Booja Booja is a Norfolk based company specialising in organic, dairy free, vegan and vegetarian friendly chocolates, They’ve won numerous awards from organic and vegetarian societies, and definitely fall into the ‘slightly bonkers chocolate makers’ category (I mean – Booja-Booja?)
I chose these purely because I wanted to see how Mister Booja Booja tackled the sometimes difficult banana-and-chocolate combination.
Given that the bananas were also flambéed in cognac, we also have the potentially overpowering alcohol in the mix, making these chocolates a real test. I was fairly confident that if these truffles were as good as they could be, then Booja-Booja would be a company I’d keep an eye out for.
I liked the Camembert-like poplar box (made from a sustainable source, naturally), and opening the lid soon released a fairly complex aroma of cocoa, wood, and a definite fruity element. More eccentricity inside the box – a little fortune cookie type card.
What I was more interested in was this:
Seven square truffles, sat in petits fours cases, looking rather tasty and giving off a fairly strong aroma of banana, cocoa and a hint of booze. A twenty pence piece would sit perfectly inside the edges of these truffles.
These truffles are in fact quite dense. Beneath a thin, bittersweet cocoa shell there lies a heart of dark, thick, gooey loveliness. I can’t even say ‘naughtiness’ because these truffles are dairy, GM, cholesterol and gluten free. Anyone can eat them!
Once inside, the centre starts to melt quickly, releasing the boozy banana flavours in the centre, and I’m very pleased to report that the banana doesn’t take charge of the overall taste. It can be quite difficult to balance banana and chocolate, but ‘Mister Booja Booja’ has done a fine job, and to do so while keeping his product so virtuous is indeed a remarkable feat. Hats off to you, Sir (because I’m sure someone with a name like that has a penchant for a good hat).
I can think of several friend who are either dairy or wheat free, and others who have foresworn chocolate due to high cholesterol, and I think I know what they might be getting for Christmas now. Well worth tracking down.
Everyone loves brownies, which is why I’m excited about The Great Brownie Bake Off which is taking place at the Look Mum No Hands Café in Old Street, London on Saturday October 9th.
The event is being organised by our friend, Chocolate Consultant Louise Thomas, and promises to gather home bakers from all over the country to compete to produce the best brownies around, as judged by a panel of experts and chocoholics.
The bake-off is open to the public, with a very modest £1.70 entry fee with profits being donated to charity. But we really wanted to let you know that they’re currently looking for home bakers to take part in the event. Think your brownies are the best in the world? This is your chance to prove it! There’s even a prize of six months supply of chocolate, donated by Divine for the winning brownie!
The day will also include demonstrations and plenty of treats to get your teeth into, and more importantly than that, we’ll be there too! We turned down a position on the judging panel just so we’d have more time to eat without having to think.
So what are you waiting for? Book your place now.
Serendipty is a wonderful thing. A random comment I made on Twitter about being in Finchley caught the attention of Samantha Check, who runs a tea room just round the corner from where I live.
I’d never heard of Tea Party before, which probably says more about me than it does about Sam, given that her shop is bright pink and I go past it regularly. I say “shop”, but Tea Party is a private tea room, and if you want to have tea there yourself, you’ll need to book in advance.
Suffice to say, when Sam asked me round, I jumped at the chance. But fearing a bright pink tea room with pink decor may be a little much for me alone, I asked a couple of local female Twitter friends to come along for moral support. And so it was that Jennifer, Kavey and I found ourselves invited round for our own private chocolate-themed tea party on Wednesday evening.
Parties at Tea Party come with standard tea party fare including tea, scones, sandwiches, cupcakes and soft drinks, but Sam had clearly gone to some trouble to give us a chocolate themed parties, with beautiful chocolate cupcakes from Heather’s Pink Cooker Cupcakes, and brownies (which we’ll be reviewing separately later) from Brownie Points.
Also on offer were chocolate macaroons, chocolate spread sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate milk! This was a seriously chocolatey party, and needless to say it was clear from the start that we weren’t going to get through all of it.
Of course, as with any party, the atmosphere is as important as the food, and Tea Party has plenty of that – particularly if you’re into girly stuff. The bright pink shopfront is matched by the pink striped wallpaper, picture frames and other bits and pieces around the room. Pink and white feather boas and hats were available for dress-up – something which my female companions were keen to try – although repeated attempts to get me to wear anything more than a hat were unsuccessful!
And so we ate and we drank and we chatted, and before we knew it, a couple of hours had passed and it was dark outside. We all thoroughly enjoyed are little informal chocolate tea party, and if you’re looking for a venue for a kids’ party, hen’s night or just want to do something a little different with friends, then I highly recommend Tea Party.
The great thing about hiring a little private tea room is that you can tailor things to the kind of event you want. Sam is friendly and helpful, so just let her know what you need and I’m sure she’ll be happy to help.
I’m so glad I found this place. It may be a little pink for my personal taste, but I just love the fact that someone is doing something a little different just around the corner from me. Chocablog will definitely be back for more – but we still draw the line at dressing up.
You can follow Tea Party on twitter here.
Stepping back two years, E. Guittard was the subject of my very first Chocablog review. At that time, I was bumping into their bars relatively often and thoroughly enjoying them until suddenly they appeared no more. This week I find this, their newest bar, at a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and snatch it up with nary a thought.
I’ll admit, hesitation ensued as I walked out with it. I used to love E. Guittard, but that was before I had tasted the likes of Amano and before I had expanded my worshipful opinion of Godiva.
Would I scoff at my old friend? Oh, no. After quickly taking some pictures in the car (why wait until getting home?), I broke off the familiar-shaped piece. The usual thoughts of, oh, yes, a very warm flavor — a cinnamon note, perhaps. Then I was off, transported on another chocolate high above the sky. This one thrilled like the summer storms we’ve been having. Warmth like the humid air, depth from the dark clouds, and a hiss of lightning from that hint of bitterness.
It’s a very rich and chocolaty bar. Yet I’m a bit surprised by the back label: “This very dark, high intensity bittersweet chocolate is for the true aficionado. Dark, rich flavors linger with a minimum of sweetness.” I found it more low key than that (it is only 72%), but I suppose you can safely say it is for followers of the Dark Side.
Now, the mouthfeel of this bar (and this goes for all the E. Guittards I’ve had) isn’t so clean as, say, Michel Cluizel. It melts differently and lingers a bit longer. The clean finish is one of the things I like about Michel Cluizel, but I can’t call it a drawback that E. Guittard is so different. The texture of each one is I like in its own way.
This is the kind of bar I could just keep on eating. It’s satisfying and approachable at the same time. And I am partial to the name Quetzalcoatl.
