5 reasons why chocolate really can fix all of your problems

Being part of a chocolate business I often find myself looking for chocolate quotes to inspire staff, encourage customers to shop and of course justify this delicious food that we find ourselves eating every single day.  I often come across quotes extoling the benefits of chocolate by people a lot more famous and intelligent than me so I thought it was time to share why chocolate really can fix all of your problems, ‘scientifically’ backed up by quotes.

1.    Chocolate helps you achieve inner peace.

Isn’t it a fabulous thing when you complete something or a project comes to the end and you get to tick it off your ‘to do list’ and calm descends.  This quote is anonymous, but I have no doubt they were part of the work smarter, not harder movement.

“Put ‘eat chocolate’ at the top of your list of things to do today.  That way at least you’ll get one thing done.” Anonymous

2.    Chocolate makes everyone happy.

There are always various titbits of scientific research coming out showing that chocolate increases your endorphins, making you feel like you are in love but I think this quote from Sandra Boynton, a songwriter illustrator and children’s book writer sums it up all the better.

“The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate.” - Sandra Boynton

3.    Chocolate is good for you.

Once again scientific research is starting to prove chocolate is good for your heart, blood vessels etc, (I must put my responsible persons hat on now and say, in moderation and dark chocolate preferably), but why trust me?  Justus von Liebig said it and he was a chemist from the 1800’s. 

“Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power...it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits.”  -  Justus von Liebig

4.    Chocolate is the perfect gift.

At Devonport Chocolates we have two shops and an online store.  Customers purchase gifts from us as much as they purchase a small treat on indulgence.  One thing has become very clear, it is the perfect gift.  Everyone loves chocolate.  It is an especially great gift for seasonal periods like Christmas and Easter (or did I mention staff and clients gifts?) Here we go with a Sandra Boynton quote again, she really loves her chocolate.

“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.” – Sandra Boynton

5.    And finally…. 

      “Chocolate is the answer, who cares what the question is” anonymous

Gorgeous Chocolate Purses for Mother's Day

Yes you read the title right!  Our chocolatier Yoann Martichon has been coming up with some creative ways to use chocolate, and what could be more stunning than an edible purse?  Below is the step by step pictures of how these mini chocolate sculptures are created.

Yoann starts by splattering coloured cocoa butter onto a piece of flexible food grade plastic.

He then takes a piece of cellophane and spreads tempered chocolate onto it.  As it sets he cuts it into pieces to create the top and bottom of the purse.

Once the coloured cocoa butter splatters have dried Yoann spreads the plastic with tempered chocolate.

The plastic is then pulled together at one end and taped in place until it sets, this creates the basic shape of the purse.

The ends of the purse are created by putting a pool of chocolate onto greaseproof paper and then sitting the purse up in it until it sets.  This is done for both ends.

Once the purse is completely set the plastic is peel off from around the outside

Yoann takes the flat pieces of chocolate he created earlier and uses them to make the bottom of the purse, so it can stand up, and the top.

A couple of extra embellishments are added to truly make it look like a purse.  Voilà a mini Chocolate Sculpture.

Cutting through the clutter with quirky and exciting gifts at Easter

With Easter rapidly approaching we have noticed an increase in corporate customers wanting unique and quirky gifts for their customers.

When we first opened our first retail store for Devonport Chocolates Christmas was by far the biggest seasonal event with Easter merely a drop in the sand.  Now Easter is fast making tracks to overtake Christmas and largely because of an increase in corporate orders.  A lot of our corporate customers have found that saying thank you to their customers or staff at this time of year has meant their gift is remembered and thoroughly enjoyed at a time of year when corporate gift giving is not normally the ‘done thing’.

Our corporate customers have come to us with increasingly exciting and challenging gifts that we have enjoyed creating including personalised Easter eggs with gifts of makeup in them, chocolate chainsaws and Easter gifts from $5 each to $200 each.  We are well versed in problem solving and love coming up with creative solutions to help our customers stand out from the crowd.  Drop and email to info@devonportchocolates.co.nz if a corporate Easter gift has been at the top of your ‘to do list’ and you just haven’t got to it yet.

Create your own wine and chocolate tasting at home for Valentine's

What could be more romantic for Valentine’s Day than a wine and chocolate tasting?  

Pairing wine and chocolate has always been a bit of a challenge.  I can confirm that after years of testing the theory myself I think I have come up with a (nearly) fool proof methodology as follows:

Don’t take it too seriously!  Have a bit of fun, it’s fabulous to do with a group of friends not just your partner/boyfriend/girlfriend.

Have a read of the wine label and try to match flavours in your wine with the flavours of your chocolate.  For example, berry tones tend to suit berry flavoured chocolates.

White wines and bubbles tend to suit white chocolates, milk and dark chocolates suit richer wines like merlots.

My most recent tasting experiment involved two superbly (and romantic) wines, Laurent Perrier Champagne and the Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Rose, both of which are consistently available at Glengarrys.

The champagne worked wonderfully with our coconut, mango and honey bon bon, this out of all the chocolates was my husband’s and my favourite.  The other notable flavour was the lemon and date truffle.

The Wooing Tree Rose went beautifully with our honey and raspberry bon bon, the freeze dried raspberry complemented the flavours in the Rose perfectly, I also enjoyed our limited edition dark chocolate raspberry and vanilla heart with rose.

So there you have it, a quick, easy and romantic Valentine’s date night for you or a group of friends.  

Enjoy!

Small batch bourbons and delicious chocolates Yumo!

