Profiteroles, Miette and the Cotswolds

Mmm. Profiteroles. I haven’t made these in years. After the tart at Alex’s a few weeks ago (I mean the dessert, the women in attendance were lovely!) I haven’t stopped thinking about these. So decided last night after declining on dessert at the restaurant that I might as well make them when we got home. They were slightly more effort than I remembered. You have to beat the batter pretty hard. Would be great if you had any frustrations to vent. Not so great when you’re having a catch up with your lovely cousin visiting from South Africa. Finally they were made, along with the chocolate sauce and organic double cream. Delicious and still warm. Though by now more a midnight snack than a dessert. The recipe will be in this month's newsletter which I'll send out in a few days.

Said cousin stayed the night and we headed off to the Cotswolds on this beautiful, sunshiney day. Perfect day to get out of the city. We managed to find the gorgeous country pub our Uncle had taken me to on an earlier visit (even though I couldn’t remember what it was called) and even bagged ourselves a table outside in the sun. The food at the Horse and Groom is fantastic.
A good bet for a country pub. I hear the Old Butcher’s is also good, so we might have to try there next time. Or the Fox which Uncle Claude also said was “a good boozer” but impossible to get a table in.

We made such good time on the way up that after lunch we had a few moments before getting to the brewery (where our Uncle lives) to stop back into Miette that I visited last time. Some of the chocolates I had wanted to try last time but there weren’t any, were on the menu today. So I selected six and packaged them away. I haven’ tried them yet. The only sad thing I see about Miette – apart from being so far away – is that they make really yummy sounding fillings in white chocolate varieties. I just don’t like white chocolate much. Such a waste of interesting combinations. Sour cherry is the only one I remember from a long list. When I start eating them I will report back.

There are dozens of birds at the brewery, including seven peacocks and three peahens, and the baby swans hatched recently. Budgens kindly save bread for the menagerie. The little ones were so cute swimming up to the trough to get their food. We were also treated to the peacock’s full feather display (and then a little bit more than you want to see - we don't go in for bird porn on this site!).

The brewery really is one of my favourite places, it is stunningly beautiful. Given that Miette’s is a short walk, perhaps I could even consider living there. Chocolate and countryside and good places to eat. That’s most of the bases covered.

a chocolate expert

I was asked to be a Chocolate expert at Damien Senn’s Web Wednesdays evening for internet entrepreneurs last night. Damien is a good friend and I went along to the first one of these he held eighteen months ago, and a couple since. It was an Easter after-party and he promised there would be chocolate bunnies. Thinking it was unlikely to be good chocolate I decided to stop at La Maison du Chocolat to finally sample their Salted Caramel Macaron. Very subtly salty, almost negligible, but very, very good. The large size was just perfect to satisfy the cravings I’d had for good chocolate all day.

I arrived at the trendy bar in Piccadilly and finally encountered the right pocket where the early arrivers were hiding. I was presented with an enormous platter of brightly wrapped eggs. I declined. Only later did I discover they were actually made by Lindt and conceded to top up my chocolate reserves. They were milk and so I stopped after just one and then eyed off the Lindt bunnies that were decoratively arranged on every other table in the room. I decided not to knock off the innocent rabbits. The macaron was enough for the one day. I met loads of wonderful people and though I can’t make next month’s because I have a fabulous dinner party to attend, I’m looking forward to going again.

Easter in the Lake District

I remember saying last year that Thanksgiving had to be my favourite holiday, because friends and/or family get together and eat a great meal but there’s no pressure to buy presents. But I think I may have to reconsider. Afterall, Easter can provide the benefits of those, plus there’s CHOCOLATE. And it is actually celebrated almost everywhere in the world, and in the countries I have lived it’s always been a four day weekend.
I enjoyed this Easter in the Lake District. Last year I was in St Lucia, the year before in Japan and in 2004 I was in Vietnam. It wasn’t really acknowledged in any of those years. This year I gave and received chocolate. Apparently Somerfields supermarket made the comment in the lead up to Easter that it is sad that most people don’t realise the real reason for Easter: the celebration of the birth of Christ. Ahem. Poor, poor PR woman who made that gaff.
We went hiking on Saturday, the first time I had put the boots back on since returning to the UK. I used to love scrambling up rocks as a kid, and took every opportunity to go to the beach near my parents’ farm and climb over and around the rocks that marked the cape. This time climbing up the steep slope up Wetherlam it was far too reminiscent of the stretch up to Gillman’s Point on Kilimanjaro. Yes, I know it’s about 3000m lower and there was no altitude sickness, but somehow it haunted me still. The hike on Saturday was still a gorgeous walk on a beautiful Spring day. I am sure in time the memories of that slow scramble to Gillman’s will fade completely and I will enjoy the great outdoors as I did as a child!

Easter egg insides revealed:

the best cookies ever

I just made the best cookies ever. Mmm. Well, I just made three batches, and of the two that have come out of the oven and cooled (just) long enough for me to try they are both good. The first batch was from the cookie recipe you get when you sign up for my newsletter. But the second... Oh my. I got misshaped (that weren't really that misshaped) caramel centred "O"s (chocolate discs) from l'Artisan du Chocolat and I pressed them into a chocolate cookie batter and patted them around the edges to hold in the disc. They look so pretty! And they taste so gooood. I expect there may be a few left for the family Easter trip to the Lake District, which is what they were intended for.

Clever Jonny just took a picture for me. I love technology.

Chocolate Easter craziness

It's almost Easter and there is so much chocolate in the media at the moment. I'm happy to be amongst them. Though it's about time I started seeking the media and then the tours might turn up in more publications.

Last Saturday I was invited for coffee and cake at the lovely Alex's fabulous flat (Alex is female). I don't think anyone actually drank any coffee. (I love how herbal tea is so mainstream these days, though I am ribbed at home for my ever growing range that is threatening to overtake all of the shelf space in the kitchen.) Though there was no coffee, there was definitely cake. A divine chocolate profiterole tart. Combining two of my favourite things. Proper chocolate ganache and perfectly made profiteroles. This used to be one of my favourite desserts my mum used to make. She never filled them with the weird sweetened cream which is how they are traditionally served, but just hot in a bowl with hot chocolate sauce and pouring cream.

Yes, I know the "weird cream" is crème pâtissière and when it is done well tastes nothing like the sugary concoction that goes into the cheap version that supermarkets and some bakeries sell. Case in point: the profiteroles in this tart were plumped with a divine cream that contained the tell-tale grey flecks of real vanilla bean. Surprisingly even the pastry on this tart was just perfect, it would have been delicious as a biscuit in its own right. Alex came on the chocolate tour two weeks ago and brought out the two salted chocolate bars she had bought on the trip. It was great to be able to sample the two next to each other. Though difficult to compare because one contains chopped almonds.

I saw in the paper this morning that Thornton's had made the largest ever edible billboard in Covent Garden. Made from 390kg of chocolate it measures 4.4m X 2.9m. A media and advertising first. This is to coincide with their decision to remove all the Hydrogenated Fats and GM ingredients from their Easter products. About time! Wonder if that applied for the billboard too... Would have been quite expensive to create if they did use real chocolate!

It took 300 hours to build but apparently was eaten in a day. Doesn't sound very hygenic to me.

In other chocolate Easter egg reporting, in an independent survey by Which?, Cadbury's was voted at the bottom of the scale for the taste of their milk chocolate Easter eggs. *Wow* Who would have guessed?

Sorry, I'll stop being so smarmy. But please, please buy good chocolate this Easter.

Gu Brownies

After being told a long time ago that I had to try these brownies. I finally succumbed on a late last-minute trip to Tesco last night. Yes, how boring of me: in Tesco on a Saturday night getting shooed out of the store by the staff.

Back to the brownies.

Because I was two steps from getting manhandled to the checkout I threw the brownies in the basket without glancing at their ingredients. I remembered reading Gu ingredients about two years ago when they first launched their chocolate souffles and being pleasantly surprised that the list was minimal and contained no artificial or unnecessary nasties. When I got the brownies home and finally looked at the list I discovered that the chocolate they use has vanillin in it. Vanillin! I know! Surely they know that real chocolate only has vanilla in it, and that vanillin is a cheap chemical substitute. Horrified. I have to say if they were amazing this wouldn't stop me eating them, but frankly, they are only ok. But when you've had the best it's hard to enjoy substitutes, and therefore I may be being quite harsh. If you have tried them and enjoyed them then I suspect you will like these brownies even more.

Dreaming about chocolate

I keep dreaming about chocolate. I was not even aware I was doing it, except a couple of times I've had flashbacks about buying chocolate, or speaking to people about chocolate, and then realised that they never actually happened and so I must have dreamt them. Well, I guess there are worse things to dream about!

