Last week I was invited along to the official launch of Paul Wayne Gregory’s pop-up shop in Brixton. It’s a tiny shop in the foodie heart of Brixton, and the good news is that it looks like it’s going to be around for at least a year.
Paul has long been one of my favourite British chocolatiers. His talent for balancing flavours and and matching them to the chocolat blend is second to none. That’s why I was particularly intrigued to try his new Christmas Pudding chocolate at the shop.
It’s a large, dome shaped chocolate, and as you can see it’s beautifully finished. It’s almost a shame to bite into it. Almost.
Paul has managed to capture the flavours of a Christmas pudding perfectly. It’s rich, deep and fruity, without being overpowering – you can still taste the chocolate. Best of all, unlike a lot of Christmas-themed chocolates, this one isn’t loaded with booze. There’s just a hint of the Christmas spirit.
I’ve always loved the fruity flavour of Christmas pudding, and for me, this chocolate captures it perfectly. I love it, and could happily eat these all day.
At the time of writing, these aren’t available from Paul Wayne Gregory’s Online Store, but I’m sure they will be soon, and you’ll certainly be able to pick some up at the shop in Brixton.
Update: This competition is now closed
French chocolate maker Valrhona supplies some of the biggest names in the chocolate industry, and this year they’re celebrating their 90th anniversary.
To mark the occasion, they’ve made these rather scrummy Equinoxe milk and dark chocolate covered almonds and hazelnuts in a beautiful box featuring the original Valrhona logo. You can’t buy them in the shops, but we’ve got three boxes to give away to lucky Chocablog readers. Read on to find out how you could get your hands on them.
In France, the name Valrhona is synonymous with quality chocolate, and as you can see, this box is no exception. Having tried some myself, I can say that they taste as good as they look, and are quite difficult to stop eating!
How To Win
To be in with a chance of winning one of three of these beautiful and exclusive boxes, just answer the question below. We’ll pick three correct answers at random and notify the winners by email. One entry per household, UK residents only.
The question: In what year was Valrhona established?
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Competition Rules
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Update: This competition is now closed
On a recent trip to Latvia I was out & about doing a little shopping when I came across Emils Gustavs range of handmade chocolate bars. Apparently Gustavs is one of the premium brands in Latvia, and this dark chocolate and cherry bar is typically Eastern European. Sour cherries have always been popular (I remember having Morello cherry jam at my Polish grandmother’s house as a boy) and so it seemed fitting to grab this bar for a taste.
In another typically European move, this ‘dark’ chocolate has only 53% cocoa solids, making it more bittersweet than truly dark, like many eastern European chocolates.
As you can see, the bar has been made using a rather lovely design with the Gustavs name imprinted squarely in the middle. Flip it over, and those fat, juicy sour cherries are all too evident and obviously added by hand. The positioning and size of the cherries and the fact that the bar is moulded as a single slab without dividing lines means that when it comes to tasting the only thing to do is to break off a hunk and get stuck in.
It wasn’t hard breaking off a piece with a cherry in it, and from my point of view this is definitely the best way to enjoy this bar. The sweetness of the chocolate is offset beautifully by the sharp, tangy cherries (which have retained some of their moisture and are quite chewy) which means that the initial sweet chocolate flavours are countered by that cherry sourness as soon as you decide to bite down on the fruit.
Were it not for the inclusion of the cherries, I think I would be looking a lot less favourably on this particular bar. The chocolate is smooth and light with quite robust flavour, but of course 53% cocoa means 47% other stuff, including sugar, so the true character of the chocolate will always be masked. Without the cherries there to liven things up, this would just be another bar of average, forgettable chocolate.
Like most chocolate lovers in London, I’ve visited William Curley’s Belgravia Dessert Bar many times, but to my shame I’ve never tried the dessert bar menu.
The menu give you the chance to try what amounts to a five course meal made entirely of desserts. It’s only available at weekends from 1pm, and the contents of the menu changes every week, so you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.
I love the atmosphere of the dessert bar. It’s modern and professional, yet relaxed and friendly.
You can sit at the bar, drinking hot chocolate or champagne and watch the team make the desserts right in front of you. The staff are enthusiastic, polite, and seem to take genuine pride in what they do. They’re happy to answer any questions you have about the menu, or just chat about chocolate while they work. It’s simply a nice place to be.
On this occasion, our menu had a distinctly seasonal feel. Our first course was a rhubarb & custard ice cream on a hazelnut crumble base. Rhubarb crumble is one of those flavours that brings back all kinds of wonderful childhood memories, and the flavours here were just like ‘the real thing’. It was neither too sweet, nor too heavy, which was good as we had four more courses to get through!
Next up was a spiced plump compote with greek yoghurt, topped with chocolate granita. Served in small glasses, but with generous layers of compote, yoghurt and granita, this too was delicious. The granita was particularly good, being intensely chocolatey without being heavy.
Once again, the balance of flavours was just right. The tangy compote and yoghurt work so well with the granita that I could easily have eaten a second one of these.
Third course was a caramelised apple tarte tartin with vanilla ice cream. This looked wonderful, although by the time I’d finished photographing it, the ice cream was well on the way to melting (the curse of the food blogger!).
This was simple and delicious, although I preferred the slightly more exotic flavours of the other courses.
Next up was this beautifully presented raspberry macaron with raspberry sauce. We watched as the patissier decorated the plate and assembled the macaron in front of us, then quickly demolished them.
Macarons aren’t my usually my favourite thing, but the generous chocolate filling and decoration won me over.
Finally came the petits fours.
At this point, we were full, without feeling stuffed. The portion sizes and flavours through each course are perfectly balanced, so nothing too sweet or too filling. At just £15, it’s very good value as well.
Five courses of desserts may seem a little overpowering, but if you’ve not had lunch, it’s the perfect amount. And if you have already eaten or you’re worried it might be a bit much, you can simply share it with a friend. I would highly recommend having one to yourself though.
When you go, your menu will be different, so don’t expect to have exactly the same courses we did. I think half the fun is not knowing quite what you’ll get. I’ll certainly be going back for more.
William Curley Dessert Bar Menu
£15 Per Person
198 Ebury Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 8UN
www.williamcurley.co.uk
