&f=Calibri-Bold&ts=14&tc=d4d4cc&it=gif&c=round&bgt=gradient&bgc=ad6807&ebgc=d98807&be=on&w=125&h=30){kind=small}
### Jim's Corner & question of the week ###
Last weeks 'Question of The Week' was based around different sort of posts I could bring to the site. Well the majority that responded said they would like to see interviews, manufacture features etc. This week I explored the possibilities and have presented with a great opportunity thanks to my pals at Hotel Chocolat..... which brings me nicely on to question of the week ...
'If you could ask Hotel Chocolat any question, what would it be?'
Please send all your questions in by Wednesday 26th August at which time I will send the sensible questions on to the guys at Hotel Chocolat. I can't promise all your questions will be answered but I have been assured they will respond to as many as possible.
Be sure to get your questions in! This is a fantastic opportunity.
Jim
The ChocolateMission Omnibus:
My review of the new Cadbury KOKO chocolate selection got the week off to an interesting start and attracted many positive comments from readers Lottie, Daisy and James (via E-mail) who all seemed to enjoy Cadbury's unambitious, yet still very tasty attempt at some chocolate truffles.
On Tuesday my review of Thorntons' Dark Chocolate with Macadamia bar had David posing the question 'how can this be an award winning chocolate if it hasn't been sampled by the mass market yet?'. It was a good question but I do think the panel at the Academy of Chocolate do probably know what their on about.
Later on in the week I came across a rare, disappointing product from Hotel Chocolat in the form of their Orange Tangs. At least this confirmed to Marshall that I in fact don't work for them but I will be hoping for better next time. The week finished up with my reviews of the Trumpf Schogetten Milk Cream Caramel, Nestle Choco Crossies and lastly yesterday a rather odd post featuring Recaldent's Smart Time Chocolate Gum from Japan.
News from the Chocolate Market:
* Following on from my gum review yesterday Cadbury have announced an £3.5m campaign to support the launch of their new Trebor Extra Strong Gum. See HERE
* Tangeirne Confectionery - makers of UK favourites in Barratt Sherbet Fountains, Dib Dabs, Black Jacks etc have been awarded a compliance certification by the Halal Food Authority. See HERE
* Experts say our confectionery prices won't rise because of rising sugar prices ... have they thought about greedy marketeers? See HERE
* Should confectionery be kept at tills for eagle eyed kiddies to beg mummy to buy them? See HERE
* Mars have cut their Christmas range by a third and are focusing on their big sellers. See Here
Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week:
* Japanese Snack Food Blog - These guys got hold of yet more interesting flavoured Kit Kats in some lovely looking packaging. See HERE
* Second Rate Snacks - Took a look at Chips Ahoy vs 'Chips Ahoy Knockoff' ... surely only ever going to be one winner. See HERE
* ZOMG, Candy - I hadn't seen Lotte reviews apart from my own until I saw this review on ZOMG. See HERE
* Chocablog - Kath posted a review looking at Whittaker's Spicy Ginger Blocks vs Lindt's Excellence Ginger ... take a look who won See HERE
Posts
18 comments:
Wow Jim this is awesome. I have a few questions to ask them.
1. Who came up with the slab designs?
2. Why do they think their chocolate demands such a high premium price? (n.b. I think it is worth it)
What new products (if any) can we expect soon?
This will be great Jim thanks =>
Dxx
Ask them why they put a 'may contain nuts' on every single one of their products - it's not fair!
Will they ever bring back their gianduja cubes?
Are they planning on opening any more stores soon?
For Hotel Chocolat - how much of their success do they attribute to their marketing versus their chocolate?
And I've got more Lotte products to review, thanks to my generous friends who lived in Korea. Thanks for the link!
Will they be increasing their distribution on the US soon? The selection at the moment is pretty poor?
Also Can they tell us about the company history I.e how their company started? I know nothing like that about them?
Brody
Do they ever plan on doing anything with peanut butter?
Will they ever produce any normal chocolate bars?
Can we ever expect to get their products through means other than their shops or online ordering?
How do they choose the plantations for thier cocoa?
This should be wicked. Thanks for doing this Jim
What have they got planned for Christmas this year? and Will they send me some free products like you get? :D LOLS :P
I ask the following:
What milk product do they use in their chocolate, especially their caramel version? Do they use real liquid milk like Cadbury's, or dried milk solids such as Galaxy and Green & Black's?
Also, why don't they put a full ingredients list for each item on their website? It means that people with more obscure allergies don't know if they can eat the chocolate until they buy it! it puts me off buying HC for that reason, it's a lot of money to waste if I can't.
In addition to Saukra why do they never put calorie and fat content information on their products?
I'd like to know what inspires new ideas, and how they go about testing new products.
It'd also be nice to know what their personal favourites from the entire range are.
Also, do they ever get the urge to have a sneaky "cheap" fix, like a curlywurly or some maltesers? Or is it all gung-ho with the quality stuff? (you don't have to use the word gung-ho though when you ask them)
They should SO involve peanut butter. A Hotel Chocolat pb cup! I feel quite breathless at the mere thought.
P.S. Woo the ashes are ours!
EVERYONE
Hi All,
As all your reposnses are mostly questions (very good ones so far), rather than respond to you all indivdually I will start collating a question sheet to send along to our friends at HC!!
So far I am loving the questions about the possibilities of a PB product etc ... some really sensible ones so far ... the ones I have been recieving by e-mail & twitter have also been rather awsome so keep them coming.
Apart from that I don't have much else to say ... apart from (as Lottie has done so well to allude to already...) WELL DONE ENGLAND!! The Ashes are indeed back where they belong. GOOD TIMES!
Thanks everyone - keep your questions coming in.
Jim
My question would be: why do they produce such big choice of white chocolate products, considering people in general usually find white chocolate too sweet? (Not that I'm complaining as I love having more choice with white chocolate)
I'd like to ask if they have any plans to do a chocolate cookie and biscuit range. That would be rather good :)
Also, I'd love them to do something with peanut butter!
Can you ask them if they plan to make a set of chocoaltes that are more for on the move eating? Smaller slabs would be better.
Thank You
Hi Jim,
Do you know whether flakes are made to the same recipe as dairy milk. I don't think they are, they taste completely different? We can't agree, any ideas!
Hazel
You are indeed correct. Flakes are made with chocoalte that has 14% milk and cocoa solids. Dairy Milk has 20% of both.
This is why the Flakes taste just a little bit sweeter and less creamy.
Hope that helps you out.
Jim
Cheers Jim, you're a star!
:-)
Post a Comment