I got to talk to Holly today. She just got a promotion at work while I was in Africa (hooray!). We decided she is going to continue to be the most popular person because she is always bringing in cakes to work. I don't know what happened to the world that almost no one bakes from scratch these days. It tastes so much better. I wish I worked with her! I used to take in cakes and cookies to work too. I rarely do now. I don't make things that often, and when I do I have Jonny to eat them. Though he told me off the other day. Apparently I have to stop making nice things to eat. Because if I wasn't around he wouldn't bother with sweet things. It is my fault that he has to eat them and he is voicing concerns that despite all the running and cycling and climbing and snowboarding he does, he is going to get *fat*. My fault entirely. I am a terrible person for making cookies.

I don't know how Holly manages to make cakes and take them in without even trying them first! She just got a new recipe book and was reading me the recipes over the phone. Unfortunately I don't have the patience for ones that take an hour in the oven and then an hour to rest afterwards too. Though I would desparately like to make a cake now. Any sort of cake. Unfortunately I can't keep walking past the boxes in the hallway screaming "get me out of the way", and I still haven't gone and collected the last few. I'm not sure where the mini-trampoline is going to fit. Back to the boxes. Fortunately I have sustinance (read: chocolate) to make it more pleasurable!

many desserts

What a fabulous weekend. Strange that I worked Saturday yet the weekend almost seemed to feel longer than others. Though I guess I haven’t had a completely free weekend in a long time. Funny how action begets more action. Despite having less available time it almost felt like I got more done. But I guess the “more” was really just having a relatively clean and tidy flat. Always good for the soul! I stopped in very briefly at Paul’s on Saturday (Paul A Young). He was busy in the kitchen so I didn’t disturb him. He has some chocolates on display that were very tempting – though I did restrain myself. Sort of... I bought one of his brownies. He’s got a simnel flavour on display but there were no samplers so I stuck to walnut and raisin. Yum. Gooey. He had a 100% bar available to try. It was pretty spectacular, for a 100% bar, not bitter at all. I’m sorry now I didn’t buy any. Very foolish of me.

I ate three more desserts this weekend (and only managed a twenty minute run…) One of the desserts I did share! Strangely, in three desserts I didn’t choose another chocolate one. Fortunately other people on the table did so I managed to sample some. Afternoon tea at Laduree for a fabulous friend’s 30th was delicious. Their hot chocolate really is divine (I had a delicious caramel tea but polished off other people’s chocolat chaud.) The Arabica (coffee and walnut cake) was sensational too. From there a smaller group of us went to Pizza Organic and I foolishly overlooked an award winning gluten free chocolate cake for the lemon and almond cake. The latter was good, but not compared to the fudgy, chocolate dessert that I cheekily assisted my friends in demolishing. I had serious food envy. A sugary, sugary sweet day. We bought macarons to take away, but they are still sitting on the kitchen bench for the moment. I bought all the chocolate varieties, including chocolate and blackcurrant. Report to follow…

chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate

So much chocolate news to report. Walking near Oxford Street today I passed near an outlet of Paul’s (bakery and patisserie) and the sign on the pavement was all about chocolate, and their obsession with it. So I decided to see just how well they did chocolate. Now, with several chocolate options on the menu it would not be fair to make a blanket judgement about quality based on one item, but I decided to restrict myself to one, just the same. I chose a piece of their chocolate cake. By the height of it I am guessing it is made with very little flour. It was nice. Great adjective, isn’t it? “Nice.” It was not particularly dense, and not overly chocolatey. Not particularly more-ish, or even a texture that felt like it would placate any chocolate cravings. Just: "nice". [I didn't eat the whole piece.]

I went from there to a meeting with Steve and Martin from Seventypercent. Martin offered me two new chocolate bars to try. Made by an American who buys in cocoa liquor and processes it into chocolate himself. A practice rarely done by small scale chocolatiers, or even by larger ones. The first had the most amazing, fruity smell, but its taste didn’t quite live up to this. Reminiscent of an American candy bar, clearly dark and of higher quality, but lacking something. Martin called it “control” and suggested the conching length needs a little refining. I never knew it took Amedei (the award winning chocolatier) eight years to get a great chocolate bar. The second bar barely had any smell at all, but the taste was far superior to the other. Fruity and notes of caramel, too. While a great chocolate it is not yet one I would hurry to buy again. (I'll find out the name and get back to you!)

After leaving the men I went to Yuatcha, to finally try their chocolates. Their display has expanded since I was last there, and sadly it seems they don’t seem to sell madeleines anymore. Shame, they were good. I asked the women behind the counter where the chocolates were made: “behind the glass screen there”.

“Do you know what chocolate it is made from?”

“The chef buys it in and makes them in there.”

“But do you know what chocolate it is made from?”

A sweet smile and a shake of the head. With titles like “apricot wasabi truffle” I decided I might as well try them anyway. A hefty £8 per 100g. I’m disappointed. While the ganache of the apricot wasabi (noticeably lacking in wasabi) and the raspberry rose) were quite nice, and the chocolates were well constructed and of a nice texture, I feel certain that they did not use chocolate that the other chocolatiers in that prie bracket use. They used a popular brand that, when mixed with good ingredients, make quite good chocolates, but on its own fails to shine. Unfortunately because truffles still often need to be encased in chocolate you still have to bite through chocolate on its own to get to the truffle.

Later that day I stopped in to L’Artisan du Chocolat in Sloane Square. Their Easter display is fabulous and they have created a whole range of mini eggs especially for Easter. These can be bought on their own or inside larger eggs, decorated as boiled eggs or with a fried egg slapped on the side. (Not a real fried egg!) L’Artisan have also recently bought the machines to be able to buy chocolate liquor and process it into chocolate. They have always made their own blends, but now can do so right from the bean. Their first blend is impressive. It tastes strong, but strong of fruit and a hint of smokiness or tobacco. It’s a really powerful chocolate that on its own is really satisfying. This is what their Easter eggs are being made from this year.

So, the weekend begins. I will be near Paul A Young’s today. I haven’t visited in a while, so I may have to pop in and see what he is up to... :-)

A chocolate shortage!?!

This is terrifying. While I am grateful that the whole world is now asking for better chocolate I refuse to accept that I might be rationed.

“World chocolate shortage ahead?” This was the heading that popped up on the MSN homepage when I opened my browser tonight. Apparently the trend towards high cocoa percentage chocolate has led to a 44% increase in the price of cocoa over the last eighteen months. World cocoa production is decreasing, while demand is increasing.

Now, I’m certain there’s no need to panic yet. I am sure that farmers will soon convert their banana plantations to cacao, and all will be right again with the world. Given Monday’s news, it is imperative for the future of the health of all mankind that we all have affordable access to chocolate.

Just in case… I think I might start stockpiling.

More good health news about chocolate

Again in the free magazine I was handed at the tube, chocolate is EVEN better for us that we first thought: “Cocoa could stop killer diseases.” Apparently unrefined cocoa contains a compound that has health benefits with effects that will make it a breakthrough comparable to penicillin and anaesthesia. Epicatechin is apparently so important that it should be considered a vitamin. It is also found in tea, wine and some fruits and vegetables, but is not present in most commercial chocolate. So, reach for the dark stuff! Pour yourself up a cup of cocoa and toast to a long, healthy and happy life!

Helping at the Masai school

I really didn’t expect that we wouldn’t see many more flushing toilets again during this trip. I should have read the small print! Though the ecotoilets in the Masai camp were pretty impressive: a high straw fence around a toilet seat on blocks and wrapped in black plastic; the ground covered in gray stones like some kind of water feature, and atmospherically lit by a kerosene lamp, with ash as a flush. Almost like it belonged in House and Garden. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for our dome tents, but the mattresses provided helped a lot.

What an interesting few days have just passed: On Thursday I visited a poor Tanzanian school, Friday I was on safari, Saturday I was laying on a sunlounger by a hotel pool, Sunday I was iceskating in Kenya and yesterday I got back at 5am and worked for 12 hours. I’m on the train on the way to work again. Surprisingly not too tired. Though I am definitely going to bed early tonight.

The time spent with the Masai tribe was really interesting. It was great to see that so much of the school had been built already with the money we sent earlier. We didn’t contribute much by our actual labour (though I did have fun throwing the mud and cement mixture at the walls!), but I am certain we did by our presence – the message it sent that we cared. On the final evening of our three nights the local children were brought to the school building, more than 20 of them ranging from babies to young men and women. They sang for us, and then we sang for them, this was followed by a dusk football match on the pitch that most of our group had spent the last few days clearing by hand. When the school is finished it will teach about 20 students. There are two rooms off the main room, one will house a local teacher, and the other a Western teacher.

The next day we visited the local school where the students currently attend. Many of the students who attend walk 1 ½ hours each way to get there. We went in to meet them and discovered even the youngest class are very familiar with the word “picture” and were thrilled to ham it up for the digital cameras flashing about. A bittersweet moment, cameras worth thousands of pounds capturing images of a school that struggles to provide pens and books for all of its 375 students (with just seven teachers!). We brought them pens and will send more.

