(Photos by Victoria Baker Photography)
I believe in chocolate for breakfast, I believe in eating dessert before dinner and I’m a huge fan of the four main food groups; milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and champagne truffles. So you can imagine my excitement when Hotel Chocolat, maker of the naughtiest chocolate treats in existence opened a restaurant in Leeds called Roast + Conch. I finally tried it out on Monday and I’m only just waking up from my chocolate coma.
There are two types of people in the world, sweet and savoury and I have always been a slave to my sweet tooth. When it comes to chocolate, head chocolatier Dan and I are definitely on the same page.
Listening to him apologise for his chocolate smeared clothes and his tales of tasting chocolate as early as 9am, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were separated at birth. However, although I am guilty of a pre-breakfast chocolate hit and once I did find melted chocolate in my eyebrow, unlike me, Dan is a chocolate connoisseur. He has a diploma in chocolate *impressed face* and during our tasting adventure he and his partner in crime Chris definitely taught us a thing or two. Let’s skip to the good bit.
We were ushered up the stairs, into a private booth and introduced to our hosts for the evening. The night began as all good nights do with a glass of Prosecco.
As the first of many chocolates appeared, so did our smiles after all happiness is an unexpectedly good baton of chocolate. We tried everything from the smoothest of milk chocolates to the richest dark chocolate. Gooey blueberry filled white chocolates, shockingly sweet champagne truffles (infused with real champagne) and incredibly naughty billionaire shortbread chocolates.
But we weren’t simply there to eat chocolate, we were there to learn the art of tasting it.
We were each given little tasting packs which included Hotel Chocolat’s Tasting Tree. This meant we could throw around expert tasting terms and discover the relative descriptive terms for each chocolate with ease. Up next came the savoury canapes to give us a taste of delights served in the restaurant and a cocktail with a signature ingredient.
The restaurant itself is rustic, inspired by Hotel Chocolat’s St Lucia plantation. I love the relaxed atmosphere and can’t wait to try out the restaurant.
Oh and this is what a conch is….. In case you were wondering. If you are looking for a special gift or perhaps a ridiculously cool double date idea, you can book your very own Chocolate Tasting Adventure here. Have you eaten at Roast + Conch? Did you love it? x
