&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}
I will warn you all now that the Hotel Chocolat reviews are going to be coming thick and fast in the next few weeks - there are still a great amount of reviews to be packed in before Christmas time!
A few months ago I asked you all what products you wanted to see reviewed on the site during the countdown to the festive period. To my surprise not all the requests were for posts on chocolate shaped reindeers and Christmas Wreathes. Indeed a great deal of you went down a more sophisticated route - possibly seeking good chocolate options for you to take to various dinner parties (that's my theory anyway :D ). One of the most commonly requested products you all told me to take a look at was this Chocolate Canapes Selection, thankfully Hotel Chocolat were more than willing to oblige with a sample.
I received this selection in a thin box containing 24 chocolates. In terms of presentation everything was to the usual Hotel Chocolat standards. Being able to see the canapes through a transparent plastic cover was a nice touch (if difficult to photograph!), whilst I'm sure you will agree the canapes looked stunning themselves. Speaking of the canapes they came in three different varieties ...
Chilli & Almond - These canapes combined a dark chocolate base and had a fresh almond piece placed on top. Somewhat curiously the chilli element in the chocolate didn't come through for me whatsoever - manufacturing fault in the factory perhaps!? Luckily the rich dark cocoa flavours of the 70% chocolate and the buttery, savoury almond nuts flavours were more than sufficient to entertain my tastebuds.
Pecan & Vanilla - This canapes was formed of a milk chocolate base, topped with a roasted pecan nut and drizzled with vanilla chocolate. It was utterly delicious, and I loved the way each canape progressed it's flavours from cream based cocoa, salty nut to a longing bourbon vanilla aftertaste. For such a small chocolate the flavour journey was incredible.
Caramel Florentine Square - What can I say about this canapes? This was my favourite in the selection without doubt, and combined a caramel milk chocolate base with a lovely Florentine square. The creamy caramel chocolate base was superb, but the extra toffee and nut flavours brought to the party by the Florentine piece created a luxurious, delicious taste with it's unique crunchy texture. When I shared these amongst my family these Florentine pieces were the first to go.Overall this wasn't a perfect Hotel Chocolat product by any means, but if you are going to be hosting/turning up at a Christmas party get together this month they are the perfect thing to whip out at the end of a meal or gift. The three different flavours on offer are pretty perfect in terms of what they offer. The dark chocolate and chilli canapes I had in my selection were lacking the chilli, but I will rule under the assumption that this was just an error in the pack I received. As I said above the dark chocolate and almond was sufficient anyway, whilst the two milk chocolate canapes were just simply quite phenomenal. My only real criticism about this product as a whole was that Hotel Chocolat didn't actually include one of the best canapes they make. The dark chocolate and ginger canapes (See review HERE) they produce are just as fantastic as any of these three, and they would have been a good option for anyone not interested in nuts. That gripe aside I can whole heartily recommend these. If you are looking to impress at the dinner parties this year, make sure you are the guest/host whipping these out!
8.2 out of 10
Posts
37 comments:
Jim be honest. Did they just send you their entire range or something this year? You have been posting near non-stop about Hotel C for like a month now :-) Trust me I'm not complaining or anything. I'm just interested.
I haven't had that many hotel chocolat chocolates before but I have tried the florentines in the milk selection I had once and they were very nice. I would definitely buy them on their own if I saw them. The chocolate is brill but the best it is the crispy piece on top. Well nice.
Two days in a row of Hotel Chocolat? Way to spoil us big man lol.
I would have thought you would have scored these better because I have seen you talking very highly of the florentine thingies before. I see what you mean about the selection being limited cause of the nuts though. They should have made a plainer kind for people that dont like nuts. I would still eat them all though.
Lets be honest no one in their right mind would take these round someone elses house as a gift lol. Whenever my parents do that they always take the worst bottle of wine and the box of chocolates that has been lieing around unopened for months. Lol they never buy a box especially for someone else when they can get away with it like that. These look way to nice to waste on other people lol.
Rxxx
How come these weren't good enough to make it in the buyers guide then Jim? I think they look absolutely gorgeous all of them.
This could just be the handy work you have done with the photography again though, epic foodie pictures again today mate.