Forty-eight percent of the Tanzanian population lives below the poverty line; one of the poorest countries in the world. Education is a particular problem in rural areas, most families are unable to afford school fees, and although women have been given rights to land ownership, enrolment and literacy rates remain particularly low amongst girls and women. Additionally, HIV/AIDS infection rates double among young people who do not finish primary school. If every girl and boy received a complete primary education, at least seven million new cases of HIV could be prevented in a decade. Pretty impressive how amounts of money that can seem small to us can so dramatically affect the lives of others. It was so nice to directly meet the people the money we are sending will help. Below are the girls whom thought it strange that most of us didn’t have children. In their culture I would be a grandmother already! They are standing in the main school room, we smacked the mud on the wall that you can see behind them; it is supposed to represent Mt Kilimanjaro.

The baby was so cute! He happily let all of us in the room have a turn holding him.

Did I say not too tired earlier? Journey is not even over and I am starting to feel it now, lulled by the gentle rocking of the carriage. I'm going to bed early tonight.

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

Alive. Sore. Definitely alive though. Two massages later I think I may actually feel worse. Though I am sure it must be just accelerating the healing process. It must be. Neither my feet nor my legs actually hurt until Day 6 (the last day). But after a massage that evening (last night) I could barely walk. A second one this morning and I am still hobbling like a 95 year old. We have stopped in town briefly to pick up more supplies before we head onto the school site. This will be the last chance I get to go onto the internet until Saturday or Sunday. I believe it’s Monday now? Apparently altitude can cause memory loss. I say that lightly but I don’t think any of us realized quite how seriously altitude can affect people.

May I suggest, if you are considering climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, NEVER climb the Marangu Route. Particularly not in six days or fewer. There were 19 in our group – one of the largest groups the guides had ever seen – and every one of us suffered at some point. You cannot predict who it will hit – fitness and size are not factors – and for some reason we were briefed so little about it that I don’t think everyone was even aware of all the symptoms. I kept falling asleep whilst climbing the biggest stretch from Kibo to Gillman’s point (from 4700m to 5700m). I thought it was because we set off just before midnight and I hadn’t eaten since dinner at 5pm (which we had after finishing a 7 hour hike from 3700m), nor had I drunk more than 500ml in the 7 hours it took me to reach the point. I suspect all of this contributed but I learnt later that falling asleep and losing your balance are symptoms of altitude, as is the loss of appetite. That one I knew about. It was very frustrating not to be able to eat anything. I felt if only I could consume some fuel I might be able to make the two hour hike to the real summit of 5895m, Uhuru. After hearing from the guide that we should have arrived at 5am if we wanted to go on to Uhuru because the sun melts the snow and makes it dangerous; and speaking to other groups who weren’t allowed to continue I decided I did not have the wherewithal to negotiate an icy path (falling asleep on the edge of a cliff was not an appealing prospect). I also had no idea where I was going to find the energy to get back down the cliff we had just dragged ourselves up, let alone do another 4 hour round trip.

I made the right decision. About half way down, a little after I had negotiated the more difficult boulder section near the crest, I was completely devoid of energy. I crumpled into the scree and contemplated falling asleep there. The guide, who was taking me and three other girls back, was a little further down and stopped to wait. I got up and inched and slid my way down further. Another 100m or so I sank to the ground again. I felt I may be there all day. The guide had taken my pack from me on the way up, so I had no water and no food, not that I could take any anyway. I felt sure the others would pass me on their way back down, even with the extra 4 hour stretch they were taking. I finally reached the amazingly patient Philip again and sat at his feet for a while. Eventually he encouraged me to “pole pole” (“slowly slowly”) continue. He held my arm for parts of our descent and eventually put my arm over his shoulder and slid us both down the slope (like skiing through the scree). Like an angel, our one team member who had turned back hours before because of breathing difficulties greeted each of us four girls as we arrived back to the hut with a fresh bottle of water and offered to give us a rub down. Philip organized passion fruit juices for us. I still couldn’t swallow either liquid.

After having my feet rubbed I heaved myself into my top bunk and except for a toilet trip I didn’t move until they told us we had to head back down to Horombo huts at 5pm (where we had only set off from at 7am the day before). Up and down more than 2000m in less than 24 hours. Having not eaten and drunk less than 1L in 24 hours I was still pretty weak. There was one stretcher which was going to be used solely by our friend who had temporarily lost the use of his legs up by the summit, but as he was much better they suggested he share it with me and another woman who also hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before. I managed to swallow 300ml of diarolyte and eat 5 goji berries (just to line my stomach for an ibuprofen to stop the pounding in my head). I was told it would take two hours to get back down the 11k route we took seven hours to ascend. I offered to try and walk so the others could have more space and then – after most of the team had started walking already – was asked if I would walk.

By now it was snowing so, pole pole, I started back down the route to Horombo. Fortunately two others caught up with me and I decided to walk faster to have company. I felt better with every step. It was then I realized that a lot of my illness was altitude related, though I’m sure exhaustion and dehydration played a part. By half way down I was starting to feel hungry and I was so grateful for their company as it had started to get dark. Also incredibly grateful I had my head torch in my pack. 3hours and 20 minutes later (at a reasonable pace too!) we returned to what had been our home for two of the nights of the trip. I ate well.

Yesterday we covered another 18km back down to our starting point. Across two days we had passed from snow, through rocks, scree, dirt plains, scrub, forest and rain forest. The first three days walking up were beautiful, and really fun too. What made this trip so incredible was the phenomenal 18 other people I shared it with, and some smiling guides and an eager-to-please chef. I was grateful for our huts and mattresses every night. And flushing toilets at every hut except Kibo. For the porters who carried bottled water we were able to buy at each camp. For the guides who carried my bag on the last climb, to Phillip who carried me down. For great conversations, and great lessons learnt. For having amongst our group someone who could somehow assist in every ailment, and for a team that kept smiling the entire time, ever patient, and unendingly supportive of each other. Now that we have completed our personal challenge we are off to give our time and the energy we are rapidly regaining to helping children in this country. If you would like to help you can go to www.justgiving.com/ycakili and donate money. Thanks so much to those of you who have given money so far. I am really excited about this project, and I am looking forward to be telling you about it first hand.

Oh, and I discovered that chocolate doesn’t taste as good up Kilimanjaro, likely because the temperatures were far from ideal. Shame. Two small squares did get me down the last hour and a half to Horombo from Kibo though! Ever grateful!

Chocolate in Africa

It felt quite a long journey to get here but stepping onto the tarmac at Nairobi, and smelling the warm, wet air of fresh rain on the hot ground, I felt like I had come home. I love stepping off planes into hot countries. As I write this I have a flash of getting off the plane in Australia almost exactly the same time last year, and feel a twang of longing to see my family back there. OK, that was momentary. I’m in Africa! The airport in Nairobi is hotter than outside, and they let people smoke in there. We didn’t have to stay long fortunately. Long enough to step into the duty free shop and discover chocolate! It was swiss chocolate, but no unnecessary ingredients, and they had a dark chocolate with lemon and pepper! Had to buy it. I am sure it will help me up the summit.

We are now safely in Arusha and packed and ready to begin climbing tomorrow. And we have already raised over £1000 for the school, which we will get to next week. I am excited. Money will go towards the ongoing maintenance and to help pay for the teacher. For now, I have to go back to the table in the tent where we just enjoyed a BBQ: we are about to get briefed on the wonders (and dangers) of Kili.

potential chocolate shortage

I have been unrestrainedly (this is a word, right?) eating chocolate the last few days (I made the brownie again - "oops"). This is because I am going to Africa in a few hours and, although Cacao is grown in Africa, I don't like my chances of getting some. I am struggling to decide just how much chocolate I should take with me. And perhaps it might be wise to have a little break from it? Nah! Do you think customs puts a limit on chocolate?

Because of this trip I will be out of touch for the next two weeks. I will be climbing a rather large mountain and then helping to build a school for a Masai warrior tribe. If you would like to support the building of the school you can donate at www.justgiving.com/ycakili. I will post some pictures when I get back!

My sympathies to anyone who decided to give up chocolate for lent... Next time choose meat!

Chocolate in pancakes

Did I mention the pancakes last night? We made two batches. Mine with organic flour, an organic egg, some water and coconut milk. Yum. (I'm not too much of an organic snob, I swear, I just read things, and tend to believe everything I read. Like, apparently, using organic flour makes a big difference to whether cakes rise. Though I wasn't looking for the pancakes to rise... Anyway, when they were cooking they smelt like some kind of coconut pancakes I remember eating in Bangkok. They didn't taste much like it though, they were only mildly coconuty. I began eating them with lemon and syrup. Then I decided to great some dark chocolate onto one, put lashings of black cherry compote and thick (organic!) cream. Divine....

I think every Tuesday should be pancake Tuesday.

The gym is a scary place

I arrived at the gym at 6.45 and almost every machine and floor mat was full. When I left 45 minutes later they really were all full. [It's pancake Tuesday! I had to get home to have pancakes!] I did manage to walk onto the machines I wanted as I wanted them [I'm quite good at getting what I want! Usually without even asking...]. I still don't like it being that busy. I'm glad I decided not to renew my membership when it expires at the end of the month. I much prefer running outside, alone. And going rock climbing with friends. I've just bought a bike too! Haven't put the pedals on yet. It cost less than my next month's gym membership would (yeah, not a super-fancy bike). This is a much nicer way to exercise.

