Fittingly enough my second Idilio Origins review is of Bar ‘Number 2’, another 72% Venezuelan Cacao bar from the award winning Swiss chocolate makers. This time the beans have been grown in the Lulia region of Venezuela, to the North of the University town of Merida (so it says on the wrapper).
While it may look more or less identical to Bar 3, with the same cacao content and conching time, the beans tell a different story. The initial taste still has good acidity, but this chocolate has less in the way of citrus fruit flavours and more robust cacao notes. There are mild citrussy highlights (described as ‘orange flower’ on the wrapper) but in the main this is quite a bold chocolate with slightly spicy notes and a long finish with hints of raisins and red fruit. The 48 hour conche means that this is once again classically smooth Swiss chocolate, albeit a darker, less creamy version than you might expect.
It’s darker than the previous bar with much bigger initial flavours and a longer, deeper finish. Like the previous Idilio bar, I found it all too easy to eat. The finish is clean, light and long and leaves you wanting just that one piece more, which has to be the sign of a good chocolate.
As yet there’s still no sign of UK distribution for Idilio, but if you’re in France, Germany (or indeed Switzerland) I’d recommend keeping an eye out for Idilio’s distinctively clinical looking packaging.
If you’re in the area, Idilio Origins are one of the exhibitors at Chocolate Unwrapped this weekend at Vinopolis, Borough Market.
It’s been a big week for William Curley. Last week saw the launch of his new book (review coming soon), and last night I attended the launch of his new pop-up shop, the “William Curley Chocolate Box” in the West End of London.
Located in St Martin’s Lane, and part of the neigbouring hotel, the shop is a mini version of their Belgravia store. The space is usually available to pop-ups for just a month at a time, but William Curley has managed to secure it for three months, meaning it will be open right up until Christmas.
Having the shop for a whole three months is an excellent opportunity to test the waters with a more central location, and one I really hope will eventually lead to a more permanent presence in town. The success of Paul A. Young’s new Soho shop is evidence that the demand for quality chocolate and patisserie in central London is there. Well worth a visit.
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Last week I was lucky enough to be invited (thanks Judith!) to a preview of a rather interesting Chocolate Week promotion; a chocolate themed dim sum platter at the rather beautiful Grand Imperial restaurant at The Grosvenor hotel, right next door to London’s Victoria Station.
The street outside may be filled with commuters, but inside, the restaurant is an oasis of calm. The decor is beautiful and elegant, and the atmosphere is relaxed.
We started our meal with some of the standard (non-chocolate!) dim sum menu, all of which was delicious. But of course we were really there to try the special chocolate dim sum platter, made with Divine Chocolate.
The platter (£6) consists of a ‘canton cracker’, ‘pumpkin bundle’, ‘cashew crescent’ and ‘coconut doughnut’. Each of which is filled with a warm chocolate filling. I didn’t know quite what to expect, but thoroughly enjoyed the textures and flavours of the whole platter, but I think the cocounut doughnut would have to be my favourite.
We finished our meal with two more amazing desserts (including an absolutely stunning Green Tea Brulée – see the photo gallery below!) and a first for me – deep fried ice cream with warm Divine chocolate sauce (£8).
Also on the menu for Chocolate Week are the Divine Chocolate Spring Roll (£5 for 3) and the Divine Chocolate Fruit Platter (£8), although we didn’t get to try these this time. Maybe we’ll have to go back during Chocolate Week.
All in all, a highly recommended and unusual chocolate experience!
The Grand Imperial, 101 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0SJ
Tel: 020 7821 8898
Email: reservations@grandimperiallondon.com
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Belflair are a Northamptonshire based chocolatier that, according to their website, have been going since 2001, although personally I hadn’t heard of them until they sent these review samples along.
These orangettes are described as “reel orange peel dipped in dark chocolate”. The chocolate in question is a 56% dark chocolate of unspecified origin.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy them at all. The chocolate is quite bland and doesn’t have much flavour of its own. And while the orange inside has an initially pleasant flavour, there’s an artificial edge that quickly makes itself known.
Looking at the ingredients, the orange peel contains glucose, citric acid and preservative (E220 – sulphur dioxide). I’m guessing it’s the latter that doesn’t agree with me. Preservative may be essential, but according to the Best Before date, these have a shelf life of a year, and that doesn’t strike me as particularly natural for chocolate covered fruit.
I like crystallised fruit and I was really looking forward to these. However, they just didn’t taste like the natural, artisan chocolate product they’re positioning themselves as. I’m used to artisan chocolate having a shelf life of no more than two weeks, rather than a year.
Perhaps I had a bad batch, but I can only really base a review on the samples I have, and unfortunately I didn’t enjoy these.
