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The Truck STopS Here!

continued on page 3...

As A result of our last

trip to the Osuben Basin

we revealed that this year’s

exciting new project is to

provide a small truck for our

partners in Ghana – Bob,

Stephen and Isaac of the

Green Tropics Group. It’s so

that they can get around safely

and deliver seedlings and

equipment to very difficult to

reach areas.

Bob, Stephen and Isaac

spend a great deal of time

visiting farmers and ferrying

supplies around. Unfortunately,

their trusty old pick-up truck

has now given up the ghost

and they now rely on a less

appropriate vehicle that,

without four-wheel drive, is

just not suited to the task. And

during that last visit to Ghana

we saw first hand just how

treacherous the conditions can

be, especially during the rainy

season – with their vehicle

one of the great advantages of our Engaged Ethics programme in Ghana is that, through our hands-on approach, we see for ourselves what needs to be done.

Not having the right vehicle, especially in the rainy season, makes many journeys treacherous – and calls for a lot of pushing

2

Dear Club Members

Welcome to your latest edition of Club News. This month’s lead story is all about our major Engaged Ethics project in Ghana this year – a

truck for our partners Bob, Stephen and Isaac. Ghana’s two rainy seasons play havoc with dirt roads, so this truck will be an enormous help – in allowing us to greatly extend the areas in which we can work in the Osuben Basin and beyond.

And speaking of pushing boundaries, Hotel Chocolat Co-founder, Peter Harris went back to the floor recently and spent a day working in one of the busiest stores. You can read how he got along on page 10 and don’t miss next month when we hear how our very own Angus got on in Hotel Chocolat Nottingham. Apparently he chatted to quite a few Tasting Club members…

Also this month you’ll see that I put life and limb on the line for you by sneaking into our chocolatiers’ closely guarded development kitchen. It was all to secure a preview of the Easter Collection and you can see what I found out on page 8.

And finally, if you haven’t entered our Create a Chocolate Competition yet, then please hurry. Just imagine, you could see your very own chocolate creation nestled in a monthly tasting box.

Until next month, happy tasting!

Simon Thirlwell Editor

Send your letters to The Chocolate Tasting Club, Mint House, Royston SG8 5HL, or simply email me on simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk We are waiting to hear from you!

Risking the wrath of our chocolatiers, Simon secured an

Easter preview on page 8

3

getting stuck frequently in

deep potholes and skidding

off rain-washed, muddy tracks.

That’s why this year we’d

like to buy them a truck so

that they can get the job done

much more efficiently and

safely – and we’re not talking

about anything fancy here, just

a basic, hard working vehicle

to stand up to the harsh

driving conditions.

reAching PArts Other seedlings hAve never reAched BefOre

A truck will also enable us

to deliver seedlings to farmers

in even the most remote

areas. Many cocoa farmers in

the Osuben Basin have never

been able to take advantage of

our seedlings programme to

rejuvenate their farms because

they live too far away from the

nearest nursery. They cannot

afford to pay for transport and

it is just too far to walk whilst

carrying seedlings.

If you’re an avid Club News

reader, you may remember

that we first talked about this

project last autumn. We’ve

been holding back from

bringing you an update until

Bob, Stephen and Isaac found

an appropriate truck – which

they have now done. And

despite the absence of an

update, members have already

responded by generously

donating almost £2,000!

WOuld yOu like tO helP?We receive many requests

from members asking how

they can do more to help

cocoa farmers in Ghana. So,

given the overwhelming

response from members who

contributed to our Health

Insurance and Motorbike

schemes in the past, we

thought we’d ask if you’d like

to help.

There’s still plenty of time

to get involved. To buy and

maintain a small truck will

cost approximately £15,000,

half of which we have already

guaranteed. So if you’d like

to be involved in the funding

of the other half, we’d love to

have your help!

In order that all monies go

directly to the appeal itself,

we’ve set up a dedicated bank

account in the name of the

Ghana Cocoa Farmers’ Fund.

To keep things simple and to

minimise bank charges, the

fund can only accept donations

by cheque or postal order

made payable to the fund

itself – we cannot accept any

payments made to the Club.

hOW tO mAke A dOnAtiOn

Please make cheques &

postal orders payable to:

Ghana Cocoa Farmers’ Fund

And send to: Cocoa Farmers,

The Chocolate Tasting Club,

Royston, SG8 5HL

We realise that these are

uncertain economic times, so

any donation large or small will

be gratefully received, although

to minimise administration

costs we request a minimum

donation of £5 – thank you for

your help!

Continued from page one...