Looking around the gym there is a huge range of people. I think that's why I don't like it being so full. I get so enthralled in people watching and with all the mirrors it's really hard to block it all out, when I would rather just get lost in my own thoughts, or focus on exercising itself. Looking at people and wondering who they are, and why they're there. It's a little bit scary watching some seriously skinny women really pushing themselves. It looks so un-fun it makes me think going to the gym at all is a crazy idea. What is it that makes people work so hard on physical "perfection"? Is the pounding of their muscles a way of punishing their psyche? Are they unable to stop whilst there is anyone around with smaller bones, bigger muscles or less body fat? Do they like themselves at all? I know there are plenty of people who push hard because they enjoy stretching the capabilities of their body and building strength and endurance. I don't mean them. The women I am referring to look so unhappy. I wonder if it is worth it.

It doesn't stop at the Chocolate Tour

You would think that walking around London eating chocolate for four hours might mean I didn't eat any chocolate for the rest of the day (at least). If you did think that, you would be wrong. True, I don't have too many chocolates along the way, and I skip the hot chocolate myself, but still...

Just a few short hours later I was having dinner with friends and they served chocolate pudding. Well, it would be rude not to! It was good. And I was happy to see it. Try as I might to blame it on etiquette, I was more than happy to eat more chocolate.

My longing for the land of Oz still lingers. This weekend though, I decided I had better try one of the recipes Holly gave me.

Oh.

My.

So good! I baked the triple chocolate brownie, served it up to the Sunday night guest to serious appreciation, and had to stop myself from eating the rest of it all at once. I finished it today. It has SERIOUS amounts of milk, dark and white chocolate in it. It is very different from the incredible brownies that I buy for the people on the tour (and you will also be able to buy here soon!). The brownies on the tour are pure chocolate fudginess. This one had big chunks of milk and white chocolate and was much less gooey. Both are great...

OK, I'm making myself hungry and cranky that it's all gone now. I want to make more!!

Hmmm, this time next week I'll be preparing to climb a big mountain.

Hope you got some chocolate!

Happy Valentine's Day

Er, yes, for yesterday! I was busy getting my newsletter out and forgot to wish the world a lovely day.

I hope you all got chocolate! In order to make sure I did, I gave a box away (he's sharing, what a nice man). I did get my favourite chocolate pudding as part of V Day dinner though.

Happy happy (chocolate) days.

Orgasmic chocolate

That get your attention?

This is a company that launched in 2005, out of the Business Design Centre in Islington. I went to a talk last night and was sitting in the rafters looking down on the audience below during question time and saw what looked like people eating chocolate! I nudged my friends and leant further to determine if my eyes had not deceived me. I quickly concluded that the man handing out the small bars must own or work for the company (because he had several and was handing them out freely) and that I had never seen them before. I decided that I had better find out what this chocolate was. As the presentation was ending I made a quick escape down the stairs to accost the chocolate man. I stood near him as he finished his conversation and then introduced myself. Turns out it was Orgasmic chocolate he was handing out, and the company is reopening and relaunching in the coming months. (Ahem.) He is going to be responsible for the new design. Very exciting. I was pleased to hear they are planning a new price point as well (I'm all for paying for quality but the previous prices were a bit crazy). The nice chocolate man gave us some chocolate to try. Hooray, I had scored dessert! It was the milk variety (which is obviously not as big a winner with me as dark). Organic and fair trade, made in Switzerland, a good quality chocolate. But this chocolate is not about the chocolate buzz, but the buzz that goes in it. Over 18's only. Harley Street men and women have been busy concocting secret herb combinations to elicit all sorts of feelings from these bards. I'm looking forward to their relaunch later in the year.

In other news, apparently people in Japan are having communal baths in chocolate in public spaces, as part of some Valentine's publicity stunt. Hmmm... I like the idea of bathing in chocolate, I'm not so sure I want it to be with a group of strangers though...

A strange chocolate baking habit

I am homesick.

Since this is normally the time of year that I make my pilgrimage back to Australia I suppose this makes sense. England is my home, too. It's difficult sometimes having two homes. I suspect that this homesickness will pass, or at least abate, soon enough.

I spoke to my best friend from home, Holly, the other day and she gave me two new recipes to try. However, in my nostalgia, I decided to make the double chocolate chip cookies that we used to make on my parents’ farm when we were in high school. Usually there were other friends too, we used to make these biscuits, chopping full bars of cadbury’s dark chocolate and tipping it into the batter. Yummm. This weekend I made them with Lindt chocolate (Tesco has a special at the moment and I have stocked up!). I also made a batch with agave syrup and coconut oil instead of sugar and butter, but that’s another story (an almost equally tasty one, pleasantly).

Every time I bake something (which isn’t usually more than once a week, luckily) I seem to be unable to stop eating it on the days I cook it. I eat so much that the next day I don’t usually want to eat anymore. Which is very useful for whoever I am living with! I bake for immediate cravings, and for the joy of baking, which means after the day I have cooked it, I’m not so interested anymore! (And my body starts craving vegetables and fruits.)

I miss the days of baking with my girlfriends in high school. Claire had her second child a few weeks ago. A little girl, Carly. When I last saw her she was trying to get pregnant. Now she has a baby! I'm so happy for them. I suppose that makes me more homesick, not being able to share events like this with my friends. Three other babies were born to family and friends of mine in the last four weeks. Something must have been in the air last April!

Bravo!

I was at the opera last night. Why is it that non-Italian speakers emit cries of "bravo!" almost as though they don't even know they are doing it? Perhaps, the complete immersion in Italian language makes Italians of all of us. There are points when you almost feel like you don't need the subtitles suspended from the top of the front of the stage. Almost. We saw The Troubador (Il Trovatore) and it was brilliant. Stunning, stunning voices; and so satisfying to see men and women on stage who obviously are not afraid to eat food, as opposed to the often scarishly gaunt performers of other arenas.

We ate in the restaurant adjoining too (not the super-fancy one because it was booked out). Fine food, though extravagently priced for the portion sizes and quality combination. We did get mini-madelines and two Opera House wrapped squares of chocolate with our bill. Stock standard chocolate that I foolishly ate today after eating squares of Amedei and Pralus. Without that juxtaposition the ordinariness of the chocolate might not have been so apparent.

This weekend I have a long to do list. It includes "make a chocolate dessert". It's important to include these things, you know. Now to decide what to make...

Laduree

After being told last year that I had to visit Laduree whilst I was in Paris, and arriving at 6.01pm and not being let in, I was so excited when I heard that they had an outlet in London. I am rarely in that area of town but as I was meeting a friend who was delayed I decided a perfect opportunity to pop in. Over fifteen varieties of macarons. I chose a few to take away (I wanted to try them all!!). It really isn't until you have good food that you realise just how ordinary cheap imitations are. This is what macarons should taste like. Go and try the salted caramel version. Mmmmm... I am told their hot chocolate is quite good, too. Looks like I will have to go back!

chocolate intensity

After several days of not having real chocolate (the closest I have had was the raw cacao I mentioned last week), I went along to a corporate tasting with Seventypercent last night. As one of the team I needed to try all the chocolate as the guests were (obviously!); oh, all right, I was desperate to eat good chocolate. I think, though, that my tolerance levels went down during my abstinence. I don't think I tried more than two pieces of each of the ten delights we were sampling, which normally is easily done, yet somehow the chocolate high was totally overwhelming. In a delicious, delirious way, of course. It's 3.50pm and I haven't felt l'chocolat calling me back yet. Which is lucky because I deliberately left it all at home. I am getting very keen to try out some new recipes soon though. I imagine I will have no shortage of guinea pigs. Steve and Martin mentioned they sell Chuao and other great brands by the kilo. Hmmm... I think it's time to go shopping!

Chocolate high without the sugar...

Well, I had some salmon last night at Yo Sushi, but have still not (knowingly!) eaten wheat, dairy or refined sugar.

On Thursday I found creative ways to get a chocolate hit, avoiding the chocolate in my cupboard. It's quality stuff and is much lower in sugar than anything you would buy in a supermarket, but still would break "the rules" which I was determined to try and carry on as long as possible.

So how did I get my chocolate high?

I took a teaspoon of organic white almond butter and put it in a mug with a date and poured a small amount of boiling water on them to mash them together into something of a paste. Then I added a large teaspoon of raw cacao powder and when they all blended together I added a bit of cold water, then a bit more hot to make a warm chocolate. It was really good. Perhaps I just thought so because it was my first taste of anything chocolate-y for 48 hours.

So far I am still without sugar but I'm currently looking at chocolate recipes on the web and getting very tempted to fall off the wagon. Do you think if I substitue agave syrup it will count as sugar free? :-)

A chocolate free day!

I did it!

