Caramel From fairly firm to really runny, with butter, with cream or both, caramels are a real favourite. The current trend for salted caramels is actually a revived tradition – first pioneered by Brittany caramel makers to help balance the sweetness.
Below and right – sinking a borehole in Ghana is a difficult, time consuming and very muddy affair!
BOREHOLE
number two is under way! As we recently reported, one of this year’s major projects in Ghana is to create a brand new nursery site, on a brand new road and it needs a brand new water supply.
T
his road, dubbed ‘The Cocoa Highway’ is a bypass around one of the main towns in the Osuben Region, Nkawkaw – the cocoa growing area in which we operate – and it links two of Ghana’s biggest cities. All of which means that it’s sure to be busy and that traffic is what attracted our partners in Ghana (Bob, Stephen and Isaac) to the area. In short, they saw it as the perfect opportunity to expand further our seedlings programme, which helps cocoa farmers replace old, unproductive trees with new, more hardy, more productive cocoa. In particular, we’re keen to reach both passing traffic interested in our cocoa seedlings and make ourselves a destination for more farmers from further afield – many of which find it difficult to reach our Osuben nursery,
but can easily get to such a convenient place on a major road. However, before any of that can come about, we must first secure a good supply of water, because those seedlings will need quite a bit of watering! As you might remember, Club members were so generous in donating to the truck appeal last year that we have funds left over. Which means that we already have the money to pay for the borehole, kindly donated by our generous members. And, as you can see from the latest pictures sent from Ghana, the borehole got safely under way and is now finished. This is the second member-funded borehole that we have sunk in the area – thank you so much for your continued support! 7
continued from page 1
Life amongst the
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COCOA GROVES
It is this unique setting, on a 140-acre working cocoa plantation, that has shaped the entire hotel, from the open-air rainforest showers in every room... to the unique experiences available to guests
But that, clearly, is where the similarity ends, because the nature of this trip was very different. I was lucky enough to be staying at Hotel Chocolat’s new hotel in order to write about it knowledgeably both here and for Hotel Chocolat. And what a place to stay! Being situated 1,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by rain forest and cocoa groves, is a very different proposition from the ‘usual’ luxury Caribbean hotels, where sandy beaches and waiter service to your sun lounger are the order of the day. And it is this unique setting, on a 140-acre working cocoa plantation, that has shaped the entire hotel, from the open-air rainforest showers in every room and the cacao cuisine served at Boucan restaurant, to the unique experiences available to guests. It’s a luxurious hotel but it is one that sits perfectly in its environment. But before we head off to explore the cocoa, a few quick words about the pioneering food served in Boucan. It really is as stunning as the views over the Piton Mountain that rises right in front of you on Boucan’s panoramic terrace. It features the innovative use of cocoa, both as a savoury spice and in its more chocolaty form, in everything on the menu, paired with the very best local ingredients. It really does have to be tasted to be believed! The cuisine, however, isn’t the only thing that sets the Hotel Chocolat apart. Being set on the Rabot Estate cocoa plantation means that guests have the opportunity to immerse
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themselves in the world of cocoa like never before – from simply walking the cocoa trails, to making chocolate. I took part in all of the cocoa experiences, starting with Tree to Bean, which involved Cuthbert, the very knowledgeable Nursery Overseer, taking a group of us on a fascinating tour of the Rabot nurseries. He demonstrated the grafting technique used to propagate cocoa on the estate and then had us all graft our own trees, which were labelled and should by now be planted out on the estate. He showed us how cocoa grows, how it’s harvested, fermented and finally dried. Then he showed us the fantastic herb garden, where an impressively large array of herbs and salad leaves are grown for use in Boucan restaurant. Then there’s the Bean to Bar Experience, which is run by Boucan Executive Chef, Jon Bentham, which takes you from roasting beans to making your chocolate in the Boucan kitchens. And finally, one of the highlights of my trip was the Engaged Ethics Cocoa Experience, which took us off to meet and talk to local cocoa farmers who are all part of the Cocoa Programme. From my perspective, especially, it was extremely interesting to compare Saint Lucian farms and techniques with those I’ve seen in Ghana – there’ll be more on that in a forthcoming article. And I also can’t wait to tell you more about the Rabot nurseries, the Boucan dishes, the Saint Lucian cocoa farmers I met and more – but they’ll all have to wait for future issues!