Robust and capable of tackling the sometimes treacherous dirt roads

44

CLASSIC SELECTION - D117

DARK SELECTION - K50

SOLID SELECTION - S28

1. Minty Irish Cream by R Macfadyen 8.29 (27% scored it 10/10)

2. Banana Split by R Macfadyen 8.24 (29% scored it 10/10)

3. Plum in Caramel by E Desmet 8.24 (32% scored it 10/10)

4. Vanilla Dream by M Meier 8.24 (25% scored it 10/10)

5. Raspberry Ripper by K Kalenko 8.23 (29% scored it 10/10)

6. Blue mountain Ganache by E Desmet 8.22 (33% scored 10/10)

7. Max Crunch by R Macfadyen 8.20 (25% scored it 10/10)

8. Blackberry Gateau by E Desmet 8.13 (21% scored it 10/10)

9. Squirrel’s Hamper by A Gittings & JC Vandenberghe 8.07 (29% scored it 10/10)

10. 33% Milk Tasting Batons 8.03 (23% scored it 10/10)

11. Chocolate Turrón by G Pereira 8.00 (21% scored it 10/10)

12. Clementine Truffle by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 7.78 (36% scored it 10/10)

13. St Lucia Dark Tasting Batons 7.74 (14% scored it 10/10)

14. Cherry Praline by O Nicod 7.71 (17% scored it 10/10)

15. St Lucia Rum by K Kalenko 7.62 (22% scored it 10/10)

1. St Lucia Rum by K Kalenko 8.44 (32% scored it 10/10)

2. Blue mountain Ganache by E Desmet 8.38 (33% scored 10/10)

3. Clementine Truffle by O Coppeneur & G Bernardini 8.38 (30% scored it 10/10)

4. Minty Irish Cream by R Macfadyen 8.35 (32% scored it 10/10)

5. Raspberry Ripper by K Kalenko 8.31 (23% scored it 10/10)

6. Vanilla Dream by M Meier 8.26 (17% scored it 10/10)

7. St Lucia Dark Tasting Batons 8.21 (24% scored it 10/10)

8. Max Crunch by R Macfadyen 8.10 (13% scored it 10/10)

9. Plum in Caramel by E Desmet 8.07 (26% scored it 10/10)

10. African Blend Tasting Batons 8.05 (21% scored it 10/10)

11. Blackberry Gateau by E Desmet 7.99 (23% scored it 10/10)

12. Banana Split by R Macfadyen 7.94 (12% scored it 10/10)

13. Chocolate Turrón by G Pereira 7.92 (14% scored it 10/10)

14. Cherry Praline by O Nicod 7.90 (14% scored it 10/10)

15. Squirrel’s Hamper by A Gittings & JC Vandenberghe 7.85 (15% scored it 10/10)

1. Kooky Toffee 8.69 (33% scored it 10/10)

2. 33% Milk Tasting Batons 8.52 (26% scored it 10/10)

3. Coco Loco 8.16 (34% scored it 10/10)

4. Chocolate Turrón 8.02 (33% scored it 10/10)

5. White Praline Bites 7.82 (38% scored it 10/10)

6. Poire Belle Hélène 7.80 (39% scored it 10/10)

7. The Dark Bite 7.00 (23% scored it 10/10)

8. Orange & Almond Canapés 7.00 (13% scored it 10/10)

9. St Lucia Dark Tasting Batons 6.69 (10% scored it 10/10)

BOUQUET St Lucia Rum “Superlative – deserves a score of 10++. Complex, delicious chocolate, fragrant delicate rum, didn’t know rum could taste like this, complement each other perfectly.” VJ Marrian-Hooper, Perth.

BOUQUET St Lucia Dark Batons “This chocolate has character! Did just what it said on the tin - fruity, followed by a long earthy fi nish!” Joy Irving, Cirencester.

5

THIS MoNTH’S RESULTS, more than any in recent years, have polarised opinions between tasting boxes and it’s all down to a single origin chocolate and glug or two of St Lucian rum…

a talE of Two tastings

THE SINGLE ORIGIN chocolate in question is,

of course, from St Lucia as well and the two

recipes that laid bare the differences are St

Lucia Rum and the St Lucia 65% Dark Tasting

Batons. A glance at the scoring tables opposite

will tell you the story – Classic tasters placed

them last and thirteenth respectively, while

Solid Chocolate tasters placed the Batons in

last place. However, if you check the results

from Dark tasters, you’ll see that St Lucia Rum

fi nished in fi rst place with the Tasting Batons in

a respectable seventh position!