Also minus wheat, dairy, animal products and refined sugar. Ahem, yes, pat me on the back. And then feel free to call me crazy.

It was easier than I expected it to be, so I might try keeping free of the wheat, dairy etc tomorrow too... We'll have to see about the chocolate...

It snowed!!

It snowed!! How pretty. Despite this being my third year living in London, I had not yet seen it snow. This was helped by expertly timed trips the last two winters, where I skipped off to warmer climes within days of blizzards beginning. Pretty though it was, it seemed to cause chaos to the traffic.

Chocolate resolutions

I made a new year's resolution to have two days a month completely free of sugar, wheat, dairy and animal products. I don't think I have a lot of these things anyway, but the last month or so have had a considerable amount of the first two. Eating chocolate every day makes the first one a bit challenging. I've managed one so far this month. I did eat some raw cacao nibs though. But no sugar. This is tough as am in the middle of a very busy work period. I think the second day will have to wait. Though, in theory, avoiding those things should really help me to cope during a busy period...

One more day this month to go...

Chocolate High

I love doing Chocolate Tours. Which I guess is a good thing! I always feel on such a high at the end of a tour. Which I'm sure is in part due to all the good stuff in good quality chocolate! But it's also fun getting to know other chocolate lovers. My theory that people who love chocolate are all the loveliest people continues to be reinforced!

I also think I'm beginning to understand why people like shopping: I'm a strange exception to my gender that generally dreads shopping. We pass so many lovely shops along the walk that even I am usually tempted. Yesterday I went back to one of them and I now I understand one possible reason why people like shopping: I asked the staff for help in finding me clothes. Sales assistants say all sorts of nice things to get you to buy things - great for the ego! They also hunted out good things for me so I just got to follow and approve or veto. So lazy! Way to feel good... Lucky there's still chocolate, which is likely to be a cheaper way to feel good!

Happy New Chocolate!

er, I mean Happy New Year!, of course.

Though I did decide to go walking in the rain on December 31st to visit the "new" chocolate shop in Kensington. We had planned to wait and just stepped out to get olives for the olive bread (incidentally found some amazing organic ones in Luscious Organic on the way) but then decided to keep walking. Good decision as also managed to (finally!) buy some new boots.

Sorry, the chocolate: one day Pierre Marcolini closed in Lancer Square; the next Luento Santoro opened. Named after a little boy who used to spend his time at the South American plantation the store looks strikingly similar but is confusing customers who wander in looking for Marcolini. I hadn't been in there myself for over a year. While I like Marcolini chocolates it just isn't in a convenient location for me. So this was a special trip to see what had happened. Why had the Marcolini store changed it's name? Were the chocolates actually different?

The very helpful lady behind the counter kindly let us try a chilli chocolate. Good choice. Very creamy and sweeter than some, this had just the right amount of chilli. So we bought one of almost everything. Except the pralines. And devoured them over the next few days. The chili remains the favourite. Like Marcolini (very like Marcolini in fact) these chocolates are good. Unfortunately not so good that I will make special trips to get some. But I am glad to know that if I am ever in High Street Kensington I can get a quality chocolate fix. The chocolate covered cocoa beans are very good. I'm afraid what might happen if I eat these too often though! Useful if I ever need to stay up all night.

I hope you all had a fabulous new year's celebration and that 2007 brings you everything you could want, and lots of chocolate!

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

I have been kicked out of the kitchen where Thai Green Curry is being made so I thought I would update the latest chocolate news.

I just spent Christmas in the Lake District where my Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared to go down rather well. (For the recipe go to http://www.chocolateecstasytours.com and sign up for the newsletter.) I also made some oatmeal and raisin cookies too. the cookie supply ran dangerously low so I improvised in the cottage kitchen and made some Christmas Cookies - nutmeg, raisin and orange.

One of my Christmas presents was the Chocolate recipe book from Green and Blacks. As soon as we returned to a full kitchen I headed to Tesco for inspiration (having spent some time poring over it beforehand). I saw the beetroot in the vegetable section (would you believe the organic beetroot is cheaper than the regular kind?) and decided I had to try to make beetroot cake. I first saw chocolate beetroot cake at Chatswood House but I didn't buy it, and then I saw the recipe in this book.

It is such an easy cake to make, you don't need to cream butter and sugar, or whip eggs. Though I guess you do need to process the beetroot to mush and melt the chocolate with butter. I was going to take a picture but I couldn't remember where I left my camera (in my handbag!) until after it was already cooked and cut.

I hope you all had a nice chocolatey Christmas!

visions of Chocolate from Russia

I finally have my photos on my computer. There was just so much chocolate on display here!

Chocolate Christmas pudding

I remember when I was a kid and we used to be served Christmas pudding, the only reasons my brothers and I used to accept it was for the promise of coins. And the brandy butter. We use to dig around in the dessert, eating little bits of pudding with large amounts of the accompaniments until we found coins.

Now that I'm all grown up I like Christmas pudding more - though still mainly for the brandy butter. I went searching on the internet for a chocolate Christmas pudding recipe. Though in November I was so organised and made my recipe for the December newsletter I decided last week that I would try and make a chocolate Christmas pudding instead. So the newsletter has been delayed because today has been the first day I have been able to make it. Actually, I started last night. I've never made any kind of steamed pudding before and didn't realise it is supposed to stand in the dish overnight. So I finally took it off the boil at about midnight (did you know they have to boil for 1 3/4 hours? The tedium. Fortunately I was simultaneously making several batches of biscotti.

The final unveiling occured at midday today. The bowl was not quite right, but the pudding still tasted good. A quick trip to the supermarket in the afternoon to get some milk because I was going to make custard. Then I decided brandy butter would be easier, so the milk is still sitting in the fridge. I wouldn't normally use milk for anything but custard is so precarious to make from scratch I decided I better not risk using rice milk or a similar substitute.

Here is the pudding and the recipe can be found in the December newsletter which I will send out tomorrow. I took the picture before I had any cream or anything else pretty to decorate it, so please excuse its nakedness.

Happy Holidays!

(Oh, how politically correct!)

Dominiques Chocolate

I confess, I took some chocolate with me to St Petersburg. I had no idea if Russian knew anything about chocolate. Whether you could get any good chocolate. I wasn't going to risk it.
We walked past Grand Hotel Europe and saw they had "Europe's finest afternoon tea". As we had eaten a very late (and large) breakfast and booked to go to the ballet that evening, we decided afternoon tea might be better than dinner. On the mezzanine we discovered now only a selection of cakes (which, incidentally, the ones we tried weren't that great) but CHOCOLATE! The hotel has begun making their own selection. We tried 13 of their 15 (I don't like praline that much) and totally fell in with their green apple and madras curry. I also really liked both of their cassis chocolates. And the banana and vodka pepper was nice too!

from Russia, with Chocolate

We are definitely staying in the right hotel. It was obvious from the moment we arrive in the room. Two blue-paper wrapped squares bearing the hotel name sitting on a silver tray on the desk, on the underside the words, "60% Kakao". Excellent. Not so much the quality but the knowing that there was some chocolate to hand. And I was so grateful I had dropped one in my handbag as it was a life saver in the Hermitage when my blood sugar was dangerously low but I didn't want to leave as we hadn't yet seen all the highlights on our list. It tied me over till our lovely Russian lunch.

Got to, off to dinner. More later on the Russian chocolate discoveries.

Low Battery - Noooooo.....

I’m on the plane to Russia and the Low Battery warning is popping up. No…. I’m sure I remembered to pack the adaptor. I know I packed the cord, because I was careful to avoid putting the still-warm hair straighteners too close to it when I was packing the suitcase. I was rather hoping that delaying the trip to St Petersburg until December might mean there would be snow on the ground, but no, it will

Just be cold. That’s where it went into hibernation. Still over an hour to go on the flight. I didn’t know how to pass the time. I’m such a geek. I don’t take books travelling, I take my laptop.

Anyway, am in Russia now so will enjoy being in Russia and write more on my return! (Yes, I found chocolate!)

Chocolate IS good for you!

I picked up London Careers magazine on my way into the tube this morning. No – definitely not looking for work, just wanted to read the articles. I haven’t taken one in about a year and interestingly this particular issue, apart from having a very strange error in printing that positioned an article on cures for diseases next to an unsmiling photo of Cameron Diaz, had an article about chocolate. How the dark stuff is useful in people at risk of heart attack. According to this article it thins the blood. They found this out because in a trial where people where on a restricted diet to minimise the extraneous variable some of the participants refused to give up chocolate (smart people) so they decided to monitor them separately. They had healthy readings! Hooray! Long live chocoholics!

