Chocolate

As I type this, I’m tentatively munching on a small piece of  Montezuma’s chilli fired dark chocolate and I have to say, it's making me feel a little un-easy.

Now, I like chocolate and I like chillies and I know that the Mexican’s love the two together but for me, I’d rather keep them separate. I want chocolate to be comforting and to be able to savour the indulgence rather than being puzzled by the fiery combination I have just experienced.

Montezuma’s is a British award winning chocolatier (so please don’t let my uncertainty of the chilli bar put you off) and it is just one of the many excellent chocolatiers in Britain who know a thing about mixing textures and extracts with chocolate covertures. It seems that us Brit’s are becoming quite refined with our bittersweet cocoa preferences and we are buying more and more artisan bars, sourced and produced through ethical means.

Another award winner based in Norfolk is Booja Booja who makes organic, vegan, vegetarian or wheat-free handmade truffles. The hand painted packaging in the luxury range also won an award from the Soil Association and is sourced directly from artists in Kashmir, helping support families in the strife torn region.

But one of my favourite chocolate shops is London based Rococo, which for the past 23 years has been producing an intriguing array of flavour combinations. But being a sucker for tradition, I can’t resist the wonderfully quintessential fondant flavours; rose, lavender and geranium – so much more refined than chilli, wouldn't you say?