Top review Jim mate. You have given me quite the extensive list of things to look out for when I head to HC at the weekend. At the moment I have slabs, crackers, canapes and tiddly santas on my list lol. I hope I get that bonus payment at the end of the month. This is going to be a costly trip ;)
I really wish that Hotel Choc wouldn't insist on putting nuts on top of EVERYTHING. I don't think it is only me that has this problem. I'm not allergic to nuts myself but I know a few people that are. They have to be so careful with the chocolates they are allowed and not allowed. Hotel Chocolat is completely out the question for them because they say 'may contain nuts' on all their chocolates. Its so stupid.
Dx
I would buy more Hotel Chocolat stuff but they never give the calorific information.
Has anyone ever asked why they don't do this? All I want to know is what I'm putting in my body. Is this too much to ask or something?
It would have been cool to see them do more than just the three canapes but I personally like the look of all them so its no biggie.
The pecan and vanilla would be the first one I would try. I like anything with vanilla and the nut on top looks more interesting that the plainer almond one.
Great review again Jim. I like the way you structure your reviews. It makes easy reading.
I've looked up the prices lol Sorry if you find me repetitive but someone always asks you anyway.
This box costs £12.50 which is lower than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting more around the 15-18 mark so its good to see something come in a it lower for once :)
I think rachel is spot on though, I would never take this round someone elses house to give away. They are too nice for that sort of thing.
Nice photos jim. Its always pleasant seeing you review anything from these people.
Oooh these do look like a classy package of chocolates, I like very much :)
I think it is a shame they didn't make more flavours to go inside it, but I would be happy with two out of the three I wont complain too much.
The problem with HC this year is that they are starting to have too many things I want to try :P I will be looking at their end of year sale with big interest this year.
Jim have you noticed that they have started selling out of some lines on their website now?
Honest their Christmas section used to be pages and pages long but now there are only 2. They must of had a good Christmas, it must be your constant bigging up of them lol.
Not another with nuts on? These look easy enough to pick off but thats beside the point.
If they were aiming these at the christmas market aswell they didn't do a very good job. Im guessing these will be available all year round then?
The battle resumes tonight mate. I got a feeling you Poms are going to feel the wraith of Ricky's boys. You are getting too confident!
Back to the chocolate, these look stunning. Nice handy work with the pictures again, you sure know how to show these things off with their best angles =)
Epic review buddy. I was expecting a 9/10 when I first saw it but I get your point about the choice being a bit limited.
If it were up to me I would have made one dark chocolate, one milk chocolate and then a white chocolate one to have the complete set. I think a strawberry with white chocolate would have been appropriate what with the other two.
Its not just the ginger canapes they are missing. They also make caramel canapes which have caramel milk chocolate and caramel buttons on. I got given them for my birthday before and they awesome, its a shame they chose not to put that kind in here.
Why would you ever choose these small canapes when you can get nice chunky slabs lol? Im just being stupid I can see where these might be a better thing to have :P
What I think would have been a cool idea though is if they have made them mini slabs instead of canapes. That would have made them more 'hotel chocolat' themed I think.
Another top review Jim you are sure packing them all in before christmas aren't you mate. I read your comment back to everyone last night, I hope you aren't working yourself too hard. You should be relaxing at this time of year mate, Take a rest for gods sake.
@David lol I was going to ask him exactly the same thing. Jim you have been writing about HC's xmas stuff for like two months now. Are you sure you aren't an undercover selling agent of theirs? I know you say you have shared loads of it, but you still must have eaten your fair share of Hotel Chocolat chocolate this year. Uber jealous x 100.
Daisy this is the problem that I have with Hotel Chocolate. I would love to buy several of these tasty things Jim shows us but I simply cant have them in the house because of my children's nut allergies.
My husband and I would love to share something like these over a bottle of red but we could simply never do it. I'm dreaming one day that they bring out some special no nuts products. That would be so good.
Gorgeous photos today Jimbo.
Im sure glad that I have done my online shop now. You would have got me spending too much money if I had seen all your buyers guides and hotel chocolat guides lol.
Super! I needed something nice to take round my parents' house for Xmas. These will do the job nicely. Thanks Jim.
If you search for canapes on the HC website you get three products come up. 2 small boxes and then this big selection right? Why did they not put any of the smaller two boxes in the bigger selection one? What a stupid decision.