Discovering country chocolatiers

A perfect weekend for country driving, though it felt and sounded like someone was throwing full buckets of water onto the window last night this morning the sky was washed clean and blue again. Perfect for family visiting. We went to visit Donnington brewery, where my grandmother grew up. Described as the prettiest brewery in the UK, with its lake and old stone buildings it really is beautiful as though painted into life. It is not open to the public. Nearby is gorgeous Stow-on-the-Wold. My father was born there. It is such a pretty town. Not a high street chain in sight. Plenty of quality food shops, making me very happy. Even better a chocolatier opened about six months ago. The lovely Katherine owns and runs Miette in Stow. A chocolatier and patisserie. In the lead up to Christmas the patisserie has been put on hold because the demand for chocolates is so high. Which is a shame, because I do like quality baked things, especially when baked by a chocolatier – you can guarantee they would have used good chocolate. Miette means small, sweet thing. According to Katherine some of the locals seem to think it is called “meat”; a little unfortunate but it doesn’t seem to affect the rave reviews.

Whilst not all the range that I would have liked to have sampled were available yesterday the fig and orange marmalade truffle was just lovely. Not too orangey. One or two left to try still…

The brownies from Maby’s are also worth trying if you happen to be in Stow.

Fountains of chocolate

It seemed only right that being the chocolate girl I am that I have at least some chocolates at my birthday party. I was planning on serving chocolate cake, but then lovely friends offered to loan me their chocolate fountain – even though they couldn’t come to the party! So I ordered 2.5kg of 72% Callebaut from Raj (my new supplier ;-) ). Delighted that I could get cocoa butter to use to thin it down rather than vegetable oil (ick!). It was rather popular. (Understatement.)The marshmallows went quickly. Sponge cake, apples, grapes and bananas also were divine. Mmm…

I am grateful people never arrive on time because I still had my dressing gown over my dress to protect me from blending the dips! I kind of invited lots of people, rather casually, not really sure who might turn up, and not remembering to invite everyone (sorry!). Funny how those parties always end up the most fun. To be honest, I think most people came because I promised them food and cake! Well, I delivered, and the bonus fountain seemed a pleasant surprise and kept the party kicking until well after 2am (love that chocolate stuff! OK, so all the bottles of champers on the "bar" may have helped too).

I finally went to bed about 3.30am, leaving my brother and a couple of his mates and the mess, and more chocolate… Though we made quite a dent on the 2.5kg, I’ll be making more cakes and things soon I think, with this stock I will have to!

A chocolate birthday

Today is my birthday and I was given chocolate flowers. The most precious of all the cacao plantations in the world is the Porcelana plantation in Venezuela. Valrhona have created a signature gift box of three layers of chocolate pieces laid in the shape of an open flower. When you lift the cardboard layers that open like petals (and then the protective plastic) the smell is just divine! I had to leave the house at 7am to train 25 boys in public speaking so I decided to hold off on my treat until I returned.

I was treated to chocolate cake by the lead trainer after we finished. We debated whether the quality of the local Literary Café’s chocolate cake might only disspoint me but I was so desperate for chocolate by the end of this long day that if I was going to eat sugar it had to be with chocolate. It was a very satisfying cake. Moist and made with cocoa, just like the quick cakes I used to make when I was younger. A comforting, nostaligic treat.

Tonight I’m being taken for a surprise dinner… as long there is chocolate somewhere on the menu! :-D

5 desserts, but no chocolate?

Five desserts and not one of them chocolate. Surprising.

I had been counting down the days to last night's dinner in the Library at Sketch. I went with my foodie friend Kevin and his fiance and Kevin's friend Matt who runs a very cool cookery school for everyone: www.undergroundcatering.com

The lack of chocolate in the five dessert selections was made up for by the petit fours to follow: a white chocolate and chartreuse ever-so-light whipped ganache, a piece of milk mendiant bark, with pistachio, hazelnut and dried fruit, an incredible milk chocolate case with a passionfruit and salted caramel centre; and a (non-chocolate) rhubarb jelly square. I could have eaten a plate of the passionfruit chocolates. The five desserts were also very good. The first course of my taster menu was divine too: a beetroot and raspberry coulis with coco beans.

Newtons Chocolates in Clapham.

My uncle is visiting from South Africa and he took us out for dinner last night. We went to Newtons on Abbeville Road. It was almost empty when we arrived just before 8pm but gradually filled up. The staff are really friendly with just the right amount of attentiveness. My brother and uncle loved their lamb shanks. When it came time for dessert we had trouble deciding. We couldn’t decide who should get the chocolate brownie and who the lemon tart, with the plan to share but knowing that like with all siblings we probably wouldn’t if one of them was especially good. We both got the brownie. It was served hot and very dense. With walnuts which apparently so rare in brownies these days that my brother wondered what they were doing in there. Also on the menu were Newtons Chocolate truffles. After ordering the brownie I quizzed the waitress: “They are made with Valhrona”. Darn it. This meant I just had to try them. We ordered 6 to take away after dinner, and each ate one at the table. They were just taken from the fridge so apart from recognising they were good it was impossible to tell just how good. The liqueur was so subtle we couldn’t even taste it, and the chef who had made the batch earlier that day had left and so couldn’t tell us what it was. Upon trying another truffle again this morning I could see that they really were made with Valhrona. It’s amazing what a difference it makes tasting it at room temperature. Having them cold completely dulls the taste.

La Plaisir Chocolates

I have now tried all of the chocolates. I bought so many at once that I haven’t actually eaten them all, but I have at least had a small taste of each. I found them really buttery, so I went back (under the guise of asking the question but really because I wanted to try one of their other cakes). Of the 25 or so I selected (and I avoided all of the white ganaches) there were three that I would return to try: the Bitter almond and apricot, prunes and armagnac and the Laphroang. I am told there is no butter in the ganache, it is perhaps due to a high quantity of cocoa butter in the chocolate. They use Callebaut but are looking at commissioning their own couveture soon. The flagship store in Edinburgh opened 7 years ago and, except for the store where they are made, all the other stores and Harvey Nichols concessions were opened in the last 18 months: Manchester, Edinburgh, London and Dubai.

Chocolate in Edinburgh

The things we have to do in the name of research. Ahem. OK, I would seek these chocolate shops out wherever I go regardless, I just conveniently have managed to attribute my tasting of chocolate to the necessary role I have of sharing these tastes with the rest of the world. Ok, ok, I’m quite sure no one is hanging on my every chocolate-centred word, but regardless I shall write about the chocolate shops of Edinburgh that I visited yesterday.

Despite being the last weekend in October, Edinburgh is actually not too cold. It is only in the last two weeks that I have finally acknowledged that summer is indeed over, by beginning to wear boots instead of sandals and coats over my skirts and sleeveless tops. Even this far up North I still haven’t had to don gloves or even a scarf. And have incredibly poor circulation and I do not cope well with the cold.

Sorry, back to the chocolate. Well, I had already heard about La Plaisir du Chocolat and so made a target of finding it as soon as possible. We had a lunch date and upon seeing the enormous selection (especially the range of cakes!) we realised we would have to return. So I bought just one cake to take away as I hadn’t had breakfast and in this case felt it was appropriate to begin with dessert because it was already after noon. Raspberry ganache. So incredibly rich that I am not sure how anyone could eat one slice to themselves in one day, let alone in one sitting. Very very yummy. Thick, thick layers of quality ganache interspersed with thin layers of sponge cake and raspberry. I suppose it was a raspberry jam but a quality one.

I discovered Coco of Bruntsfield by chance on the way to lunch and was forced to wait until after eating to go and in and explore. Coco specialises in bar infusions and hot chocolates. They also make two truffles and praline balls. The lovely Rebecca, originally from Sydney let us sample whatever we liked. The rose and peppercorn was great. As is the dark with cinnamon and cardamom and dried cranberries that I took away. You can sit and have hot chocolate at the little bar inside and a short walk away can view their kitchens (though they weren’t open yesterday so we could only peer through at spice jars and barren marble slabs. Coco has been nominated for Independent Retailer of the Year awards. Results are out this week!
I then returned to La Plaisir to get a take-away bag of about 25 of their 40+ chocolates. A little chocolate-weary from the ganache cake (which I didn’t even finish!) I will wait to try these. Though being made with fresh ingredients I only have a week to do so….

New Chocolate store in London: Demarquette

There’s a new chocolate shop on the block. I popped in today to visit. The first I heard of them was because they won a few awards in the Annual Chocolate Awards last week. One of the award winners was the house truffle, a 75% cocoa content blend with honey. A well-deserved award. It is interesting how all of the top end chocolate shops still manage to be unique to each other. Though they have a similar style of serving their ganaches in enrobed rectangular pieces as La Maison du Chocolat and L’Artisan du Chocolat, Demarquette transfer an edible print of the type of chocolate directly onto the top. Rather than consulting a menu you can see right there what you are about to consume. I guess it’s not the place to go if you enjoy the guessing game! Rather than design, it is the tastes of each chocolate shop that gives them their individuality. I have no one favourite chocolate shop, rather many favourite chocolates that I have to go to different stores to get. Then of course there is mood dependent choices. Demarquette has several flavour combinations I have not seen before, a Japanese cherry blossom and coconut and banana. Of the six I tried the one I will return to have again would definitely be the cassis (I don’t drink Ribena anymore but loved it as a kid!). But there are over 20 varieties so I will definitely be back - if only to taste my way through the rest!

