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Despite my lack of knowledge around the brand I couldn't help myself when I saw these two new products sitting on the shelf in my local Sainsbury's. Both packs were priced on an introductory offer of 79p each, which at first had me thinking this was incredible value what with the relatively nice looking outer packaging. Looks of course can be very decieving, which is something I discovered as I took the products from the shelves. To my amazement the packs were as light as feather - both weighing only 40.0g each and containing only four very small sized 10.0g chocolate pieces. Since writing this review, Liz at Foodstufffinds has written a very funny post documenting her thoughts about the so called 'slab' pieces involved here - I suggest you take a look. Suffice to say I was very underwhelmed by the size of the slabs myself - this was not at all how I imagined these to be.
Below are my thoughts on the two flavours
House of Dorchester Double Chocolate with Mini Marshmallows
Kcal 525 Fat 30.0g Carbs 56.0g (per 100.0g)'Milk chocolate topped with marshmallows & chocolate flakes'
The size and thin nature of the slabs meant that each piece could be comfortably consumed in two pretty shortlived mouthfuls. Aroma wise these marshmallow slabs offered little aside from some pretty standard milk chocolate scents which did little to grab my attention in any manner. The milk chocolate bases reminded me somewhat of what you would get from a Ritter Sport bar. The taste was predominently sweet and milky and on the whole pleasant enough, but at the heart of matters it didn't have any differentiated attributes which made it somewhat generic tasting. The additional mini marshmallows did very little in regards to adding flavour, however they were at least texture enhancing and brought a nice bit of variety to the soft melting chocolate. Overall these weren't in any manner horrible but they were totally uninspiring.
6.2 out of 10
House of Dorchester Double Chocolate with Caramel Fudge Pieces
Kcal 531 Fat 30.9g Carbs 56.6g'Milk chocolate topped with caramel fudge pieces and white chocolate'
If the Mini Marshmallow chocolates above sounded a little boring to you then I'm sure you will agree with me that these Caramel Fudge slabs were the more exciting prospect. Presentation wise they certainly did look the more attractive, with the drizzled lick of white chocolate and golden coloured fudge pieces certainly looking like they had more thought put in to them. Unfortunately just like the Marshmallow slabs the chocolate was equally as average, even with the extra white chocolate thrown in to the mix. If anything the white chocolate just made the taste more sugary, though it was hard picking out whether this was a consequence of the white chocolate or the dire caramel fudge pieces. What was so dire about the fudge!? Well it was horrifically hard and carried a harsh brown sugar like flavour burst that has to be said was more harmful to the taste than it was enhancing. There were no buttery, salty caramel flavours that I could detect - I even ended up picking off the fudge pieces on the last slab I tried. Overall very disappointing and not a product I would consider every buying again.
5.4 out of 10
It would be interesting to hear any readers thoughts or opinions on either one of these prodcuts. As you can tell by my write ups and reviews I was tremendously disappointed with the quality of both.
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38 comments:
having already read Cienbars review of tehse a while ago, I suspected these wouldn't score too high with you either...
They both seem like a rather unlucky combinantion with having sweet mrshmellow or fudge on already rather sweet chocolate by the sound of it. Definitely not going to try those, even though the one with fudge could be a nice product, if carefully executed with high quality ingredients. Thanks for your review!
These don't sound very good at all. When I read about them in your news post I was mildly intrigued but not anymore lol. Leave the slabs to Hotel Chocolat guys.
It looks like they had some nice ideas but they made some poor chocolates. Giving you that little chocolate but calling them slabs is just ridiculous. They have to be more canapes right? That would have been a better way to describe them by the looks of it.
Rxxx
The ones with fudge on sounded pretty cool. It's a shame to hear these aren't very good, we haven't see a British brand make a decent breakthrough for years now.
I'm surprised to hear they have been making their chocolates for that long. This is the first I have heard of them at all. Thanks for the review.
So much for not doing as many reviews this week Jim, you've started off with a double this week lol.
I don't think I will be buying these ever, they look no better than average. How can they justify these costing over £1 when they are at full price. These have to be rip off of the century.
How can you not like marshmallows and chocolate Jim? What is there not to like?
I'm not surprised these have bummed out I was never convinced about them when you showed us the news thingy.
Over 40 years of chocolate? I don't think so.
I was going to try these on the basis they were something different but they just look pretty rubbish don't they.
I think I might end up just trying one of them to see if they are as bad as you say. They weren't what I was expecting them to be thats for sure. I thought they were going to be big blocks of chocolate. Hmmm.
Lol that will teach to get excited about a brand I have never heard of. I thought these sounded like a genuinely exciting thing to try, a hotel chocolate and thorntons rival I thought.
The quantity you get sounds ridiculous, I wont be buying these for that reason alone. 40 grams is a piss take for 79p. Especially when the chocolate isn't anything special.
Thank you for the reviews Jim you have made my Monday morning pass by with a little more sweetness in my life lol.
The thought behind these sound good but it looks like they made a mess of making them. A more affordable version of hotel chocolat would be welcome but you can't compromise on the quality as much as they have here.
