For chocoholics, this evening event is a must. I was lucky enough to attend one with my aunt and cousin in Liverpool in July and it was well worth the money. Liverpool is one of the locations that have a café attached to the chocolate shop and I know I will be back for the café at some point. As for the tasting evening, it was delicious and informative. The tickets had to be bought in the store, not on line, and were £15 for the public and £10 for Hotel Chocolat cardholders, which my cousin is. Our £10 bought us the following:
• A bottomless glass of prosecco.
• A taste of six chocolates (mojito, coconut, blondie, milk baton, salted caramel, and champagne truffle), the favourite of which was the mojito. They use real alcohol in the chocolates and you can taste it.
• A taste comparison of two plain chocolate batons from specific plantations – as opposed to the filled chocolates which are blends, not pure.
• A bottomless glass of cucumber and mint water to clean the palate between tastings.
• A taste comparison of hot chocolates – 100%, 70% and 40% – paired with samples of different sweets that affected the sweetness of the hot chocolate, similar to how wines affect the taste of food. The higher percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the hot chocolate; the sweeter the cake, the less sweet the hot chocolate tasted. We tried the Supermilk Millionaire’s Shortbread, the Dark Chocolate Brownie and the Salted Caramel Brownie.
• A large gin and tonic made with cocoa gin and sliced orange.
• A goodie bag with £15 worth of chocolates – a chocolate lollipop, a pack of mojito chocolates, and a box of brumble chills.
The evening was restricted to 30 people and we moved from station to station in groups of 10. I found out about it in an email from Hotel Chocolat. We went into Liverpool on the train so did not have to worry about the boozy evening. Can’t wait for the next one!
“Hotel Chocolat Restaurants”:http://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/restaurants