Raw chocolate cake

Last night I ate a completely “raw” chocolate cake, made by my friend Peter. You would barely know it wasn’t raw. I have no idea how it was created because he keeps his recipes top secret, though having been to one of his classes I daresay it included an awful lot of equipment that normal kitchens don’t have: pulverising-thingies and dehydrators and all sorts. However, fortunately for those of us who don’t have the goods (nor the inclination to spend the time playing with superfoods) he will be selling them to the general public soon.

The Chocolate dinner last week

Chocolate Week Chocolate Week Chocolate Week

I've been too busy trying fine chocolate this week to write (oh, and working a bit too!).



I have just finished the second of the two luxury chocolate tours and am now relaxing on the couch, laptop on lap (hmmm...) completely buzzed from all of the chocolate. Now, in general chocolate shouldn't really have this much of an effect on your biochemistry, but when you consider just how much I have consumed in the past three days, well, over 300 compounds are having some effect. :-)

So, how much chocolate have I eaten?

Well, I didn't go to that many of the chocolate events this week but I spent all of today and all of Thursday touring London's best chocolate stores sampling lots at each. Thursday's tour was followed by the chocolate soiree, a 3 course chocolate extravaganza at Volupte lounge with Burlesque dancers and a musical trio playing show tunes.

Last night I went to a presentation by Damien Allsop, the former chocolatier from Melt. He makes very cool chocolates with a water-based ganache (ganache is the soft chocolate centre of the best kind of chocolate, made from warm cream and chocolate mixed together). So, no cream, though he does add some clarified (ie. flavourless) butter to help maintain the creamier texture. The main reason for not using the cream is to keep the flavour as pure to the original chocolate flavour as possible. It was a very delicious evening, we tasted squares of pure chocolate, he made a water based chocolate mousse and we tried some ganache chocolates he'd "prepared earlier". It was really interesting to learn all the science-y stuff behind chocolate making.

Back to Morel

This time for a family dinner. This is my third three course dinner in a row and I feel that perhaps I need to be doing a little more running! Despite the dodgy fish I felt it was worth another try here. Exceeding expectations. My seared tuna was reminiscent of Joey's in Canada... aah. My bro thought the portions were a little skimpy, which is interesting because normally he eats less than me in a meal. Having already tried the chocolate and orange fondant I decided to try the Apple Tart Tatin. OMG. Goood. You should try it. Really.

A chocolate confession

Um, if you're thinking that I had another chocolate fondant last night when I went out for dinner then you'd, er, um, be right. Though to be honest, me being me, a chocolate confession is more likely to be that there was chocolate fondant on the menu and I didn't have it. Well, there was chocolate fondant on the menu, and I did have it. We went to a restaurant-that-was-a-pub called the Olive Tree (I think) and I really wished I'd taken my camera so you could see their dessert board menu. It was laughably written for me. Of eight options only 3 of them didn't have chocolate. There was a white chocolate and raspberry tiramisu (I know! Like, what?), a sticky chocolate pudding, a chocolate chip bread pudding and some others I don't remember now... But I had to have the fondant because that's what I do (and they take 15 minutes to cook). Also, I did ask the waitress what she thought and she said the fondant was best. It was good. I don't think any have compared to one that I had in Santorini (Greece) two years ago. But perhaps it's deliciousness is in part manufactured by my memory, and the fact it was perhaps my first introduction to the dessert.

Still no Yauatcha chocolate for me...

It was Dani's birthday on Monday and she came to town yesterday so we went out for dinner last night. First to Busaba Eathai which I must have eaten at over 20 times in the last year, a trustworthy friend. It had to be Thai of course, because we met in South East Asia and green curry brings back such good memories. And then, because all birthdays require cake (obviously), we headed over to Yuatcha to have one of theirs. Alas, they were all booked out for dim sum. So I am still waiting to try their chocolates. Luckily we arrived at Sketch (the parlour) and persuaded the waitress to let us select a cake before they put them away for the evening. A light white chocolate cloud with a fruit and coriander jelly centre... I don't particularly like white chocolate (which, yes, isn't really chocolate according to the "rules") but this was sensational. Their berry sponge is traditional. Tasty and comforting but doesn't experiment with molecular gastronomy like this other sweet creation. I can't wait to go eat at Sketch in November!

I ran London!

10km of it! The Nike 10K. Around Hyde Park, such a pretty park. I haven't run a race since I was 15, and that was the school cross-country. Girls only ran 4km, I remember almost collapsing at the end of that. I was so short of breath I had to use someone's asthma inhaler - and I'm not asthmatic! It helped me to breathe, but I couldn't stop the shakes for a while! Anyway, last year I discovered running is quite cool, and I haven't had too much trouble breathing since! (Except maybe today... I can be a stubborn one and didn't want to stop running, and for some reason felt the urge to sprint across the finish line... duh...)

I meant to start with a 5K race, especially as I was supposed to be in Glasgow this weekend. But then I wasn't needed in Glasgow and Jonny couldn't run because of the operation on his foot two months ago, so I took his chip and shirt and ran for the wrong side of the river. Given I only decided to run 10 days ago I figured it was better I was running for the enemy: my time would likely increase the average on that side! The results aren't out yet...

After a bath and a nap it seemed the only appropriate way to celebrate was with chocolate cake. So I made one. And it is good. The recipe is going in this month's newsletter, it's not mine, but I thought I better test it first (tough job this one!).

Apparently Chocolate tours are the coolest hidden thing to do in the UK!

OK, so I'm a little pleased! Friends and family who asked to see it - here it is! (Sorry about the delay!)

Another chocolate fondant anyone?

I had to order it, it had a 15 minute waiting time. I was really impressed by Morel (SW4). Although something very wrong happened with my Sea Bass, I wasn't planning on saying anything because the starter was so delicious I forgot to offer to share and the service had been so impressive, yet the waitress noticed I had destroyed it without actually eating much of it. She apologised and when they brought out our desserts (15 minutes later) she brought each of us a free glass of dessert wine. Lovely lovely lovely. It's true what they say about fixing customer problems makes an even happier customer than had the service just been normal. Although I would have been a happy camper anyway. I'm also a sucker for unrequested surprise appetiser gifts. Carrot and orange soup - yum.

Oh, this chocolate fondant was actually chocolate and orange fondant which almost put me off (I overdosed on Terry's chocolate oranges as a kid and will not go out of my way to eat orange flavoured chocolate). The orange was subtle and the pudding was good, though almost a little bit like it had been boiled? Just not quite the texture I was expecting.

Until the next chocolate fondant, I shall return to work.

My proper English family

Sunday lunch on the Common (Windmill on the Common, that is. It's a lovely pub, where you feel totally secreted from the outside world in the centre room). In an unintentional attempt to affirm our Englishness at this semi-family reunion everyone ordered the roast. Lamb or beef and yorkshire puddings, all around the table. I would have followed suit had there been a vegetarian option, instead I had roast sea bass (but no yorkshires for me...). It was even followed by proper English puddings, everyone having either Sticky Toffee Pudding or Creme Brulee. And, before you laugh at my apparent ignorance, Creme Brulee, despite its name, was invented in Birmingham. Or was it Nottingham? I don't even want to know how someone figured out exposing fire to sugar sprinkled on custard made such a delicious dessert. Northerners. ;-) I lied, not quite all of us had an English after: the younger of my two brothers had a brownie (chocolate addict...). Even still, all three male family members followed their dinner with a Fry's turkish delight bar just an hour later. (I had some Valhrona Manjari...) See: a family of chocolate lovers.

An OD of Chocolate?

Nah...

Two chocolate tours in four days. And yes, I still like chocolate. My brother and father are visiting, they arrived after the public tour so I just bought some chocolate for them to try. My dad doesn’t leave until the 15th so hopefully he will get to come on the tour on the 14th. Both of my brothers, my father and my mother all love chocolate. Perhaps not to my extreme, but close. What choice did I have, in this family of chocoholics (though they'd probably never call themselves that, but watch them devour any in sight, or watch what they order from the dessert menu). Yep, definite chocolate lovers.

The Full Day Luxury Chocolate Tour is launched!

Check out www.ChocolateEcstasyTours.com/fulldaytour.htm

The Michelin Chocolate Dessert

This was my dessert from La Bastide St Antoine:



OK, the photography is rubbish, but I was trying to be discreet. It was a rather classy restaurant, taking happy snaps of you meal is not the done thing, I'm sure.

Chinese chocolates?

Last night I had dinner at Yuatcha. The dim sum there is incredible. They also have some of the most amazing cakes in London. And, apparently they sell chocolates too. We were in so much of a hurry to get to the gallery exhibition opening (Chelsea College of Art) that I didn't get to try any. I'll go back but if anyone has already sampled and wants to share their opinion I'd love to hear it.

Ooh, very exciting news for the people booked for this Saturday's tour. As I was organising things this evening La Maison told me that their second-in-charge from the kitchens in Paris will be leading the tasting in La Maison. This is a treat.

the Chocolate Day tour is coming...