Does anyone else apart from Sainsburys sell these? I would like to try them even though Jim has given them a crappy review just to see what they are like.
I can't even find their website to see if they make anything else :-( Help please.
I can't comment on the chocolate or anything but I think you have been harsh with your presentation score. The wrappers look neat and the chocolates don't look bad at all. Actually I think they look pretty nifty. Especially the fudge ones.
New product monday? I think you better revert back to Hotel Chocolat if this is going to be the going standard.
I wouldn't pass up on the opportunity of giving these a try but I wont be going out of my way to buy these. I don't have a sainsburys anywhere near me so I can't see myself being able to buy them for myself. I'm not 100% sure I would even bother after reading this anyway.
Do I even need to leave a comment about the price or do you think it has all been said already LOL.
What were they thinking making them £1.50 at full price? What sort of company think they can swan in with a brand that no one has even heard of and make their chocolate over twice as expensive as an average lindt chocolate? The fact you only get such a limited amount just adds the stupidity. I wouldn't buy these with someone elses money lol.
Not a great start to the week for House of Dorcester lol. I admire your dedication for bringing us reviews for new products Jim but is there little point trying things this bad? We haven't see anything score below 6 for months now. I'm surprised you preferred the marshmallow ones out of the two, I would have thought you would side with the caramel/fudge pieces.
It would be interesting to hear any readers thoughts or opinions on either one of these prodcuts. As you can tell by my write ups and reviews I was tremendously disappointed with the quality of both.
Well you have hardly encourgaed us to go buy them now have you lol. I will be surprised if you get anyone else giving you an opinion after you have told us how rubbish they are. I wont be buying them thats for sure.
Don't worry Jim I haven't thrown myself off a bridge despite Pool's sorry demise? I was all ready to poke fun at you for Man U drawing again, I think I will keep quiet now lol It's a sorry state of affairs at Anfield.
I think Roy Hodgson must have been feeding his players these Dorcester slabs, these sound horrid to me.
Thanks for the review but please go kind on me with your reply about the footie. I'm at my limits already with the banter.
I don't think I would have bothered trying these in the first place, I did see them the other day btw so they are definitely on sale now.
My sainsburys has changed their chocolate shelves loads recently. They haven't made that many new additions, but I did notice they had started stocking those guylian bars you wrote about a few weeks ago. Perhaps they weren't from Australia after all?
They really went all out making slabs that are only 40grs ;) Lol the words what were they thinking about springs to mind?
I can see a few people being fooled into buying them at the discounted price but as soon as they see what they have bought I bet they feel well disappointed.
Awwwwww I think miniature slabs are a cool idea. I find chunky ones like the hotel chocolat things to big to break apart. I think smaller sized ones are ideal. I might well still give these a go if I see them but only because I like cute small things.
Dx
Whats an average score on this site? These both sound bad but get over a 5? That doesn't make much sense.
Whilst we are on the topic of new products, Jim have you seen the new Terry's chocolate orange?
Wow, I wouldn't have expected these to be so bad. Looks-wise they remind me of Hotel Chocolat slabs and look quite fancy. I'm thinking maybe it was this that made the actual taste seem like an anti-climax? For the price you would expect the quality to at least be above the likes of Cadbury...more like in Lindt territory.
Hang on I think I missed something here...the total weight of the whole pack was 40g? And they want to charge £1.50 for this full price? Lol who on earth do they think they are?!
Btw Jim I was looking on the foodstuff finds blog and saw a review for Chocri 'design your own chocolate'. It would be great if you could do a review! I fancy giving them a try myself.
Lol best of British my backside.
It annoys me when I see these companies claiming they have been in existence for 40 years, no ones ever heard of them.
There has to be some sort of reason why they can think they could justify charging people so much?
Ingredients?
Fairtrade?
Charity links?
There has to be something to make them think they can pull it off. If not it's just plain stupidity to price themselves out the market like this.
@Estelle lol you forgot to list arrogance :)
As usual thanks for the review. Some days I'm thanking you because you've brought my attention to a wonderful sounding product and the rest of the time I'm thanking you for bringing my attention to which products to avoid, like this one. Such a shame to hear that these are quite poor bars (or slabs) as on the face of it, they look pretty great. The biggest let down for me is that the fudge was so horrible as when reading the description I thought this would be the real defining ingredient of the 2 bars (though I guess it still was, just not in the way I thought).
Also, I know plenty have already commented on the price but 1.50 for a measly 40g? You're not even that much for 100g of Lindt! This company must be delusional about their products quality. There's nothing wrong with being ambitious and optimistic about your product but this takes the biscuit!
Hi All,
It seems like this one has caused a bit of a stir today. Believe you me I can see where a lot of you are coming with some of your remarks around the price ... anyway let me begin ...
Anne / Rachel Re: 'The one with fudge could be a nice idea'
It certainly could have been but they mucked it up by using poor quality/rubbish fudge. I wasn't impressed as I'm sure you can tell.
