Meet our Chocolates
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE COCOA
At Hotel Chocolat, we’re all about the chocolate and the inventive character that is the cocoa bean. I’d like to introduce you to twenty-one of our favourite chocolates, all of which live up to our mantra of More Cocoa, Less Sugar. In this short eCatalogue you’ll get a glimpse of the character behind each chocolate, and the chocolatier who made it come to life. You’ll also find out more about our chocolatiers in the back. Yours,
Angus Thirlwell, Co-founder & Chief Executive
40% MILK Our 50% milk’s younger brother. Always fun to be with, and gets along with everyone.
Chocolatier Rhona Macfadyen
DARK MINT TRUFFLE There’s a refreshing perspective hidden behind that shy exterior.
Chocolatier Kiri Kalenko
HAZELNUT BÛCHE A suave, smooth-tongued seducer with a bit of a bite.
Chocolatier Kiri Kalenko
COFFEE AND WALNUT PRALINE A mellow confidante always ready for a stimulating conversation. Chocolatier Rhona Macfadyen
SIMPLE DARK TRUFFLE Nothing ever seems to ruffle this soothing, uncomplicated soul.
Chocolatier Rachel Smith
DOUBLE NUT PRALINE Oh-so clever, but this nutty genius is always in two minds.
Chocolatier Tarow Loke
85% DARK BATON A bit of a sergeant major, maybe, but he does have a mellow side.
Chocolatier Tarow Loke
82% DARK HACIENDA IARA PRALINE Behind that polished shell of impeccable manners there’s a soft-centred soul. Chocolatier Rhona Macfadyen
CHILLI PRALINE Sometimes hot-headed but always warm-hear ted, with a gentle, tingling touch.
Chocolatier Olivier Nicod
70% DARK Smooth, soulful and brooding, with hidden depths.
Chocolatier Olivier Nicod
MILK ORANGE PRALINE Peel away the placid surface and here’s an out-and-out fruity nutcase. Chocolatier Rachel Smith
ALMOND MARZIPAN She may not be so sweet, but that’s exactly why you love her.
Chocolatier Rhona Macfadyen
JAVA 74% MILK An old-school glamour puss with a tendency to leave lipstick on collars.
Chocolatier Kiri Kalenko
GINGER AND HAZELNUT CRUNCH A spicy redhead who drives everyone wholly nuts. Chocolatier Rhona Macfadyen
50% MILK Strong, rich and reliable. The one you always end up curled up on the sofa with.
Chocolatier Kiri Kalenko
DARK DIZZY PRALINE This delicious but ditzy darling gets everyone in a spin.
Chocolatier Rachel Smith
MACHO GIANDUJA An intense, racy charmer who always breaks the rules.
Chocolatier Olivier Nicod
ISLAND GROWERS 70% MILK Dangerously sensual. But only after a nice of cup of tea. Chocolatier Olivier Nicod
DARK CHAMPAGNE TRUFFLE An angel in a little black dress always giggling into her bubbly.
Chocolatier Tarow Loke
DARK PISTACHIO PRALINE Creative, unconventional non-conformist with a penchant for monocles.
Chocolatier Kiri Kalenko
100% ISLAND GROWERS A peak performer, always itching to be at the top of the nearest mountain. Chocolatier Olivier Nicod
FOLLOW OUR STORIES ONLINE VIA OUR BLOG
Our contributors, including our chocolatiers, will keep you updated with tales from across the world of Hotel Chocolat, featuring the incredibly multi-talented and endlessly inventive character that is the cocoa bean. hotelchocolat.com/thepod
The Inventors The chocolatiers working in our development kitchen are always being creative, conjuring up inventive and innovative chocolate recipes with exceptional ingredients. Each candidate recipe from the kitchen is rigorously sampled, tasted and compared to ensure that the finest go forward into our Tasting Club selections and onto our shelves.
ADAM GEILESKEY – Head of Chocolate Development Adam worked in food science before joining specialising in chocolate. His favourite chocolate is a tie between the Rabot Marcial 70% Dark and Pistachio Praline. “I made the most friends after I started working in chocolate!”
As Head of Chocolate Development, Adam directs our team of chocolatiers as they create an endless supply of innovative new recipes for our regular Chocolate Tasting Club selections.
OLIVIER NICOD – Head Chocolatier Olivier grew up in Lyon, and as a boy wanted to eat nothing but white chocolate biscuits, much to his mother’s annoyance. Since then, Olivier has worked with some of the world’s best chefs and created a one-metre BAFTA mask of solid chocolate.
Olivier finished the huge chocolate BAFTA mask in 24-carat gold; it weighed over 100kg and took three men to carry it.
RHONA MACFADYEN – Senior Chocolatier Rhona did a master’s degree in art before seeing an advertisement for a job as a chocolatier in Scotland nine years ago. “I had always liked food and the creative element really appealed to me. I met a crazy Frenchman there called Olivier, and we both came to Hotel Chocolat!”
Rhona created a huge sculpture of a cocoa tree for the Salon Du Chocolate show in 2013, using materials from our cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia.
