Yesterday, our very own Australian Correspondent MillyMoo (aka Kath) appeared on the radio to talk about Chocablog and her love of chocolate in general. She even took calls from listeners.
But you don’t have to travel back in time and half way around the world to listen! We’ve got the whole interview right here. Just click play or download the MP3 here!
Fantastic stuff!
Stay tuned…. Next week we plan to take over the whole world!
(Then cover it in thick milk chocolate.)
Whittaker’s chocolates have been made in Wellington New Zealand since 1896 and they are the only manufacturers in the land of sheep, hillsides and hobbits to start the process from scratch by roasting their own cocoa beans.
We Aussies have enjoyed their wares since 1992 and, like all things Kiwi that are worthy and successful, we Australians tend to adopt them as our own (see Crowded House, Peter Jackson, and sometimes Russell Crowe). However in the case of Whittaker’s, they are still a relatively shy brand here in the land of big backyards and blow flies, and it is not always easy to find.
Occasional scarcity has never put me off the hunt. I have always loved their plain milk and dark chocolate blocks and was thrilled to see their Dark Chocolate Orange 250g at the local supermarket. This quarter-kilo slab of heaven is made with their delicious bittersweet dark chocolate that has a cocoa content of 47% and is generously studded with generous chunks of soft, chewy crystallised orange peel.
For some reason, apart from the ubiquitous and rather dreary Terry’s Chocolate Oranges that are flung around at Christmas time, a decent dark choc’n’orange block is hard to come by. This has always puzzled me. I’m still wondering why Jaffas sweets are so popular here when they seem to consist of compounded chocolate with the faintest whiff of laboratory orange flavour coated in solidified chalk, and are about as enticing as crunching on a ten year old moth ball.
Therefore, it was with great anticipation that I unwrapped the self-proclaimed ‘Zestful’ block. This combination of dark chocolate and subtle orange oils is a superb pairing. I know that all good and sensible chocolate lovers (and reviewers) should leave a square on their tongue for a at least a few moments to enable a decent tango with the taste buds, but it was impossible NOT to enthusiastically chew through the softish chocolate in order to reach the orange. Crikey, it was hard enough reminding myself to stop inhaling the stuff in time to take a picture of some of it!
Whittaker’s is the kind of ‘quiet achiever’ brand that Cadbury should be nervous about. They are more authentic and much more skilled at pairing additional fillings and flavours with much better quality chocolate and additional ingredients. And they are more than welcome to become an adopted Aussie icon any time.
It wasn’t so long ago that I reviewed a box of Filthy’s Kinky Crème Brûlée Bites, and I was less than complimentary about them, to say the least. Well, such is the power of Chocablog that the lovely PR Madames at Filthy got in touch and offered to send me the rest of the range to sample. Being the accommodating chap I am I naturally accepted their kind offer, and so earlier this week there was a knock at the door and a leather-clad gentleman handed me two padded bags. You see, Filthy Chocs are made with fresh cream and live in the fridge, so they had to be sent by courier in order to preserve their freshness.
I’ve already gone into some detail about the unusual packaging design and ‘naughty’ stickers on the box. What we really need to know is whether or not Filthy have managed to create something worthy of their own hype.
These Cheeky Chocolate Bites have the same thick Belgian milk chocolate shell as the rest of the Filthy range, but the inside is made from a blend of 70% cocoa dark chocolate and cream. This combination results in a much thicker filling than the Crème Brûlée Bites, something much more akin to a rich truffle rather than the fluffy, insubstantial Creme Brulée centres which I found so disappointing.
The filling is thick, sticky, and very rich, and as you crunch through the milk chocolate shell the first taste is a bittersweet cocoa hit which melts into the milk chocolate, filling your mouth with a lovely dark-tasting mixture which melts away and allows the last of the milk chocolate to give a sweet finish.
I think I should have tried these lovely little things before the Crème Brûlée Bites. They’re far more indulgent, rich and tasty than their siblings and to my mind they fit in the Filthy ethos a lot better. They’d make a great after dinner treat, as a box of twelve would easily satisfy four people because they are just so rich and creamy.
So once again I find myself reconsidering my original verdict. I’m still not a big fan of the Creme Brulée Bites, but I would definitely buy a box of these Cheeky Choc Bites as a special treat.
Thanks to Chloe and Sarah (the PR Madames) for sending these over. Evidently it was worth your while.
Did you know you can now add Chocablog on Facebook? All you need to do is click here, and click ‘Become a fan’.
Our Facebook page is really just a new way of subscribing to Chocablog and keeping up to date with every post. But it also features chocolate galleries (yes, really!) and lets you connect with other Chocablog fans and spread the word.
It’s just an experiment at this stage, so let us know if you like it!
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