Rachel Re: 'Canapes instead of slabs?'
That would have been a more accurate description :D
Steven Re: 'we haven't see a British brand make a decent breakthrough for years now'
Hotel Chocolat are still relatively new to the mass market. They still have plenty of room for expansion aswell.
Nick / Phil / Richard / Tim / Matt Re: 'PRICE'
So many of you have commented along the same lines around the pricing of this product and I agree with each and every one of you. At full price these are going to be at around £1.50 which by all accounts is very expensive for just a 40.0g product.
In my opinion (and from what I can tell all of you!) you either a) Have to have an incredibly strong brand to back it up with or b) An extremely good product to back it up with ..... House of Dorchester has neither of these two things to call upon I'm afraid. My ignorance could be down to me having never heard of them, but there is only one party to blame for b)!!
Anon Re: 'How can you not like marshmallows and chocolate Jim? What is there not to like?'
Please start leaving names, I'm getting an increasing amount of comments and it's nice knowing who I'm replying to.
Lucy Re: 'Does anyone else apart from Sainsburys sell these?'
Nope. They are a Sainsbury's exclusive I believe.
Alex Re: 'I think you have been harsh with your presentation score'
The presentation score reflects the fact I was majorly disappointed with their size. I can't deny they looked nice enough.
Ben - Re: 'is there little point trying things this bad?'
Haha theres no way of telling how good things are until you try them. I'm not psychic.
Nigel - Re: 'Liverpool'
Haha you did have me worried when I saw your comment last night :D Could to know you see there is light at the end of the tunnel :D ... I think you will turn things around when you get new owners.
Colin - Re: 'My sainsburys has changed their chocolate shelves loads recently'
They are called range reviews chap. They chuck out all the items that aren't selling well and replace with either new facings of things that are, or new products.
Daisy Re: 'I find chunky ones like the hotel chocolat things to big to break apart'
You aren't the first one to say that to me. You can't help but love they still eh!?
Anon - Re: 'Whats an average score on this site? These both sound bad but get over a 5?'
Please see answer to Anon above.
The average score on this site is around 7. One day I will do the exact maths for you ;)
David - Re: 'Jim have you seen the new Terry's chocolate orange?'
Which one would that be? If you are talking about the white chocolate with sprinkles one I have that in my review stash.
Phil - Re: 'Chocri'
Haha I loved the penny dropping in your second comment :D it made me laugh. As for Chocri ... we had a few 'issues' to iron out but they are now resolved. They are currently being made to ship out to me ... so look out for some reviews soon.
Estelle - Re: 'There has to be some sort of reason why they can think they could justify charging people so much?'
Unless I'm totally missing something then I don't think there is. I think they believe that this is what their product is worth so they are charging that amount. I don't expect to see them hang around for long unless they make some changes.
Ria - Re:'This company must be delusional about their products quality. There's nothing wrong with being ambitious and optimistic about your product but this takes the biscuit!'
Precisely. People don't actually have a reason to buy this over anything else? Perphaps they were thinking that people would be attracted by the patriotism of the British flag on the front!? Who knows I genuinely don't see where they were coming from with this one. Thanks for the nice words about my reviews :D
Well everyone it was interesting reviewing these despite the obvious flaws with the products. If some of you do get around to trying them I would love to hear what you think about the chocolate. Your views on the price are pretty evident :D
Thanks
JIM
lol with several fudge bar reviews to choose from, 'you might also like' suggests three Thorntons products, one with an even lower score than this ;) (actually that whipped fudge bar of theirs looks really good...hopefully it's still around!)
Hi Jim,
actually meant to ask you about chocri as well. So am looking forward to your review. I got mine last week 8voucher + free postage was too tempting) but they were damaged by sun/warmth. So am holding off my final verdict until I have tested the substitute delivery. Though am afraid, even in better condition the milk chocolate will be too sweet for my taste.
I'm late tonight lol hata shame these turned out so bad - esp with the fact they have a fancy sounding name, have supposedly been around 40 years and claim to be makers of great british chocolate lol. as you say I think Cadbury and the like would be horrified! If I see these reduced atall I might try them to see just how bad they are which sounds very :P
omg has anyone seen those tiddly vampires that HC are making this year? They are sooooooo cute.
Follow Ups:
Thea - Those are all good suggestions. I happen to think that Throntons make superb fudge! That whipped fudge bar they make is actually one I buy quite often.
Anne - Chocri are the village bycycles of the choco-blogosphere at the moment. I got my dispatch note today so I assume you should start seeing reviews next week. I looks forward to you more extensive views.
Alan - You certainly were late to the party chap :D Better later than never ;) If you are going to try them I suggest you do it soon before that deal runs out in Sainsburys. Paying full wack you will be even more mortified with your purchase by the time you taste them :D
Alicia - Random comment there :D Indeed I have. They will be in the reviews this year don't worry.
JIM
they look so good but sad to hear that they dont taste as good as they seem.:(
but i'll gladly eat them if anyone is willing to give me one. hahahaha
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