Clockwise from top left – inspecting a local farm with Marius, one of the Cocoa Programme officers; Simon making sure the beans are drying properly; Hotel Chocolat team member, Serena, skilfully grafting a seedling; batches of seedlings are carefully labelled so we know exactly where they came from; the striking Boucan Restaurant; spotting Rabot Lake through the trees; Cacao Cuisine Chef, David Demaison, showing guests how to make chocolate; a line up of Boucan chefs; Cuthbert shows how to graft like an expert; Simon talking cocoa with Marius 9
scores
Classic 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Dark 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Selection – D137
Raspberry Slice by E Desmet 8.49 (32% scored it 10/10) Butterscotch Praline by E Desmet 8.36 (31% scored it 10/10) Almond Brandy by M Meier 8.36 (35% scored it 10/10) Between the Nuts by G Pereira 8.31 (30% scored it 10/10) Blueberry Soufflé by O Coppeneur 8.29 (33% scored it 10/10) Toffee Coffee by R Macfadyen 8.21 (29% scored it 10/10) Praline Bliss by K Kalenko 8.19 (26% scored it 10/10) Boston Bullet by R Macfadyen 8.12 (28% scored it 10/10) 37% Milk Tasting Batons 8.07 (19% scored it 10/10) Oranges & Lemons by O Nicod 8.02 (36% scored it 10/10)
Selection – K70
Toffee Coffee by R Macfadyen 8.69 (33% scored it 10/10) Boston Bullet by R Macfadyen 8.63 (38% scored it 10/10) Almond Brandy by M Meier 8.60 (27% scored it 10/10) 68% Dark Tasting Batons, Ghana 8.50 (16% scored it 10/10) Praline Bliss by K Kalenko 8.36 (20% scored it 10/10) Raspberry Slice by E Desmet 8.32 (33% scored it 10/10) Between the Nuts by G Pereira 8.30 (24% scored it 10/10) Pink Champagne Truffles by O Nicod 8.23 (24% scored it 10/10) Blueberry Soufflé by O Coppeneur 8.09 (27% scored it 10/10) Butterscotch Praline by E Desmet 8.03 (16% scored it 10/10)
Elements 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
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Toffee Coffee
Selection – S48
Praline Bliss by K Kalenko 8.37 (21% scored it 10/10) Butterscotch Praline by E Desmet 8.31 (29% scored it 10/10) 37% Milk Tasting Batons 8.19 (17% scored it 10/10) 35% Milk Chocolate 8.15 (21% scored it 10/10) Between the Nuts by G Pereira 8.09 (29% scored it 10/10) Milky Mousse by R Macfadyen 7.59 (12% scored it 10/10) Oranges & Lemons by O Nicod 7.47 (13% scored it 10/10) Tiramisu Slab 7.17 (13% scored it 10/10) 65% Dark Tasting Batons, Ghana 6.82 (4% scored it 10/10) Chilli Truffle by K Kalenko 5.84 (4% scored it 10/10)
Purist 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Raspberry Slice
Selection – P02
Praline Bliss
Chilli & Orange Bûche 8.78 (38% scored it 10/10) Simple Dark Truffles 8.38 (43% scored it 10/10) 68% Dark Chocolate, Ghana 8.33 (27% scored it 10/10) Dark Florentines 8.13 (36% scored it 10/10) Chilli & Orange Bûche Peaberry Coffee Beans 7.65 (15% scored it 10/10) 100% Dark Buena Vista, Dominican Republic 6.50 (0% scored it 10/10)
feedback
Have Your Say! Bouquet Between the Nuts – Classic In last month’s reviews a customer said “a praline is just a praline”! This one blows that thought out of the water!
In The Postbag…
Amanda McKenzie, Aberdeenshire
Dear Simon
Bouquet Raspberry Slice – Classic
On reading the latest Club News I felt I must contact you with a complaint. Surely not you say! She has been with us from the beginning and pounces on each monthly box like a child on Christmas morning! I have twice been quoted now in said Club News and each time I am quoted as a brickbat comment! Whilst I am delighted to see my comments in print – chocolate democracy in action as you say – I must profess my love of Hotel Chocolat and the Club. I do make more bouquet comments (honest!).
Dreamy, creamy and fruity – spot on!
Gordon Smith, Machynlleth
Brickbat Chilli Truffle – Classic Lets have a chilli AND Marmite chocolate... then we can doubly hate it. Others, of course, will doubly love it!
James Wilson, Eastleigh
Bouquet Chilli Truffles – Classic
What more can you say about the marriage of chilli and dark chocolate – a marriage made in heaven.
Clare Campbell, Derby
Brickbat Boston Bullet – Dark I was looking forward to the hit from the bullet but it never arrived...
Rachel Hunt, Leicestershire
Bouquet Champagne Truffles – Dark Just the right amount of champers and strawberries. Summer here we come!
Lynn Eaton, Doncaster
Brickbat Between the Nuts – Elements Wanted to love this but there was just a little something missing.
Stacey Shaw, Buntingford
Bouquet Tiramisu – Elements The coffee beans were the ‘icing on the pudding’.
Ann Buglass, Todmorden
Bouquet Simple Dark Truffles – Purist These all went in record time. Could, and will, have many more!
Liz Simmons, Brentwood
I love the new look menu and the idea of an ‘off the wall’ chocolate – these marmite choccies are probably what inspires said brickbat comments! In all seriousness, please do keep up the good work and push the boundaries of my taste buds with some of your unusual combinations. As long as you throw in the odd praline from time to time, I’m a happy bunny! Kind regards, Dr Amanda McKenzie Editor’s note – please see left Amanda! 11
The Chocolate
Tasting Adventure We don’t believe that tasting chocolate should be an area reserved for the so-called experts. With a little guidance and few bits of insider knowledge it’s easy to taste and talk about chocolate like a seasoned professional – within minutes.