Both chocolate recipes had one thing in

common – deep, dark and earthy cocoa fl avours

that are typical of these Trinitario beans. St

Lucia Rum also had a fairly intense rum kick

too! And delving into members’ comments

it’s quite clear a majority of Classic and Solid

Chocolate tasters found these fl avours too dark,

too earthy and too intense. That said, signifi cant

minorities of Classic tasters loved them enough

to award them top marks – 22% for St Lucia

Rum and 14% for the St Lucia Batons.

Discovering and tasting new fl avours and

recipes is what our Tasting Club is all about.

However, this month we see that it is right for

the Classic Box to be devoted to milk and white

chocolate, with just a touch of dark chocolate

here and there!

BOUQUET Raspberry Ripper “Superb. The contrast between the white an dark chocolate here was amazing, like coming in from the snow into a warm kitchen.” Helen Beaton, Glenrothes

Irish eyes are smiling – this month’s Classic winner was

Minty Irish Cream

BRICKBATS St Lucia Rum “Wooh too strong for me.” C Thompson, Rochford.

BRICKBATS Banana Split “I guess this is a Marmite chocolate. With a score of 1 guess which camp I am in?” Amanda McKenzie, Cruden Bay.

BOUQUET Minty Irish Cream “Didn’t think these two fl avours would work together but what did I know? Amazing.” Bev Butler, Petersfi eld

6

sO, if yOu’re an existing Solid Chocolate taster, you will be sent automatically the new Elements box at the usual price of £17.95 and according to your existing delivery schedule, unless you instruct us otherwise of course. And here’s what’s waiting for you in the fi rst box…

The most signifi cant change is that the new Elements box will feature two each of six alcohol-free, fi lled chocolates. And in the fi rst tasting box you can look

forward to a dreamy caramel praline; a deep chocolate mousse; an Excellence award winner with gorgeous fl orentine; a brand new runny caramel recipe; a fruity praline; and an intriguing new creation that features coconut, lime and macadamia nuts. That’s as well as two sets of our ever-popular tasting batons and two exciting chocolate slabs – a classically creamy, Forastero blend milk chocolate and the stunningly popular Rocky Road Slab.

We cAn’t WAit!If you’re a Classic or Dark

taster and you’d like to see what Elements is all about, then why not give it a try? you can order a special one-off Elements selection by calling 08444 933 933 quoting box reference S32. your existing delivery schedule will be unaffected.

And if you missed last month’s Club News, you can read the full story of Elements online at www.chocs.co.uk/clubnewsd119

ElEMENts Is Coming!

No, that’s not a grammatical error in the headline. Elements is the name of the brand new tasting box that is replacing the Solid Chocolate Selection – and it all starts next month!

sO, if yOu’re an existing forward to a dreamy caramel We cAn’t WAit!

Is Coming!

No, that’s not a grammatical error in the headline. Elements that’s not a grammatical error in the headline. Elements that’s notis the name of the brand new tasting box that is replacing the Solid Chocolate Selection – and it all starts next month!

7

in the poSTBAG…

My best moment of the year – having a box arrive just before I had to go into hospital

for an operation. Perfect timing! Eleanor Blair.

My best Tasting Club moment is coming home from work to fi nd a new box lying on the carpet, tearing off the wrapper and lifting up the lid... the smell of a freshly opened box of chocs is heaven for me... and I get to do it every month... ahhhhhhh. Theresa Bond

I’m quite new to the Tasting Club and I’m eagerly awaiting my new box through the

letterbox, but my best moment so far is the day I got my fi rst box. I was amazed how many chocolates I loved and the fact there was two of each chocolate meant I could share them with my boyfriend without missing out myself :) Gemma Langley

Best Chocolate Tasting Club moment of the year? Opening my Easter Egg, the aroma was fantastic, the contents delectable and the shell… pure bliss. Chris Hopkins

My favourite Chocolate Tasting Club moment was tasting the caramel baton, drifting away on a soft down pillow, rolling it around and around with my tongue, languishing in its silky smooth exquisiteness, melting away drop by drop leaving me with only a memory, absolute heaven. Lila Athanaselis

My best Tasting Club moment was when I purposely saved my latest box for a weekend

away. However, I didn’t get to eat a single one, despite great anticipation, as my year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier decided they smelled rather nice and helped herself to the WHOLE box in about 30 minutes whilst I was at the shops! And yes, she was VERY sick afterwards, however, she had a certain look of satisfaction across her face. Needless to say, they are now safely kept well out of her way whenever a box arrives for her own health and my comfort! Kath HaynesEDITOR’S NOTE – a lucky escape for a lucky dog! It’s the theobromine in chocolate that’s poisonous to dogs.