I fancy the caramel canapes and the ginger ones but they work out as more expensive than buying this big box. Problem is I wouldn't like two out of the three in this one. Why are things never more simple grrrrrrr.
I will give these a miss thank you very much. Again a case of nuts spoiling decent chocolate.
Im sure those florentines were nice but I bet you they weren't as nice as the ones I made for my work earlier this week :P I used Lindt dark chocolate for the drizzle on top + mine had cherry in :P Are Hotel Chocolat ever going to get a bad score off you jim?
All three of them look rather nice, I would be most interested in trying the pecan and vanilla, though I have thoroughly HC's florentine chocolates in the past, but I love pecan nuts and vanilla. :) All in all a very nice review again. Though I think you are being too kind about the chilli canapés not delivering the chilli at all! Well and good that the chocolate still tastes great, but a chilli chocolate without chilli is a sad affair and should not happen in this price range....You didn't have to pay for these but if I bought them and the recipe is rubbish or I got a batch where the chilli was accidentally left out, I would have been rather annoyed to be honest!
Btw, as predicted, John Lewis does not sell those delicious yule logs. :( But I don't really want to buy anything else from HC (still waiting for my members Christmas Selection box...) and paying postage just for one log seems rather unjustified. :(
And yes, more variety with texture and taste, i.e. inclusion of the ginger canapes or something else fruity would have been nifty in order to please more people during a party or after dinner. :)
I can vouch for the caramel florentine canapes - they're delicious! I had them a few years back and still have fond memories. I'd say they're one of the nicest HC products I've tried (though admittedly I haven't tried a lot). The pecan and vanilla sounds lovely too. Not sure about the chilli - I'm not a great fan of chilli chocolates.
Great review Jim!
Great review bud. Your photos are always so faultless, they are like the professional ones done by food companies to make their food look better than it is lol.
Off-topic but have you had any Ritter or Lindt bars to review this year Jim? It seems a shame that since dean-german closed there's been less of them :(
*for christmas this year, I meant with my last comment.
Out of this group, I've only tried the Caramel Florentine Square - I also enjoyed it, and was impressed that despite the caramelized sugar, the nuts stayed quite crunchy. The texture was my favorite part.
Where was this Hotel Chocolate competition you said about? You didn't do it on twitter did you? I would have missed it if so :(
Thanks for the review, I can't believe you still have a stack of Hotel Chocolat products to review before Christmas! It must be amazing having them be so willing to give you samples. Once again these look incredible. As I mentioned the other day, so far avoided chilli chocolate on grounds of being a wuss so I'd be more willing to buy these if they removed this and replaced it with the ginger chocolate you mentioned as they sound more to my liking. I hope the lack of chilli was just an error although if not, it may be to my advantage :D
Hi All,
I was genuinely laughing out loud to some of the comments today. I believe this is the last of the Hotel Chocolat reviews this year :D It's been a long journey but we finally got there haha :D
David / Michcelle - Re: Endless Hotel Chocolat
haha near enough chap. It was a lot of work putting all the reviews together, but one wont ever complain about recieving things from them.
Matt / Victoria - Re: Florentine Piece
As you will be able to tell from my review it was also my favourite of the lot. If you ever are in the position of sharing them I would make these the first ones you check out.
Golden - Re: Two days in a row of Hotel Chocolat? Way to spoil us big man
I wouldn't bet against on it being three days in a row if I were you :D
Golden / Daisy / Linda / Mysterio - Re: Nuts
Hot topic of the day eh!? I get what people are saying about the nuts thing. The fact they are in all three of the canapes does limit the selection out of the question completely if you aren't a fan or have allergies. I guess if it is a problem for you then you will have to choose something else or go for the ginger or caramel canapes packs.
Rachel - Re: Lets be honest no one in their right mind would take these round someone elses house as a gift lol. Whenever my parents do that they always take the worst bottle of wine and the box of chocolates that has been lieing around unopened for months
Surely this all depends on who they are visiting though? If they wanted to impress these would work out for them.
Duncan - Re: How come these weren't good enough to make it in the buyers guide then Jim?
They were ... I just needed somewhere to fit the crackers in and they seemed more appropriate in there.