Coming Soon! Which is exactly what the forthcoming Chocolate Tasting Adventure is all about – demystifying chocolate tasting and opening it up to all, making it fun, fascinating and full of fabulous flavours!
updates
These plantain seedlings are flourishing and are almost ready to plant out as shade trees for cocoa seedlings
Roasted cocoa beans – is this the point where cacao becomes cocoa...?
The Plantain Cocoa Vs. CACAO PROJECT One of our ongoing programmes is the Plantain Project, which for the last two years has enjoyed great success and it continues to do so.
One word just looks like a rearrangement of the other, so does it really matter which one we use?
B
C
ut you might be asking why are we encouraging cocoa farmers to grow plantain in the first place? Well, the answer is that cocoa seedlings need constant shade and plantain is by far the best alternative, because it’s also a food crop and it enhances the soil. Plantain seedlings are expensive, but a new method has been developed to split one plant into as many as 20 seedlings – which is exactly what our Plantain Project teaches farmers. During our last trip to Ghana we met a farmer who was benefitting hugely from this project. Joseph had recently taken 1,000 cocoa seedlings from us, and so needed quite a few shade trees! He showed us his plantain nursery and explained that he could grow about 40 plantain seedlings per square metre every 3 to 6 weeks. And, what’s more, as we walked through his cocoa farm he pointed out the plantain trees he had grown and those he had bought in before – his home-grown trees weren’t just taller, they looked much more healthy and robust too.
ACAO is undoubtedly the word closest to the original used by the ancient Olmec, Mayan and then Aztec civilisations and it’s said that the word COCOA actually came about through error – a result of a spelling mistake by early British traders. So, really, COCOA is simply an anglicised version of the other word, indeed, all of our European neighbours refer to CACAO. As do our American cousins, who reserve the word COCOA for the powder, which is mainly used to make hot chocolate drinks, for baking and cooking. Confused? Well, here’s some clarification from Club Founder, Angus Thirlwell, “As far as I’m concerned, the two words are absolutely interchangeable. In America we refer to CACAO, in Britain we say COCOA and in Saint Lucia we use both! In some ways I’d like to clarify matters by calling everything to do with the tree, the pod and the beans CACAO and everything that is part of the refining process COCOA. Perhaps we’ll end up there, but for now I think we’ll carry on using both!” 13
and finally
NEW PRICES From 1st November We do try to keep the price of monthly tasting boxes as low as we can for as long as we can – whilst not compromising our high standards. Unfortunately, the rising cost of many of our ingredients and materials means that the price of our regular monthly boxes will increase from 1st November.
I
t has been two years since our last increase, during which time we’ve seen general inflation of 10%, cocoa prices have rocketed by 26% and delivery costs have
risen by 25%. Classic, Dark and Elements will increase by £1 to £18.95, which represents a 5.6% increase. Purist will remain at £18.95 and Trio will increase to £24.95. Past experience tells us that members agree we should choose a price increase over a reduction in quantity, which is the other choice, and we’d be pleased to hear your thoughts this time. We do hope you agree that our boxes still represent great value for money.
Caption
Competition A few months ago we set you a rather different caption competition. This time we’d already come up with a caption, all you had to do was guess what it was! We even gave you a hint to get you heading in the right direction – which is probably why we had so many entries that were extremely close and we picked our winner out of a hat full of those who got closest. 14
Simon says,
“
Terry, I can’t help noticing that with you on one end, we need two people on the other!
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You can see that our caption was all about balancing Club Director, Terry Waters on what looks like a makeshift seesaw. Congratulations to our winner, SARAH GOWANS – your Hotel Chocolat Everything Selection is on its way!
feature
Signs of the TIMES Ghana’s position on the Africa’s west coast means that it was one of the first countries to attract the attention of Western European missionaries – which all started with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century.
H
owever, it wasn’t until the Basel missionaries arrived in the 19th century that the Christian church really started to take off, with the establishment of schools – firstly in coastal areas and gradually moving in land. Indeed, to this day most major secondary schools are church-related institutions. All of which makes Ghana an overtly religious country, which to the outsider is most apparent in the names given to everyday businesses, from beauty salons to food kiosks and in the messages inscribed on just about every commercial and industrial vehicle – a selection of which we captured during our last trip to Ghana.
Just about every bus, lorry and taxi in Ghana carries a message, as well as many businesses too 15
Fancy a winter getaway... then why not wrap yourself in the luxurious surroundings of The Hotel Chocolat – set amongst the rainforest and sun-dappled cocoa groves of Saint Lucia’s oldest plantation, The Rabot Estate. Relax and unwind, or discover cocoa like never before, the choice is yours. And as you sip sundowner cocktails in Boucan Bar, the Piton Mountains rising majestically in front of you, the British winter will be a million miles away…
Book your winter getaway NOW! – find details of packages, prices and availability at: www.thehotelchocolat.com reservations@hotelchocolat.com or call: 0844 544 1272
Tasting Club Members receive a 10% discount on bookings!