My best moment has to be when the fi rst of the new shaped boxes was delivered. I

came home from work on the Friday – because they always seem to be delivered on a Friday – with the usual dread rising in my soul, and for the fi rst time I didn’t fi nd the postman’s card behind the front door. The box was there. Waiting… for me. In my own house. Not in some dingy delivery offi ce that I can’t get to until next week. That box didn’t last out the weekend! Sarah RobbEDITOR’S NOTE – I passed your comments onto the team responsible for creating the more letterbox-friendly box. They say ‘Thank you Sarah – it makes all those efforts so worthwhile!’

If you’d like to join us on Facebook, then you can fi nd the I ♥ The Chocolate Tasting Club at www.chocs.co.uk/facebook

THIS MONTH we devote our postbag to the online members of the ‘I ♥ The Chocolate Tasting Club’ Facebook group. We recently ran a competition to fi nd their best moments of 2009 and here’s what they said, including our three Prize Draw winners selected at random.

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

88

Simon’s EastEr Preview

With Christmas a dim and distant memory, our chocolatiers’ minds turn to one of the most exciting dates in the chocolate calendar, Easter. So, I took it upon myself to sneak into the development kitchen and see what they have planned for us.

One fOr yOu, One fOr me And One fOr…

First of all, they have three choices for us – Milk, Dark and the Mix. The first two are self explanatory, but I was intrigued to find that the Mix, with one dark and one milk shell, is often the most popular choice. But then again, given

the chance I think most of us like to hedge our bets!

One thing they all have in common though is the extra thick chocolate shell – something that has been the hallmark of Tasting Club and Hotel Chocolat Easter eggs from the start. If you’re anything like me, then you will have eaten your fair share of Easter eggs in your time, but I can honestly say that none have compared to the impressive snap of a Tasting Club shell.

mini egg heAven!Next I managed to

rummage around the freshly

made samples of the Easter chocolates that will go with the eggs. This year they’re all in mini egg moulds and I think they’ll look extremely smart when you see all 30 of them together. I started gently with a gianduja filled egg that just melted in the mouth almost immediately, then I nibbled a couple of fruity recipes with blueberry and morello cherry – very refreshing – and a gorgeous new runny caramel.

Bearing in mind I’d just had my lunch, I physically couldn’t taste all of the chocolates, but I did manage to sample a few of the ganaches that were being mixed up – a classic champagne, amaretto, orange liqueur, golden rum… then feeling a bit tipsy and being frowned at by the chocolatiers, I decided to make my exit.

So I’m happy to report that, following my brief incursion into the development kitchen, this year is set to be another exciting Easter for us chocolate lovers! Of course, these eggs are specially designed for the more demanding tastes of Club Members. However, you can allow ‘ordinary mortals’ to have them by ordering extras.

The Tasting Club Easter Collection is now available to order – you can find more details and order online at www.chocs.co.uk/easter10 or call 08444 933 933.

With the Easter Bunny limbering up on the sidelines, it’s time to unveil this year’s exclusive Tasting Club Easter Collection. Club News Editor, Simon Thirlwell, has had a sneak preview and here’s what he thought.

9

SO IF yOU haven’t put your thinking cap on yet, don’t waste another minute! Just let us have your entry for Angus and the team to consider and you could well be one of our winners – receiving a whopping 5kg of your chocolate and a coveted place in a tasting selection.

Please send your design and description to us, using the form below, to arrive no later than 15th March 2010 please.

Terms and conditions do apply – please see www.chocs.co.uk/createchoc for full details.

LAST CHANCE to Create your own ChoColatE!Last month we launched our unique Create a Chocolate Competition – your chance to have your own creation brought to life by our chocolatiers and featured in a monthly tasting box.

The annual create a chocolate competitionPlease draw your chocolate here Your name

_________________________________

Your membership number or postcode

_________________________________

Name of your chocolate

_________________________________

Description- please include the details of the filling and external appearance

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Send your entry to: Create a Chocolate Competition, HCTC, Mint House, Royston, SG8 5HL

10

BaCk to The Floor

IT WAS WITH some trepidation that I walked

into Bluewater, wondering what I had let myself in for. But the manager, Victoria, and my team colleagues Rebecca, Claire, Taj and George couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful. First on the agenda was a briefing on safety procedures where I learned, amongst many other things, that if I entered the loading bay without a yellow safety coat I would be sacked!

So with the briefing over and dressed in the Hotel Chocolat uniform, I really started to feel part of the team. My duties began at the front of the store, where I was in charge of the ever-popular tasting tray. At times a small but orderly crowd gathered around me. However, the inevitable consequence was that soon those people headed towards the till to pay for the goodies they’d found.