We’re finalising the details for the full day, ultimate, indulgent, luxury tour… It’s going to be the coolest day ever!
Details will be posted on Sunday.

Full o' Chocolat

Waking in the hills of France this morning to the sounds of children playing, then winding down the country roads onto the express way into Monaco, to have lunch overlooking the marina in a gorgeous restaurant called Mandarine. The coolest yacht had on its uppermost deck a helicopter, a speed boat and two jet skis. Yes, two. For races, I’m sure. I had the most amazing cold confit of fish and tomato, drizzled with a deep green olive oil. And then, for dessert, could not ignore the moulleaux of chocolat caraibe with lemongrass icecream.

As we strolled around Chanel, Gucci and Hermes, I commented that it was surprising we had not happened across a fine chocolaterie in a place of such expensive tastes. Two seconds later a patisserie appeared with a cabinet full of chocolat. Still satiated by my mollauex I chose only 3 from their selection – to eat later.

Hours later at the airport I decided to replenish supplies of Valhrona (French chocolate is unsurprisingly cheaper in France, even in the airport). And after a supper of bread it seemed sensible to taste the earlier purchases. Jasmine, Pear and Mandarin. The pear ganache was unlike any pear flavoured chocolate I have ever tasted, almost as though you were biting into the stewed fruit itself. If you are ever in Monte Carlo, I don’t know if the patisserie had a name, but it is only a two minute walk from Zara, at the rear of the building that houses the cinema. Enjoy!

Chocolate from Canet & La Bastide Saint Antoine

Though almost every patisserie in France has its own chocolate range which you can be fairly confident will be of high quality, there are not as many devoted chocolateries. Unfortunately whilst I discovered three in Nice, only one was open at the time of passing. Canet has two stores in Nice and offers a range of filled chocolates, macarons and patisseries.

We chose a selection of chocolates, ignoring the pralines and the “sugar-free” (I don’t believe eating artificial sweetners can be good for you). Canet molds their chocolates into flat square tablets, which is better for experiencing the taste fully (hitting all the taste buds at the same time). They were all pretty incredible but the stand out of the group was the buttered salted caramel, which is a combination I am always a sucker for. Other pretty incredible tastes in their repertoire were earl grey tea and vanilla.

On the day the Daily Mail identifies me as a chocolate expert, it seems only appropriate that I choose the intense chocolate dessert from the Michelin Star restaurant near Grasse that we had pre-booked before we even learned of the article. La Bastide St Antoine is set in gorgeous grounds with olive trees over 100 years old, and a stunning pool and hot tub. The kitchen of 2 starred restaurant is overseen by chef, Jacques Chibois. With my love of food, one of my favourite things is to look at menus. If you don’t share my appreciation I can be a rather frustrating person to walk down a restaurant street with, it’s a slow amble at best. Even in quality restaurants in English speaking countries chefs often appear to thrive on finding ingredients or cooking methods that don’t give away what the dish actually is. In a gourmet restaurant in a foreign country this dilemma was magnified further. Not eating meat narrowed down the necessary explanations but I still felt so helpless relying entirely on the maitre’d’s translations. So although I couldn’t totally remember what I’d ordered, it all tasted pretty spectacular. Langouistine to start and sea bream as a main. Both delicate and delicious. Though I preferred the overall experience that we had at Summer Lodge in July, the main courses were definitely superior in their quality and combination of ingredients.

We lingered at La Bastide this morning, having a quick dip in the, uh, “refreshing” pool before heading up into the hills. Given the indulgence of the night before it seemed only appropriate that we start Sunday with more chocolate. I admit, this is almost true. By the time we stopped at a patisserie for our first meal of the day it was already 2pm (hotel snacks don't count, right?). Another cabinet of chocolates greeted us as we entered. Though we also bought a savoury sample from l’boulangerie, I chose several chocolates to take away. Tired, by now, of asking what they were flavoured by I randomly pointed at four chocolates. Amongst the group was an incredible cassis. It is so frustrating when you are already miles from the store before you taste the chocolate. Cest la vie.

The French do chocolate properly

It's been a long week, so I felt justified in lying in bed most of the day. That, and the rather fierce thunderstorms outside, meant there was little to inspire leaving the hotel. Except French desserts, of course.

We hardly had to step too far from our hotel overlooking the stormy sea to find a little tea house with a glass patisserie cabinet filled with pastries and chocolate covered decadence. I was good and ordered salad to start. Then, a selection of chocolate delights: an opera and a chocolate raspberry tart. It makes such a difference when the chocolate is of good quality. My favourite thing about France: it is unheard of that even in an ordinary café would they serve food with anything but the best quality ingredients.

Tomorrow we dine at a Michelin starred restaurant in Grasse (the town where they make a lot of the world's perfume, I'm informed). I can't wait!

chocolate would make it all better...

This one I’m writing on a plane. Long, long queues at Heathrow, followed by a delayed flight. It feels like my fingers are moving of their own accord. I’m not entirely sure I’m aware as I tap away, bleary eyed. An hour long flight hardly seems worthy of a nap. And I locked my eyepatches in my suitcase. Oh well. In just under an hour I will hopefully be slipping into crisp hotel sheets.

My drone about my tiredness actually made me momentarily forget the incredibly exciting news that I received this afternoon – I’m going to be in the Daily Mail on Saturday! How exciting! Unfortunately I’ll be in France so I can’t rush out to the local corner store and buy up all the copies. Hopefully my brother will do it for me.

tube delays...

I’m writing this on my laptop on the tube. Despite the nuisance of lugging my laptop I have been grateful for having it with me. For some reason this has been a hideous week for tube travel, I am only grateful I’ve always had water, music and either my laptop, or when I couldn’t get a seat, a paper to read. So, yes there is lots of backdated entries that I have been writing and not actually putting online. I’ve had an influx of work, which is great, but when I’m going on a four day break to France tomorrow evening I’ve been all hectic trying to make sure everything that needs to be completed, is completed, before I head off. So I can relax properly! It’s going to be lovely… Flying to Nice and going to drive to Monaco, Cannes and up into the hills too. I love France. They know about food. Good food. (Especially chocolate.)

more chocolate fondant...

Dinner at the Gate in Hammersmith last night and I wasn’t planning on having dessert. Delays on the tube meant I only got to go to the gym for 25 minutes (yes, I recently joined, I’m still loving running around the Common but find it easier to get more variety here); though I was grateful for the endorphins that kicked in enough before I left to shift me from my “I hate commuting” doldrums. So, the intention was not to have dessert, and then I noticed the menu had changed since I last dined there. And it not included a chocolate fondant with a cherry compote, with a 15 minute wait. I am a sucker for any food that requires a wait (as you might remember from last weeks trip to the Brackenbury). I am also unable to avoid ordering chocolate fondant or anything similar whenever it appears on a menu. This dessert was not nearly the taste experience of the cherry cafloutis of the earlier pre-order.but still lovely. I am glad I shared the course.

Summer chocolates at La Maison

I went by La Maison du Chocolat today, to say hi. I found out their lovely manager has left – though I don’t know where too. I learnt a lot about chocolate from Philip. I’m grateful the other staff are equally warm and welcoming. I had been meaning to sample their summer range and finally took the opportunity to purchase their small set, with just one of each of the five flavours developed just for the now waning season.

a bought chocolate birthday dessert

I cooked a delayed birthday dinner for my brother last night. I had planned to take him out but when he called to let me know he would be late and I asked him where he would like to go, he said he would be happy for me just to cook. Hmm. I guess that means I can cook alright. I spent quite a while in Tesco deciding what we should have and settled on Salmon with soy, garlic and ginger with stirfried boychoy, mange tout (snowpeas) and mushrooms, and baby new potatoes. I offered to cook him any dessert he wished, and he choose a ready-made pudding that I brought home a few weeks ago. A worthy choice I must say. For a pre-prepared pudding to meet my standards it firstly must be made with all normal – non-chemical sounding – ingredients, and
Then must also taste good too. The sticky chocolate pudding made by something-or-other farms (I'll find out!) Farms is fantastic. It tastes like my mother could have made it – and only 20 minutes in the oven. Now I am the favourite sister (ok, I am the only sister so I can say this with some certainty at least!) .

even better chocolate brownies?

I may have to make a new claim for the best chocolate brownies in London… Last night I assisted at another Speakers Bank training. There was a break over summer, and it was great to get back into it. It was such a lovely group. So, anyway, these chocolate brownies: gooey, dense and delicious. Apparently you can freeze them and the last for ages AND they even taste good frozen. So, I think I might have to do this… At the moment they aren’t sold in stores. I know, it’s a tease to tell you and not give you a way to access them. But, I promise, I will give you your fix as soon as I’m able!

The Brackenbury

Last night we finally ate at the Brackenbury, after meaning to go there for some time. It was one of the nicest meals I have had in a long time. A perfect combination of tastes with quality ingredients. Their cherry clafoutis that requires a 20 minute wait was one of the most divine desserts I have experienced in a long time. I can’t wait to go back.