Boutique Aromatique is an exciting new chocolate shop, opened last month in Nottinghamshire by chocolatier and patissier Shelly Preston. Based at the Welbeck Farm Shop, Boutique Aromatique specialises using aromatic flowers & fruits to flavour their chocolates.
Although they’re brand new – so new that their website isn’t even finished yet – Shelly was kind enough to take time out to send us some samples. And as you can see, first impressions are pretty good…
This is some of the nicest packaging I’ve seen for a long time. It’s just a simple, card box covered in thick paper with a bow, but it’s perfectly executed. It’s stylish and intriguing without being over the top.
Clearly a lot of work has gone into making the design look effortlessly simple, but it got my attention and I couldn’t wait to see what was inside.
My box was stuffed full of loose chocolates, and while I’m always grateful to receive more chocolate, that did mean that they had been battered a little in the post. Not much, but enough for me to notice. The box just isn’t quite big enough to squeeze six chocolates into neat layers.
That said, it didn’t really make any difference as I excitedly tipped them all out onto the table anyway…
Shelly uses Amedei and Valrhona couverture in her chocolates, and I believe these are made with Amedei’s Toscano 70% and Valrhona’s 64% Manjari. Both pretty high in flavour, and great choices when it comes to producing flavoursome, aromatic chocolates.
I had four different chocolates to try:
Moroccan Mint & Sweet Basil
A sweet, silky ganache with a natural mint flavour that initially reminded me of Demarquette’s Moroccan Mint Tea ganache. As the initial burst of mint flavour recedes, the basil comes to the front, but it’s really the mint that dominates and lingers here. Delicious, but not subtle!
Strawberry Citrus Basil & Pink Peppercorn
I initially wondered whether this was going to be a little too many flavours for one little chocolate to handle. It turns out that this is one of the more subtle strawberry chocolates I’ve had, and it works incredibly well. The flavour is fresh and tastes of real strawberries, with just the slightest hint of pepper at the end. Very nice.
Bitter Almond, Coffee & Cardamom
One of the more interesting coffee chocolates I’ve had lately, and another very enjoyable chocolate. The coffee is thankfully quite subtle, and the almond and cardamom give the ganache a sweetness.
Blackcurrant & Hibiscus Flower
A sweet, smooth blackcurrant ganache that tastes almost like a jam when you first bite into it, before quickly receding as the chocolate flavours come to the front. I didn’t pick up on the hibiscus much, but that’s not a flavour I’m familiar with. But the simple, fruity simplicity make it one of my favourites of the bunch.
I’ll confess I was a little sceptical about the idea of making chocolates around such strongly aromatic flowers, herbs & spices – I like to be able to taste the chocolate rather than being slapped in the face with too many other flavours. It turns out I needn’t have worried though. There may be a lot going on here, and it’s those natural, wild flavours and aromas that are definitely the stars of the show, but they work with the chocolate, rather than against it. I’m looking forward to see what they come up with next!
These chocolates are definitely worth seeking out. Boutique Aromatique website isn’t ready to take online orders just yet, but if you want to buy some and can’t make it to Nottinghamshire, you can give them a call on 01909 511 218 (UK) or email communicate@boutiquearomatique.com.
Information
- Contains dark chocolate (64, 70% cocoa solids).
- Cacao Origin: Madagascar
- Filed under almond, assortment, basil, blackcurrant, boutique aromatique, coffee, hibiscus, mint, strawberry, uk.
While some chocolate manufacturers spend ages agonising over packaging artwork, Idilio have adopted the ‘stripped back’ approach to their chocolate bars, presumably letting the chocolate doing the talking. They have a range of ten similarly packaged bars available (some of which are in my possession) so expect to see more of these rather clinical looking bars in the near future.
The fact that all product information is in German and French suggests that Idilio have yet to make inroads into the UK market. Oddly enough the company name comes from a Spanish word meaning a short poem celebrating the romance of living at one with nature, a sweet experience, or small treasure. (Idyllic, then.)