Shadowing the store manager, Victoria, I’d already seen how easy it was to operate the till, until you have to do it on your own that is... After apologising a couple of times with ‘sorry it’s my first day’ things went fairly smoothly, apart from the frequent shock of the till

If you dropped into Hotel Chocolat’s Bluewater store in the run up to Christmas, you may well have been served by our newest recruit. Co-founder Peter Harris went back to the floor and spent a day working as part of the team, we only hope you were easy on him… Here’s what Peter had to say about his day.

Did you see this man? Hotel Chocolat Co-founder, Peter

Harris, on front of house duty at Bluewater.

‘‘

11

drawer opening sharply at an uncomfortable height! And once I managed to give a guest their change and shut the till draw while still holding onto the guest’s money – what would Victoria say if she caught me with my hand in the till?! Thankfully it wasn’t long until the drawer opened again and I could slip the money in unnoticed.

Time raced by with plenty to do – stocking shelves, the tasting tray, serving behind the tills… in no time at all it was evening and a new wave of guests flooded in looking for Christmas presents. I found interacting with the guests very motivating, they really seemed to appreciate my help and only asked me a few difficult questions.

Finally, it was time to clear up. I swept the floor and then George and I mopped it so it was sparkling ready for the next day. We took the rubbish down to the yard and, yes, I did remember the yellow jacket. Victoria cashed up and the tills were spot on. Thank goodness I managed to put that money back in the till. We all left the store at 10.45pm with smiles on our faces – Hotel Chocolat at Bluewater is a great place to work.

Don’t miss next month when Angus tells us how he got on in Nottingham!

DON’T MISS YOUR FREE GIFTS – coming in next month’s tasting box!

next mOnth there’ll be two gorgeous extras tucked into

your monthly tasting box – an exclusive Cocoa Growers

chocolate slab and a sachet of our authentic drinking chocolate,

Liquid Chocolat. That’s because it’s part of our current

marketing to attract new members and we feel that it should also

be offered to existing members too!

Brimming with the authentic taste of cocoa, Liquid Chocolat isn’t just an intensely satisfying chocolate drink. you

can also put its deep, chocolaty flavours to good use in all sorts

of recipes.

Here’s an exciting cocktail suggestion to get you going and

you can find more chocolate-inspired recipes online at www.

hotelchocolat.co.uk/recipes

liquid chOcOlAt mArtiniA delicious twist to the traditional vodka martini, bursting with authentic cocoa flavours. Perfect for you chocolate-loving lounge lizards!

ingredients1 measurement of cold Liquid Chocolat (see pack for details).

1 1/2 fl oz Kahlua

1 1/2 fl oz vodka

instructiOnsMake up a shot of

your favourite Liquid Chocolat, following the

instructions. Allow to cool.

Using a cocktail shaker

mix all of the ingredients

together with ice.

Give it a good shake and

then strain into a martini

glass, serve and get ready

to make another!

‘‘

Write to us at: The Chocolate Tasting Club, Mint House, Royston, SG8 5HL Email: simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk or via our website: www.chocs.co.uk Club News: Editor: Simon Thirlwell; Contributors: Simon Thirlwell, Lynn Cunningham, Terry Waters. © The Chocolate Tasting Club Limited 2010

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Don’t forget - you can score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk

THIS MONTH’S PRIZE DRAW WINNERS

Classic Selection prize draw winner is Mrs C McCann-Cook of Southend-On-Sea who wins a White Adventure.

Next month’s prize is a Sleekster Love Selection – a collection of new, spring recipes devoted to the season of love.

Dark Selection prize draw winner is Mrs A Adams of Walsall who wins a Serious Dark Fix.

Next month’s prize is a Chilli & Orange Giant Slab – zesty orange and spicy chilli mingling with deep, dark chocolate.

Solid Chocolate prize draw winner is Mr Paul Morgan of Llanidloes who wins a Fruit & Nut Milk Giant Slab.

Next month’s prize is a Triple Chocolate Wham Bam Giant Slab – milk, caramel and creamy white chocolate gorgeousness.

At the time of writing,

Britain is in the grip of an icy

blast from the Arctic. With

any luck, we won’t still be by

the time you read this! Which

reminds us of the countdown

to the launch of the Swedish

Chocolate Tasting Club, which

kicks off in February. All of

this January snow and ice

would not be out of place in

the depths of a Swedish winter

– so we trust they’ll draw the

same warming comfort from

their monthly tasting boxes as

hopefully you have recently!

WARM Comfort for a CoLD BLAST