CLAIRE HADDAD – Concept Development Chocolatier Claire worked as pastry chef in five-star hotels in London before becoming a chocolatier. “My favourite? I love our creamy, less-sugar ‘supermilks’ – they have high cocoa percentages like dark chocolate, but with milk.”
Claire has developed new recipes for our Cocoa Bar-Cafes and restaurants. Here she’s enrobing pieces of honeycomb in our development kitchen.
KIRI KALENKO – Senior Chocolatier Kiri studied home economics at university before joining Hotel Chocolat as a graduate. “I’ve loved it since the beginning. I still think it’s amazing that you can actually have a job making chocolate all day. My favourite has to be the fruit and nut milk slab. It’s a really chunky hunk of chocolate, just how I like it!”
Kiri is responsible for creating new recipes for Hotel Chocolat and our Chocolate Tasting Club, as well as developing our team of apprentices.
RACHEL SMITH – Apprentice Chocolatier Rachel worked at the Hotel Chocolat shop in Sheffield for over a year before becoming a chocolatier. “I am a very creative person and this just seems like the perfect job. What’s more perfect than the art of making chocolate?”
LOUISE COX – Ingredient Specialist Louise is an expert at finding not just good quality ingredients but what she calls ‘really, really good quality’. “My mission is bringing lovely ingredients with good provenance to our chocolatiers, to help them make truly wonderful chocolates.”
EMMA COPE – Couveturier When a new cocoa harvest arrives at our development kitchen, it’s Emma who sets to work roasting and conching the beans to find the best possible chocolate profile. “Favourite? At work its dark chocolate, for enjoying at home, it’s milk chocolate.”
TAROW LOKE – Apprentice Chocolatier Tarow started off working for Hotel Chocolat as a temporary sales assistant in our Cambridge store before starting to train as a chocolatier. “If you want to know my favourite, I have to say, I love the salted caramel. Salted caramel cheesecake, salted caramel drinking chocolate, salted caramel anything!”
Our resident chocolatiers Our in-store chocolatiers are performance artists working with their chosen medium: chocolate. These new talents are skilled at creating made-on-site chocolate recipes from cocoa beans roasted and conched in front of your very eyes, right there in our shops and restaurants.
LOUISE ANDERSON – Rabot 1745, London Louise Anderson was assistant manager at our Rabot Estate cafe in Borough Market before training to become a chocolatier. “I like dark chocolate in the morning and milk chocolate in the evening, but I love our high-cocoa ‘supermilk’ recipes.”
ISOBEL CARSE – Roast + Conch, Leeds Isobel worked at our Manchester Ardale store before for four years working before coming a chocolatier. “I was a keen home baker and using a lot of chocolate in what I was making. I just became more and more interested in chocolate, its history, how it’s made, and all the possible recipes.”
DANIEL MORRIS – Roast+Conch, Leeds Dan was working as the assistant manager at our Leeds store before deciding to train as a chocolatier. “Every day people tell me I have the best job in the world. I have to agree! Creating chocolate straight from the bean is incredibly exciting and very few people have the opportunity to do it.”
PANAYIOTIS PANAGIOTOU – Monmouth Street, London Panayiotis – or Yoddy for short – worked as a senior sales advisor in our Cambridge shop before taking up the chocolatier’s palette knife. “It’s hard to pick one regional cocoa as your favourite, but if I had to, I’d probably say Ecuadorian.”
BETHANY NUNN – John Lewis Cocoa Bar-Cafe, Edinburgh Bethany has worked as a chocolatier in Scotland and North Carolina (where she also taught yoga in the summer). “I’ve always been artistic and love painting, but I love to create something tangible you can physically enjoy.”
NATASHA PANG – High Street Kensington, London Natasha started out working in our Milton Keynes shop as a temporary assistant before growing into an assistant store manager and blossoming into a chocolatier. “When first joined Hotel Chocolat there were signs saying, ‘More Cocoa, Less Sugar’ and it kind of clicked. I did one of the company’s chocolate diplomas and carried on from there!”
Meet the Specialists Watch our resident chocolatiers create made-on-site chocolate from bean to bar live in our stores and restaurants.
London – Kensington 163 Kensington High Street London W8 6SU London – Covent Garden 4 Monmouth Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9HB London – Rabot 1745 Restaurant 2-4 Bedale Street Borough Market London SE1 9AL
Leeds – Roast + Conch Restaurant 155 Boar Lane Leeds LS1 5EL John Lewis Edinburgh Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Bar-Cafe John Lewis, St James Centre Edinburgh EH1 3SP Copenhagen Østergade 13 København K 1100 Denmark
Stephen Bond PHOTOGRAPH BY
More Cocoa, Less Sugar Our chocolatiers are all about the cocoa. In our kitchens, the mantra is More Cocoa, Less Sugar. Our highly skilled chocolatiers are always striving to make recipes that let the authentic flavours of the cocoa bean take centre stage, delivering a truly satisfying cocoa hit full of antioxidants and feel-good stimulants.
It’s all about the cocoa