Alicia - Re: Nutritional Information
This isn't supplied by Hotel Chocolat because they think any read they could give on their products would likely be inaccurate. I understand them doing this if that really is the case.
Richard - Price
STOP PRESS!! Richard believes something is priced correctly :D Haha this is a first for you chap.
Like I said to Rachel I think the situation determines whether they are suitable to be gifted. If you like the person then they would be a great option.
Kim - Re: I will be looking at their end of year sale with big interest this year.
If you keep checking my twitter feed and the website I will be keeping you all well informed as to when it will be kicking off.
Steven - Re: Jim have you noticed that they have started selling out of some lines on their website now?
I hadn't been on there for awhile but I just checked and you are right. The stocks must be running down on the more popular things. Realistically there are only a few days left to order so get them in.
Estelle - Re: If they were aiming these at the christmas market aswell they didn't do a very good job. Im guessing these will be available all year round then?
I would assume that. The reason I featured them now was because I thought people might be interested taking them to parties/dinners etc.
Justin - Re: Cricket
Indeed the ashes does continue tonight. I will be watching it at 2.30am bleary eyed and sleepy. I will have a bit of sleep before and wake up for it.
Justin / Anon / Nigel - Re: Photos
Indeed these are the work of my old man again. You guys are going to have to stop it with the compliments :D he will want paying soon if he keeps getting feedback like this haha!
JK - Re: I think a strawberry with white chocolate would have been appropriate what with the other two
Its a nice idea but I'm not sure a white chocolate canapes would really fit in here. The mix they have is ok if you like nuts.
Darren / Brian - Re: Ginger Canapes
They are the old man's favourites. I agree they are very good, it is a shame you cant get them here.
Sam - Re: What I think would have been a cool idea though is if they have made them mini slabs instead of canapes. That would have made them more 'hotel chocolat' themed I think.
I like that idea. Slab canapes would have been unique. All they would have to do is shape them a little different.
Warren - Re: I read your comment back to everyone last night, I hope you aren't working yourself too hard. You should be relaxing at this time of year mate, Take a rest for gods sake.
Dont you worry about me chap. As of the 24th I'm done for the year!
Mike - Re: I needed something nice to take round my parents' house for Xmas. These will do the job nicely. Thanks Jim
Glad to help. Let me know if they go down well.
Karen - Homemade Florentines
My family sometimes make our own aswell. I always ensure they use a decent chocolate like Lindt aswell. Saying that last year we used this Tesco finest stuff and they were just as good.
Anne - Re: Your comment
I think you make a good point about me being too kind on the chilli ones. It is just so hard condemning something that still tastes so good :D the dark chocolate was still so tasty without the chilli.
I suggest with the logs you waite and see if they appear in the end of year sale. If they do you might be able to buy a few of them for really good prices which means you can justify the post more :D
I'm looking forward to your opinions on the selection box at a later date.
Phil - Re: Caramel Florentines
Thanks for the vote of confidence with the florentines chap :D They seem pretty universally popular don't they. Just a few more days to go of these crazy reviewing days, I'm glad you appreciate them.
Re: Ritter - All I'm saying is look out for the first post of the new year :D ... Lindt is a different story. When DGG were running they sent me hundreds of their products, but this year I haven't been able to source hardly any. To be honest you do have to ask where they would have fitted in anyway :D ... I've tried focusing on things people can buy in the UK easily.
Anon - Re: Your photos are always so faultless, they are like the professional ones done by food companies to make their food look better than it is lol.
How much did he pay you to comment this :D
Andrew - Re: Hotel Chocolat Competition
I have failed in bringing you one ... BUT ... I will address this in the coming days/weeks so watch this space. An end of year sampling clearout is in order I feel.
I think ... yes I think that this is the last of the Hotel Chocolat products to feature on the website this year :D If you are thinking of putting an order in I suggest you do it tonight ... same goes for Heavenly Cakes!
Thanks for all the nice comments again today. Lets see what tomorrow brings.
JIM
Yet another enjoyable hotel chocolat review jim ol boy. Nice one.
I think you should start paying your dad if he can take photos of this standard ;) You should get him doing all your work if these are anything to go by.
Post a Comment