Well it is the time of year when Father’s Day will soon be with us.  This year Devonport Chocolates will have their usual range of delights perfectly suited to Dad but we have also partnered with the fabulous Sam and Nigel at The House of Whiskey to make a range of three chocolates using small batch bourbons.

Our Master Chocolatier Yoann Martichon mixed and matched, experimented and tasted, creating flavours that emphasised the delicious notes and aromas of these three small batch bourbons.

Noahs Mill Bourbon partnered with salted caramel

Noahs Mill is the cigar smoking, cologne wearing Lord of the Manor of small batch Bourbons.  With the colour of polished mahogany, quite an intense nose and flavours reminiscent of molasses, leather and oak Yoann has teamed this with a salted caramel.

Willet Pot Still Reserve Bourbon partnered with banana and spice.

If you are the extrovert of your group of friends and love a good party you can go no further than Willet Pot Still Reserve.  This delicate bourbon (can you call bourbon delicate?) has quite floral and tropical notes.  With an overall impression of honey and citrus Yoann has teamed it with banana and spice for a quirky, but delicious taste. 

Johnny Drum Private Stock with orange, nutmeg and allspice

Everyone knows someone who is the outdoorsy type. They are able to construct a shelter with a bit of number eight wire and a tarp, they can start a fire with a rock and they smell distinctly of grass.  Johnny Drum is the bourbon for them.  A smoky palette that reminds you of deep forests and wood fires develops into a pepper, spice, mint and cedar wood taste, wow!  This is such a rich and capable bourbon Yoann only needed to add a touch of orange oil, allspice and nutmeg to bring out the bourbon.

Available from both Devonport Chocolates and the House of Whiskey in mid-August these delicious chocolates will be packaged in a box of nine pieces.  If you have a passion for whiskey or would like to find out more about bourbons we can highly recommend the folks at The House of Whiskey, always willing to share their extraordinary whiskey knowledge with their customers a visit here will not be forgotten.  www.houseofwhiskey.co.nz

Valentine's Day, myths legends and of course chocolate!

Valentine’s Day conjures up images of cupids, hearts, red roses and of course chocolates, but where did it all begin?  A quick look at research (albeit Wikipedia and history.com) reveals that the history of Valentine’s Day is wrapped up in the legends of saints, medieval courtship and lilting love notes.

Valentine’s Day is no longer a day officially on the Roman Catholic church calendar as no one knows much about St Valentine.  St Valentine could be one of three patron saints who have been martyred by the church.  In Roman times legend has it that one priest continued to marry young couples after marriage was outlawed for young men because they were required for battle.

The earliest recorded Valentine’s note was sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at battle his “farewell to love” poem is in stark contrast to a book published in 1797, “The Young Mans Valentine Writer” containing verses for the man who couldn't write his own, much like the Valentine’s cards of today.

So when did chocolate become synonymous with Valentine’s Day?  Aztec Emperor Montezuma consumed large quantities of chocolate drink before entertaining his harem or could it be that wooing your Valentine is that much easier after they've eaten chocolate and are experiencing an increase in endorphins? 

However it really is more simple than that: chocolates are a delicious gift.  Keeping that in mind why not try one of the Valentine’s Day ideas below:

• Hold a wine and chocolate tasting evening with your loved one with passionate flavours like strawberry champagne, chilli and gooey caramel.
• Cook something chocolaty and delicious, have a look at our website for some ideas: http://www.devonportchocolates.co.nz/Chocolate-Recipes.
•  Be a romantic and pen a poem enclosing it in a delicious box of chocolates.

Chocolate Spa Bliss and Cacao Trees in Bali

In October my husband and I ventured overseas to the sublimely tropical Bali for a bit of rest and relaxation.  While I was at one of our deliciously gorgeous hotels I felt it was necessary to review the spa menu and was delighted to see a three hour chocolate spa experience.  Feeling that it was my duty to my work to participate I quickly booked myself in, quite unsure of what to expect.

The spa at the Puri Santrian is gorgeous. You are welcomed with a drink and then led to your spa room.  The first thing I noticed when we entered was the gentle smell of chocolate and bowls of bubbling chocolate and massage oils next to the bath.  The experience started with a massage with oils scented with chocolate.


 This was followed by a body scrub with sugar and ground cacao.  Once this was cleaned off the next step was a chocolate body mask, basically chocolate painted on, quite bizarre considering I'm used to seeing it becoming delicious treats.  The final step was a bath, in (da da da daaaahh) you guessed it chocolate scented bubbles and a chocolate fruity drink.  Yes you read that right a chocolate fruity drink clearly made with cocoa powder and some lime, it really was quite(surprisingly) delicious and refreshing.

This is definitely one of the more unusual spa experiences I have had, but incredibly decadent and I can highly recommend it to any chocoholics out there.  I have recently seen that a local nail spa offers a chocolate manicure and pedicure and think I need to check this out! (In the interests of the business and experiencing all things chocolate of course).






While we were in Bali I asked our driver Kadek to take us to a cacao
plantation.  A few things got lost in translation and we ended up at a tourism destination instead of a proper plantation.  Over looking the rice fields just out of Ubud we got the opportunity to walk through cacao trees, as well as see giant passion fruit trees, vanilla trees coffee bean plants, chilli plants and of course the Lemur like cats that like to consume coffee beans.

The best part of this destination was the opportunity to try a range of teas from lemon and ginger through to cocoa all made  from the plants in this particular garden including Balinese coffee, all while looking over a stunning vista.

While especially touristy and not normally something I would enjoy it was a great opportunity to see so many plants I haven't seen before in the one place, next time I will make it to a proper plantation though!