The owners of Idilio have worked closely with the head of devleopment at Felchlin (one of the big names in world chocolate and provider of couverture to Thorntons, among others) who has advised them on cacao content, conching and roasting of the beans which make up their numbered range of bars. Number three uses 72% Venezuelan cacao from Ocumare de la Costa (just down the road from the legendary Chuao) conched for 48 hours.
Like most good Swiss chocolate, this has a really smooth mouthfeel and a creamy texture. The beans exhibit hints of spice and a big burst of tropical fruit flavours. The chocolate melts immediately, with the super smooth, lightly acidic cacao delivering hints of spice, coffee and green notes. The beans are grown in mixed cultivation with other fruits and herbs, and it’s almost as though some of those flavours have found their way into the cacao. The finish is slightly acidic and fairly short, with the acidity staying right to the last. I had no hesitation in popping another piece into my mouth, then another.
Based on this first showing, I’m rather looking forward to sampling more of Idilio’s creations. Hopefully (after winning Gold at the Academy of Chocolate Awards) these bars will become available to UK consumers sooner rather than later.
I already declared my love, or at least some strong lusty thoughts, towards the new Lindt Passion bar with Orange & Pistachio because of its lovely mix of crunchy and chewy milky goodness. We’ve gone out a few more times since. But launched at the same time was a darker cousin – Caramel & Sea Salt and while I couldn’t ignore it completely, it didn’t appeal in the same way when I saw it on the shelf.
Maybe it is that the whole caramel and salt thing is getting clichéd at this point. Or maybe the fact that the dark chocolate’s percentage isn’t actually revealed anywhere on the packaging, but the vagueness of it all bothers me much more than it did in the other bar.
It would maybe be more forgivable if it was a better tasting bar, but it doesn’t really deliver there. The back of the chocolate, which I would put at about 60% at the very most, is studded with little pieces of hard caramel. There are two distinct kinds – some are very similar to those in the Lindt Crunchy Caramel bar, but there are also some darker ones which have a more burnt taste which verges on being overwhelming. The salt is handled with a defter touch and it just hangs around in the background, all businesslike. Nothing wrong with that.
The main problem with the bar is that it doesn’t do anything that another bar in Lindt’s line-up already does better. Not awful by any means, but just not very exciting either and that’s the real crime. Stick with the much more delicious Orange & Pistachio variety instead.
Soreen malt loaf is one of those things that I remember loving as a child. Thick, doorstop sized slices of the stuff, smothered in butter. Recently I rediscovered the joys of malt loaf, so I was hugely excited to hear Paul A. Young had been experimenting with a Soreen truffle and had to try one for myself.
Actually, I had to try four for myself. Just to be sure.
These Soreen truffles are large, with a hard, slightly sticky, slightly crispy shell. But he first thing you notice about them is the rich, malty aroma. For me, it’s a smell that brought those childhood memories flooding back.
The shell is made from thin chocolate and is covered in tiny, malty pieces that give instant flavour as soon as you bite into the shell. I’m not entirely sure how Paul achieved that, but that’s why he’s a master chocolatier and I’m just a chocolate eater.
Inside is a soft, smooth, malty ganache. It’s so soft that it’s almost liquid. The flavour is a little more subtle than I had expected, and I found myself craving the fruitiness of the malt loaf I remember. But it’s still deliciously smooth and malty with the perfect amount of dark chocolate to balance the flavour.
But if you want to get your hands on these yourself, there is a catch.
Paul has just made a single batch of Soreen truffles, and they’re only available from his Wardour Street shop.
When I visited on Sunday, supply was already very limited, so if you want to try them for yourself, you’re going to have to get down to Soho within the next couple of days.
If you don’t make it in time, there’s still plenty of other amazing creations to try. Paul’s been very busy lately creating his Autumn range, and you might even be able to get a sneak peak of his deliciously fruity Christmas brownie if you ask nicely…
