Amano Chocolate Tasting at The Queen’s Grocer: Fortnum and Mason
For those in love, Valentine’s Day is one of the most significant days. It is the time to celebrate the love that each has for the other and there is no better way to celebrate love than with a gift of chocolate. For those of us in the chocolate industry, it is a time for us to share our love of chocolate with lovers throughout the world.
After an incredibly busy holiday season, I had a chance to take a bit of a breather and head off to London to hold an Amano Chocolate tasting for our top London retailer, Fortnum and Mason. Fortnum’s has been in business since the 1700’s and as purveyor’s to the Queen of England is known as the “Queen’s Grocer”. Fortnum and Mason searches the world for the highest quality foods and products and offers them to the Queen and the public in one of the most beautiful department stores one could wish for. Of course, we are greatly humbled to have our chocolate included as part of their selection.
Flying into London
I had a wonderful flight to London and arrived there on a beautiful morning. As we approached the English shore, I was met with a sea of clouds. The morning sun bathed them in a beautiful pink light making a glowing bellowing sea that continued to the horizon. The clouds broke as we approached London. As I rushed over rich green farm fields, lakes, and farms, towards the Heathrow airport, all I could wish for was the ability to fly myself so that I could skim these beautiful areas at tree top level in the coolness of the morning.
Amano Truffles in Damien Allsop's Kitchen
Upon arriving in London, I was met at the airport and immediately rushed off to visit my friend Damien Allsop. Damien makes chocolate truffles by using water instead of cream. Damien’s water ganache truffles highlight the chocolate’s true flavor and for this reason, Damien is working with Amano to create a whole new line of truffles. Without letting the cat out of the bag too much, they are absolutely incredible. Damien has a number of clients already very excited in London to carry his Amano Chocolate Truffles.
Shortly thereafter, I was met by my friend Martin Christy from SeventyPercent.com. We held a chocolate tasting and it was fascinating seeing what Damien has been doing with our chocolate and to hear him speak about his love for it and its incredible flavor.
While in London, I was able to hold several chocolate tastings including one at Melt Chocolates in the Notting Hill district of London. Melt has a beautiful boutique on one of Notting Hills’ side streets. They have won numerous awards from London’s Academy of Chocolate. It was a really great experience being able to share our chocolate with their customers. It was really exciting watching their customers come in all excited to buy chocolate for their loved one for Valentine’s day. We sold quite a bit of Amano chocolate and it was wonderful seeing all the enthusiasm from Melt’s customers and staff.
SeventyPercent.com Amano Chocolate Tasting in London
I was also able to hold a chocolate tasting for the various readers of SeventyPercent.com. One couple came all the way from Holland in order to be there for the Amano Chocolate Tasting. It was a really excellent group and we even had a couple of sales people from Rococo Chocolates. (Rococo is a must-visit chocolate shop not far from Harvey Nichols.)
Speaking of must-visit London chocolate stores, Paul Young’s is also a must visit. Paul’s chocolates are incredible and what’s more so is his recipe book. In fact, it was recently announced that it one of — if not the top recipe book in Europe. His recipe book is also on the short list of top recipe books in the UK. (Different awards organization.) Don’t forget to try Paul’s marmite truffle. And what’s more, Paul carries Amano Chocolate too! (So you can pick up a bar or two while you are at it.) Paul’s shop is in Camden Passage which also has some wonderful antique stores that are well worth visiting. Interestingly, it is not too far from a frozen yogurt store that sells frozen yogurt in snowy February days.
lard and William Curley in William's New Chocolate Store in London
I was able to spend most of my time prior to the tasting at Fortnum and Mason visiting my various friends who are chefs throughout the London area. Of course, I made a point of visiting my friend William Curley. William has won more awards from London’s Academy of Chocolate Awards than any other person. Needless to say, his chocolate’s are outstanding. William has opened a beautiful new chocolate store in the Chelsea area of London. I fell in love with it the moment I went in. William was kind enough to sit down and spend some time with me despite the fact that he had worked through the night before and was tremendously busy. It is always great seeing friends on the trips that I make to source cocoa and to support Amano.
Art Pollard Holding Amano Chocolate Tasting at Fortnum & Mason in London
Finally, on Valentines Day, I woke up very early and walked to the tube stop to catch the tube (subway) to Fortnum and Mason’s. It was a cold blistery morning and I could not get to the tube stop fast enough. My wool suit was simply not warm enough for the cold London air. Once arriving at Fornum’s, I was greeted by a table all set up for me and I quickly went to work getting set up. It was just a few moments before we had our first customer and they loved the chocolate so much, they quickly snatched up a bar. I was literally mobbed throughout the entire day. At the end of the day, I figured I had given out a total of approximately 2,250 pieces of chocolate and had sold a slew of bars. (Many of our bars were sold out by the end of the day.) It was amazing watching people grab a piece of chocolate, pop it in their mouth and dart away only to be quickly brought back when they realized that they were tasting something truly special. At the end of the day, I cleaned up my station and took a deep breath. One of the members of the staff took my picture so that I had something to remember this incredible experience by. I thought about the amazing opportunity I had had to be sampling our chocolate at Fortnum and Mason and I could only wonder if perhaps, the Queen herself had had the opportunity to try our chocolate at some point. While I probably will never know, it is an amazing experience simply knowing that it is a real possibility.
In the end though, I was very happy to see my friends in London. They are all real lovers of their craft and of chocolate and truly follow their passion. It is a much smaller world than it used to be and being able to develop close friendships literally an ocean apart is a wonderful thing.